Our Mission

To promote and maintain an economically vital historic downtown and business district that is attractive and accessible to people of all ages.

History of Main Street Amherst

In 1998, a small group of Amherst citizens and business owners formed the Amherst Downtown Business Association (ADBA). The purpose of this group was two-fold: to facilitate the application process for a Community Development Block Grant and to develop and foster an economically strong business district.

The City of Amherst was awarded the grant and local building and business owners used the funds for facade and code improvements. The City used the funds to improve signage and lighting downtown, as well as install a new parking lot. In 2002, the ADBA was granted official Main Street status by Heritage Ohio. The former Post Office was dedicated and officially renamed the Main Street Community Center in 2003.

Today, a group of committed citizens, government representatives and business owners work to obtain the mission of Main Street Amherst – To promote and maintain an economically vital historic downtown and business district that is attractive and accessible to people of all ages.

What is the Main Street Program?

The Main Street program was developed in 1980 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to save historic downtown architecture and revitalize historic downtown areas. Today, Main Street America, the statewide partners and local Main Street programs have all become powerful economic tools as well.

The Main Street Approach™ offers community-based revitalization initiatives with a practical, adaptable framework for downtown transformation that is easily tailored to local conditions. The Main Street Approach helps communities get started with revitalization and grows with them over time.

The Main Street Approach is centered around Transformation Strategies articulating a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy. Each Transformation Strategy is implemented through activities in the four broad areas of work represented by the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.