EASTON, Pa. — The Easton Main Street Initiative has been named as a semifinalist in the Great American Main Street Awards for 2025, recognizing its transformative impact on the community through small but substantial changes.
The awards, which recognize “outstanding efforts in downtown revitalization, historic preservation, and innovative community programming,” included Easton as one of eight semifinalists recognized nationwide.
Easton’s program shares the honor with similar initiatives based in Berlin, Maryland; Denison, Texas; Farmington, Michigan; Jefferson, Iowa; Raton, New Mexico; Vicksburg, Mississippi; and Wytheville, Virginia.
“This year’s semifinalists demonstrate exceptional achievements..."Erin Barnes
The Great American Main Street Awards state each community is a standout example of fostering a collaborative approach to revitalizing their historic downtowns, encouraging economic development, and promoting inclusive cultural engagement.
“This year’s semifinalists demonstrate exceptional achievements in reenergizing their downtowns through inclusive, collaborative organizing and innovative economic development, arts and culture, and historic preservation initiatives,” President and CEO of Main Street America Erin Barnes said.
“We are thrilled to celebrate Easton’s accomplishments in preserving the character of its downtown while fostering economic and cultural vibrancy.”
'A lot of pride'
A program of the Greater Easton Development Partnership, the Easton Main Street Initiative has been a cornerstone of the transformation seen in Easton over the past few years, Main Street America states, turning the city into “a vibrant cultural and economic hub.”
"... Easton has a lot of pride. I think everyone here is really, really proud of where they come from..."Julie VanOsdol
“It feels amazing because Easton has a lot of pride. I think everyone here is really, really proud of where they come from, and I find when I'm in other places in Pennsylvania or around the country, I'm always bragging about Easton, ‘We have this, we have that,’" Easton Main Street Initiative Main Street Manager Julie VanOsdol said.
"And so it's cool to be able to show that to everyone because a lot of people don't know about Easton; it's a really great opportunity to put us on the map, because I think we totally deserve it, and everyone in the community feels the same, and I think a lot of it is because of the growth."
Main Street America credits Easton Main Street Initiative with the “tremendous reinvestment in its downtown area, the creation of new businesses, job growth, and the rehabilitation of its historic businesses,” going on to state GEDP’s support for the program has been pivotal to driving those efforts forward and building partnerships which benefit the community as a whole.
Easton and the other semifinalists were selected by a national jury of industry professionals and local leaders from a pool of competitive applicants, “each representing the best of the Main Street Movement.”
Since its inception in 1995, the GAMSA program has recognized only 112 of more than 2,000 Main Street programs as winners. The final award recipients will be announced in 2025.
“These organizations were evaluated on their ability to spur community transformation, their commitment to historic preservation, innovative programming, partnerships, and dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion,” a statement from Main Street America reads.
Overall, the semifinalists have collectively generated over $695 million in local reinvestment, opened 975 net new businesses, created 7,190 net new jobs, rehabilitated 1,568 historic buildings, and logged 333,050 volunteer hours, embodying “a testament to the power of community-driven revitalization efforts,” according to Main Street America.
The revitalization of Easton, one planter at a time
VanOsdol said the change over the past 20 years – when the Main Street Initiative was established – is readily apparent to anyone who has lived in the city or has heard tales of the Easton that once was.
According to VanOsdol, it’s the grassroots efforts that have built up over time and transformed the city, small efforts from residents and businesses that have made a significant impact.
“We spoke about that in our application for this award, like people adopting a planter on the sidewalk, and now they have to take care of this planter, and 20 years of little projects like that all accumulate into this amazing thing,” VanOsdol said.
Creating that engaging sense of a small, walkable city where you can run into a neighbor — or a new friend — on just about every block is a direct result of the Main Street Initiative.
Looking into the future, VanOsdol said she is excited to see the upcoming facelift for North Sitgreaves Street, which will be accomplished through a partnership with the city.
When a volunteer pointed out the street, which serves as a pathway to Centre Square, was dark and littered with garbage, they saw an opportunity.
“And it sparked this whole initiative to, like, make it pretty, and we got like designs from a design group to add plants and string lighting and this and that. And it's definitely going be a long time to get that all together, but I'm really excited about it,” VanOsdol said.
