Roxborough Earns Main Street Kudos

A national historic preservation organization certified Ridge Avenue in Roxborough as a bona fide main street.

The National Trust Main Street Center bestowed the distinction on the for meeting the 10 standards the group establishes.

"Through the dedication of our members and a strong network of volunteers we continue to reinvigorate Ridge Avenue so that it once again functions as a true focus to a broad range of community life and activities," RDC Executive Director Bernard Guet said in a news release.

Roxborough joined 760 new neighborhoods nationwide that completed the accreditation process by MainStreet.org, a program under the wing of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"Accredited Main Street programs are meeting the challenges of the recession head on and are successfully using a focused, comprehensive revitalization strategy to keep their communities vibrant and sustainable," said Doug Loescher, director of the National Trust Main Street Center in a news release.

Ridge Avenue joins similar commercial corridors like Ardmore, West Chester and Telford, which were already recognized. 

The RDC said evaluation criteria determines the communities that are building comprehensive and sustainable revitalization efforts and include standards such as developing a mission, fostering strong public-private partnerships, securing an operating budget, tracking economic progress, and preserving historic buildings. 

Certification standards, according to the group's website, require that main streets:

• Provide local and national visibility to local Main Street programs that understand and fully utilize the Main Street Four-Point Approach and eight Main Street principles and that continue to evolve organizationally to meet new challenges;
• Provide national standards for performance for local Main Street programs; and
• Provide realistic goals and a tangible incentive for local Main Street programs that do not yet meet the criteria for national recognition.

The involved , , and a along Lyceum Avenue are just some recent endeavors Roxborough, the RDC, and neighbors have done to make Ridge Avenue a main street in Philadelphia once again.

For more information on the program, visit MeetStreet.org.