Hagerstown has been a designated Maryland Main Street since October 2014. It is a volunteer effort by citizens, businesses, organizations and government to revitalize Downtown Hagerstown by diversifying and expanding businesses and cultural opportunities while maintaining its historic integrity and value.
Main Street Maryland is a comprehensive downtown revitalization program created in 1998 by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The program strengthens the economic potential of Maryland’s traditional main streets and neighborhoods. Using a competitive process, Main Street Maryland selects communities, which have made a commitment to revitalization, and helps them increase private-sector small business investment, and improve the appearance and image of their core business districts.
To accomplish Main Street goals, DHCD has partnered with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center, which developed the Main Street Four Point Approach for commercial revitalization. This approach focuses on promotions, organization, economic development, and design. Since 2008, Main Street Maryland programs have also incorporated a Fifth Point: Clean, Safe, and Green. Since 1980, the national program has been implemented in 41 states and more than 1,700 communities nationwide.