Reimagining Main Street

(Republished courtesy of Buffalo Rising and Matt Chavez) 

The City of Niagara Falls’ has taken action and acquired a portfolio of over 39 distressed properties in the Main Street District. These properties have been damaged for decades by single-party ownership, and the intention is to diffuse that ownership to a more community-oriented scale. This district benefits from the City’s 9 million visitors per year; commitment and presence from Niagara University through their property at 822 Cleveland Avenue; and commitments and participation from New York State, Empire State Development, Niagara County, and the Niagara Orleans Regional Land Improvement Corporation. This district also benefits from a ten million dollar Downtown Revitalization Initiative award, and a student population moving out of the Deveaux neighborhood to a more densely built environment. These are among other factors working in favor of this great place.

For those who remember, Niagara Falls’ Main Street was once incredible. It was a place filled with life, activity, shops, and everything was walkable and close. People could spend entire days just walking up and down Main Street, and get everything they needed in one place, but the story goes “then the malls came.” Presently, however, portions of the Boulevard and Eastern Hills Malls are being knocked down to prepare them to look remarkably like the Main Street District.

When I was a student at Niagara University, almost 20 years ago, I had a professor and mentor, Brother Augustine Towey, who would sometimes ask for rides into the city. In those days, the Robert Moses Parkway still ran past Main Street, but ‘Bro,’ as we called him, would ask me to take Main Street, since his doctor was there. Without fail, as we rode by the boarded up remains of buildings like the Jenss Department Store, or Howard’s Shoe store, or even the Slipko’s supermarket, Bro would remark “wouldn’t it be wonderful if somebody could do something about this?”

Murals are all painted by the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, who have been doing awesome placemaking work for a number of years.

At the time I didn’t realize it, but Bro was asking me to see something. To really see Main Street for what it was, and for what it could be. Years later, as I walk the district, I understand what he meant. I am who Bro was asking to do something about Main Street. You are, too. We all are. “Our Public Square,” the places we share, depend on our participation and demand our attention.

The city has acquired these distressed properties, and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape Main Street, but this window won’t stay open forever. If we don’t take action, these buildings could sit vacant for another generation. I often think about how we see problems and say “wouldn’t it be great if ‘they’ could do something about this?” I have done this. I have waited for them; they are not coming. Bringing back Main Street is going to take ‘everybody.’

America is an idea as much as it is a place, and what we allow to happen to our culture is reflected physically in our public square. “Main Street,” runs through Niagara Falls as much as it runs through Buffalo, Batavia, or even Disney World. It is our identity writ large, in brick and mortar, and it is a place that has always been a place worth saving, revisiting, and coming home to again.

Imagine a future Main Street in Niagara Falls: a place where families stroll on wide sidewalks past bustling local shops, where artists display their work in bright storefronts, and where the air is filled with the scent of fresh coffee, baked goods, and flowers from a Saturday market. A future where ‘neighbor’ is a way of life. The good news for us, who are here to steward this place, is that the water is still flowing over it, and as long as that’s that case, there is hope for Niagara Falls.

If you believe in the power of Main Street, come see it for yourself. On April 8, 2025, join me for a walking tour of Main Street in Niagara Falls. Together, we’ll explore its past, witness its present, and envision its future. Meet at 2010 Main Street, 10:00am, and let’s take steps together toward bringing Main Street back. You don’t have to wait for ‘somebody,’ the simple truth is that we are, all of us, somebody.

Get connected: Main Street Project