CAMP: Demolition by Neglect

This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Ohio Main Street Board Networking

Development Funds

Historic preservation projects in urban cores often face financing challenges that conventional lending alone cannot address. Development funds can help bridge these gaps, reduce risk, and create opportunities for rehabilitation and revitalization. This panel brings together leaders from the Cincinnati Development Fund and The Catalytic Fund to explore how their organizations have structured financing to support preservation and why investing in historic urban cores is central to their missions. Panelists will share examples of projects and discuss how development funds can leverage additional investment, overcome barriers to rehabilitation, and catalyze broader neighborhood revitalization.

Over-The-Rhine Mural Tour with 1001 Colors

Depart The Renaissance Hotel and ride the Cincinnati Connector streetcar to historic Over-the-Rhine for a guided tour of approximately 12 murals created by local Teaching Artists and Youth Apprentices. Led by an expert guide, this experience highlights the neighborhood’s vibrant public art, rich history, and cultural character through the stories behind some of Cincinnati’s most celebrated murals. This session has been approved for 1.50 AIA LU credits.

CAMP: Community Engagement and Building Public Support

Historic preservation commissioners often get bogged down in the day-to-day administration of their local ordinance and forget that one of their key responsibilities is to be an effective spokesperson for historic preservation in their community. This topic helps participants identify and communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences, whether it’s building support for designations, defending sometimes unpopular decisions, or working with reluctant elected officials. CAMP Trainers offer fun and creative suggestions for promoting historic preservation that have been proven to work during this session. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Main Street 101

For over 30 years, Ohio Main Street has helped to build economic power in downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts utilizing the Main Street Approach™ framework. Come learn how the Ohio Main Street Program can lead to sustained revitalization in your community.

Elected Officials Forum

Boxed lunched included. Registration Required. Communities across Ohio are navigating many of the same opportunities and challenges, yet each has developed its own approach to downtown revitalization, economic development, housing, and placemaking. This interactive roundtable brings together three Ohio mayors to share what's working in their communities, discuss lessons learned, and explore how local leadership can shape successful Main Street initiatives. Rather than formal presentations, this session is designed as a candid conversation that encourages dialogue among the panelists and audience.

Ohio & Federal Historic Preservation Tax Credit Programs

Learn about the application and competitive scoring process used to evaluate applications for the Ohio Historic Preservation Tax Credit program. Lisa Brownell from the Ohio Department of Development will review all scoring measures and explain funding pools, application review timing, and program requirements. Lisa will also review the Pipeline Initiative, which provides grants and technical assistance to prepare properties for tax credit. In addition, this session will also review the application for federal historic preservation tax credits, where you will learn how to perfect your submissions, including what is involved in submitting a complete/reviewable application to the State Historic Preservation Office and National Park Service. Lorie Bednar & Vanessa Gabriele from the State Historic Preservation Office will explain best practices and considerations when completing the federal and state Historic Preservation Certification Application documents to help better ensure your rehabilitation will be reviewable and will meet the U.S. Secretary of Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. Tips will be offered on submission requirements, efficiently navigating the application review process, and complete successful rehabilitation projects. There will also be an overview of the electronic submission process. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Relighting the Past: Bringing New Illumination to Historic Buildings

Every historic building was lit once — by an owner, on a budget, with whatever technology existed at the time. Decades later, that same lighting is often why a beautifully preserved building reads as dark, tired, or forgotten after 5pm: fixtures failed, technology moved on and maintenance fell through. Lighting can be a preservation and revitalization tool, helping historic buildings remain visible, legible, valued, and active in contemporary community life. This session makes the case for relighting with real payoff, using real historic buildings (before and after) to illustrate what changed when the building was relit thoughtfully. Attendees will leave with a genuine sense of what's possible for their own projects and buildings and grounded in practical solutions. This course has been approve for 1.25 AIA HSW credits.

Building an Investable Downtown: How Communities Recruit the Right Businesses

Vacant storefronts do more than reduce economic activity: they shape public perception, weaken investor confidence, and create barriers to future investment. Yet many communities struggle to move from identifying vacancies to successfully recruiting businesses that fit their downtown. This session provides a practical framework for downtown business recruitment built specifically for Main Street districts, rural communities, and traditional downtowns. Attendees will learn how to assess downtown readiness, engage property owners, identify market-ready opportunities, and recruit businesses that strengthen the district's identity and long-term vitality. Drawing on experience working with hundreds of communities across the country, this session will demonstrate how public investment, stakeholder alignment, and targeted business recruitment work together to create a stronger and more investable downtown. Participants will leave with actionable strategies they can begin implementing immediately.

Incentives for Successful Historic Preservation Projects

Beyond historic preservation tax credits, what other financial tools are available to finance projects? Such incentives are more important than ever with credit markets tightening in the current inflationary high interest rate environment. In this session, we will take an in-depth look at the power of combining available incentives, with a primary focus on New Markets Tax Credits (NMTCs, Opportunity Zones, tax increment financing (TIF), property tax abatements, TMUD, and PACE financing. We will also discuss such practical experiences as considerations related to retaining vs. syndicating federal historic tax credits (HTC), closing HTC and NMTC syndication transactions, obtaining bridge financing, and choosing a good team of consultants to complete HTC projects. By presenting examples of actual deal structuring for some great historic properties, this session shows you how these and other programs work, how they can function together, and how you can work with the government agencies, investors, lenders, accountants, attorneys, and preservation consultants who can bring these incentives to your project. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Is Main Street Still the Main Event

In a rapidly changing retail and restaurant environment, how can Neighborhood and Downtown commercial corridors thrive? What's changed, what's missing and where are the essential pivot points? A reality based discussion of moving forward in business district revitalization.

From Loading Dock to Bee Park: Turning an Underutilized Commercial Space into a Community Destination

Learn how Main Street Medina transformed an underused commercial lot and created a welcoming public space with amenities and art that beautified a highly visible corner of the city. The session will walk through the process from concept to completion, discussing the importance of City and property-owner collaboration, assembling a diversely skilled team, launching a visionary fundraising campaign, and building vendor relationships. In addition, information will be shared on running a public call for artwork and installing a banner-style mural. Walk away with practical lessons learned and inspiration to beautify underutilized spaces in your own downtown. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Legacy Circle Reception

Join us at the historic Mercantile Library, the oldest member library west of the Alleghenies, for the 2026 Legacy Circle Reception, hosted by GBX Group. Ticket required to attend.

Conference Welcome

The Opening Keynote Address will be presented by Cincinnati Council Member Mark Jeffreys. Councilmember Mark Jeffreys has been an avid proponent of historic preservation throughout his time on Cincinnati City Council. He has consistently supported local historic designations, recognizing that preservation is an important tool for protecting the city's architectural heritage, strengthening neighborhoods, and maintaining the unique character that makes Cincinnati distinctive. Beyond his voting record, Mark has demonstrated leadership by championing initiatives that celebrate and document Cincinnati's rich history. Most notably, he led the effort to secure City funding for the Multiple Property Listing (MPL) study of Cincinnati's historic brewing buildings and tunnels. By obtaining seed funding for this research, he helped advance a project that will deepen our understanding of one of Cincinnati's most defining industries while laying the groundwork for future preservation efforts and potential historic designations. Mark's appreciation for Cincinnati's history is reflected in both his public service and personal interests. An avid reader of history, he understands that preserving historic places is not simply about protecting old buildings, but about honoring the stories, cultures, and communities that have shaped the city over generations. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

You Bought a Historic Building. Now What?

Historic buildings can be an exciting purchase and a great investment. Once you take the plunge, what do you do next? This seminar will discuss assessments, master plans, and how to get the right people on your team to make the most of your building. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Place-Based Storytelling to Attract Talent and Investment

Communities with big visions often struggle to get attention. This session explores how video storytelling can help you foster community engagement. Learn how to highlight local assets, share your community’s evolution, and generate interest from investors, workers, and new collaborators. You'll also gain thoughtful strategies for developing content and building capacity with budget in mind. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Designing for Context: Contemporary Infill in Historic Places

One of the most common questions in preservation and design is: "What does compatible really mean?" Too often, compatibility is misunderstood as replication, leading to debates over whether new buildings should mimic historic architecture or stand apart as contemporary design. The reality is far more nuanced. Successful infill design requires understanding the character-defining features of a historic district, interpreting preservation guidelines, the community's preservation goals, and thoughtfully creating architecture that respects its surroundings while reflecting the time in which it is built. This presentation explores how architects, developers, planners, preservationists, and review boards can navigate the intersection of historic context and contemporary design. Through real-world case studies, participants will examine how scale, massing, rhythm, materials, and site relationships can create compatibility without resorting to imitation. The session will also focus on the importance of communicating design intent. Many projects encounter opposition not because of poor design, but because the thought process behind the design has not been effectively conveyed. Attendees will learn techniques for documenting and presenting design decisions, illustrating how a project responds to its historic context, and building public understanding through clear visual and narrative storytelling. This session has been approved for AIA HSW credit.

Catalyzing Development Through Local Foundations

Local foundations can play a powerful role in transforming historic buildings and catalyzing broader community revitalization. This panel brings together leaders from three community foundations to explore how local philanthropy can help move challenging preservation and redevelopment projects from vision to reality. Panelists will discuss what foundations look for when evaluating projects, the community priorities and donor motivations that shape their funding decisions, and the different ways philanthropic resources can be deployed—from grants and capital investments to partnerships that help leverage additional public and private investment. Through examples of significant historic building rehabilitation projects in their communities, panelists will examine how an initial foundation investment can build momentum, attract additional resources, and spark subsequent redevelopment in surrounding downtowns. The conversation will offer practical insight into how preservation advocates, developers, municipalities, and community organizations can engage local foundations and position historic rehabilitation projects as opportunities for broader economic and community impact.

Tour: Explore Cincinnati's Lagering Cellars with Brewing Heritage Trails

Step into Cincinnati’s brewing past! Join Brewing Heritage Trail Executive Director Aaron Deininger on a journey through historic Over-the-Rhine, home to the nation’s largest collection of pre-Prohibition brewing structures, both above ground and below. Explore 19th-century underground lagering cellars, uncover the stories behind Cincinnati’s brewing boom, and discover the history beneath your feet. The tour concludes at Findlay Market, Ohio’s oldest public market. TICKET REQUIRED. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Take a Hike®: Preservation Through Experience

How storytelling, place, and public engagement strengthen historic and cultural preservation. Discover how historic places and cultural heritage become more meaningful—and more likely to be valued and protected—when people connect with the stories and people behind them. Drawing from Cleveland’s Take a Hike® approach, participants will explore practical ways to turn their own historic and cultural resources into engaging public experiences that build personal connections, deepen appreciation and inspire support for preservation. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Building Trades Forum

This panel examines how traditional building trades can support the preservation, rehabilitation, and continued use of historic buildings. A diverse group of practitioners working across the preservation and building trades will share approaches to developing skilled workforces, creating pathways into traditional trades, and addressing the specialized skills needed to maintain historic properties. Panelists will discuss how workforce development can strengthen local capacity, support economic development, and contribute to the long-term stewardship of historic places. Participants will gain insight into the roles that tradespeople can play in building the growing preservation workforce.

More Than Events: How Downtown Experiences Build Civic Pride, Social Connection & Economic Vitality

As communities prepare to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, downtowns have an extraordinary opportunity: not just to commemorate history, but to create meaningful experiences that reconnect people to place, local business, and each other. This session explores how Main Street organizations can move beyond transactional events and create community-centered experiences that cultivate civic pride, social connection, and long-term economic vitality. Using real-world examples from Downtown Troy and national trends surrounding belonging, and social infrastructure, attendees will learn how intentional programming, storytelling, partnerships, and hospitality can transform ordinary downtown events into catalysts for community attachment and investment. This session demonstrates how preservation is not just about saving buildings. It is about creating places people emotionally connect to and want to fight for. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for: Designing events that create emotional connection and repeat visitation; translating face-to-face community experiences into digital storytelling; building partnerships between nonprofits, businesses, volunteers, and local government; strengthening downtown identity through hospitality and authenticity; historic downtowns are not museums. They are living rooms for American life.

Artonomics: How Arts and Culture Reignite Downtowns

Artists are often the first to reclaim forgotten places. Long before major redevelopment occurs, creative communities bring life, identity, and activity back into underutilized buildings and neglected corridors. This session explores how visual and performing arts communities have played a critical role in the revitalization of Downtowns and the reactivation of the Main Street corridor. From galleries and maker spaces to live performance venues and public art initiatives, attendees will gain insight into how arts and culture can function not simply as entertainment, but as an economic development strategy capable of driving foot traffic, entrepreneurship, placemaking, and neighborhood identity. This session has been approved for 1.00 AIA LU credits.

Preserving Place, Empowering People: A Grassroots Model for Community-Led Development

For the past 10 years, Community Matters has led a neighbor-driven effort in a small Cincinnati neighborhood, transforming more than 20 historic structures into new housing, businesses, and community spaces. But the hard work isn't the renovation; it's making sure those buildings stay assets for the people who already live there, instead of becoming the reason they get pushed out. This session breaks down our model: invest in people and place together. We don't just restore buildings; we build the capacity of our neighbors to own and keep developing their own community. Attendees will leave with a practical framework for pairing preservation with real, lasting community ownership, and a hard look at what it takes to keep grassroots efforts grassroots. This session has been approved for AIA HSW credit.

Developer Forum

Come ready to share stories, passion, and pathways to the redevelopment of downtowns across Ohio. Together, we’ll explore: • The economic development tools shaping our cities • The critical role of public–private partnerships • The architectural significance of our historic fabric • How vision and strategy come together to overcome today’s marketplace challenges in construction, commercial leasing, and retail. This is your chance to connect with fellow leaders, exchange ideas, and be inspired by the bold work of revitalizing Ohio’s urban cores. Bring your insights, your questions, and your vision for the future. Ticketed Event. This session has been approved for 2.00 AIA LU credit.

Built on Beer: Cincinnati's Brewing Resources

Currently awaiting approval from the Ohio Historic Site Preservation Advisory Board is a Multiple Property Documentation on Cincinnati's Brewing Resources, as well as an additional NRHP District of the Bruckmann Brewery. The MPD identified and describes Cincinnati's brewing resources including, but not limited to brewhouses, ice houses, malt houses, bottling facilities, and underground lagering cellars. The cellars are a relatively unique resources in the United States with only a handful of cities having had them documented. The session will walk through the steps in preparing the MPDF and NRHP District, as well as give background information on the city's brewing history, and related architectural resources with an emphasis on the lagering cellars. The funding source of the MPDF and district will be talked about with possible future steps re: heritage tourism and local preservation efforts of the cellars themselves. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

From Preservation to Participation: Practical AI Tools for Storytelling, Marketing, and Downtown Revitalization

Historic preservation is ultimately about storytelling of place, people, and purpose. But most communities are sitting on years of archives, photos, reports, and untold stories with limited time or staff to bring them to life. This session explores how AI can help preservation professionals and Main Street leaders transform existing data and historical materials into compelling narratives, marketing content, and community engagement strategies. Participants will learn practical ways to use AI to: *Organize and interpret historical documents and community data Generate engaging content for tourism, downtown revitalization, and local businesses * Support grant writing, marketing campaigns, and public engagement efforts Walk away with real tools and examples to help you amplify your community’s story, increase visibility, and focus your time on the work that matters most, preserving and activating place.

Findlay Market & Findlay Kitchen Tour

Findlay Market is Ohio's oldest continuously operated public market and one of Cincinnati's most cherished institutions, welcoming more than one million visitors each year. Located just blocks from downtown in Over-the-Rhine, a dense historic neighborhood rich in 19th century architecture, Findlay Market remains the bustling center of farm fresh, locally sourced, artisanal and specialty foods. Open Tuesday through Sunday year round, Findlay Market is home to more than 50 full-time merchants selling meat, fish, poultry, produce, flowers, cheese, deli, ethnic foods and more. On weekends, the Market also hosts a thriving Farmers Market, a vibrant Outdoor Market, numerous street performers and several special events. Findlay Kitchen is a non-profit food business incubator located in the heart of the historic Findlay Market district. Findlay Kitchen supports food entrepreneurs looking to start, grow and scale their businesses by providing affordable access to 14 licensed commercial kitchens, commercial-grade kitchen equipment, and ample storage space.Since opening in 2016, Findlay Kitchen has helped nearly 300 food entrepreneurs start, grow, and scale their businesses as a mission-driven program grounded in principles of inclusivity and equity. Committed to reducing systemic barriers that limit access to opportunity, Findlay Kitchen supports entrepreneurs with higher barriers to entry in the restaurant industry. TICKET REQUIRED. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

Unlocking Hidden Spaces: Grassroots Real Estate as a Catalyst for Downtown Change

Real estate development is often viewed with skepticism in many Main Street circles, yet it can be one of the most powerful tools for revitalization. This lecture reframes the conversation—focusing on how underserved and underutilized properties can become catalysts for transformation when activated through grassroots, community-driven efforts. Participants will explore how Main Street programs can move beyond the stigma of “big development” and instead embrace small-scale, people-centered property activations that bring vibrancy, equity, and opportunity back into neglected spaces. By combining place-based economic development with creative programming, we’ll demonstrate how communities can reclaim overlooked properties as engines of inclusive growth. About the Session Content Does your community have a love-hate relationship with real estate development? Don’t worry—most do. But what if real estate wasn’t just about big developers and complex deals? What if your vacant lots, empty storefronts, or forgotten upper floors became the seeds of transformation? This session will unpack how communities can use grassroots organizing, volunteer power, and local partnerships to reimagine and repurpose underutilized properties. We’ll share strategies to transform these spaces into catalysts that spark momentum, attract investment, and empower residents to see themselves as changemakers in the process. Participants will also gain practical tools for capital stack preparation—the essential funding structure that blends local, private, philanthropic, and public resources to make small and large projects financially feasible. By demystifying financing, communities can more confidently pursue activation projects, whether for temporary pop-ups or long-term redevelopments. This session has been approved for AIA LU credit.

The Gwynne Building: Boutique Hotel Conversion

The Gwynne Building, designed by Ernest Flag in 1913 for Alice Gwynne Vanderbilt in the Beaux Arts style. From 1935-1956 it held the corporate headquarters for Proctor & Gamble. The building has been fully renovated to house the "Fidelity of Cincinnati" Boutique Hotel which is being renovated to house hotel amenity spaces, ballrooms, and meeting space with 174 hotel suites. The $88M project will receive $16M in Federal HTC and was awarded $7.2M from OHPTC. The hotel is scheduled to open in July. This session has been approved for 1.00 AIA LU credit.

How to Pay for It When the Usual Sources Reject You

Good programs, organizations and projects never get off the ground because conventional funding sources don't understand the potential. But we've never had more alternative options to fund important work. Building on a new platform for learning about and connecting to alternative funding opportunities, we will survey the new strategies that are being used today across the country, creating successful building rehabs, small businesses, community initiatives and much more.

Revising the Story of Your Place

Every community carries a story, but that story may be outdated, incomplete, or shaped by how others have defined it. This breakout will help participants identify the inherited narratives influencing how residents, visitors, and leaders see their community. Participants will explore how to uncover the visible and invisible qualities that make a place meaningful, strengthen resident pride, and communicate a more authentic and compelling story that can guide tourism, revitalization, and future investment. The learning objectives for this session include: * Identify one limiting or outdated story influencing their community. * Recognize tangible and intangible assets that offer a fuller story. * Distinguish between a perception problem and an experience problem. * Draft a more truthful and forward-looking community narrative. * Select one action they can begin within 30 days.

Vendors' Reception

Annual Awards Ceremony & Film Festival

Ohio Main Street & Young Ohio Preservationists Networking

I'm Hungry, Who's Cookin'? Shared Commercial Kitchens, “The Secret Sauce”

This session explores how shared commercial kitchens are helping aspiring chefs, food truck operators, caterers, bakers, and specialty food producers start, grow, and scale their businesses. Through stories from the kitchen and real-world examples, attendees will learn how these facilities reduce barriers to entry, create pathways for small business ownership, and serve as powerful economic development tools for downtown and Main Street districts. Participants will gain insight into the "secret sauce" behind successful shared kitchen models, including partnerships, programming, funding strategies, and best operational practices. Whether you are considering launching a shared kitchen, supporting local food entrepreneurs, or looking to strengthen your community's small business ecosystem, this session will provide practical ideas and proven strategies to help cultivate the next generation of culinary entrepreneurs.

Significance of Signs: Why Preserving Historic Signs Matters to the Identity and Vitality of Traditional Business Districts

This session explores the cultural, architectural, and economic importance of historic signage and the critical role signs play in defining the identity of traditional commercial corridors. Through examples from Cincinnati and communities across the country, this session examines how historic signs function as visual landmarks, storytellers, and placemaking tools that connect people to neighborhood history and local business culture. Participants will learn how signs reflect community diversity, reinforce neighborhood character, and contribute to economic vitality through heritage branding and authentic sense of place. The session will also explore the threats posed by uniform corporate signage, evolving zoning regulations, and redevelopment pressures that can erode local identity. In addition to discussing why historic signs matter, the presentation provides practical preservation guidance grounded in the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. Attendees will gain an understanding of preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction approaches for historic signage, along with strategies for integrating sign preservation into local design guidelines, zoning policies, and revitalization efforts.

Traveler's Guide to Ancient Ohio

Author John E. Hancock will take you on a journey in his latest book, Traveler's Guide to Ancient Ohio. For first-time visitors and seasoned explorers, Traveler’s Guide to Ancient Ohio offers a fresh, immersive way to experience the region’s ancient wonders and the landscapes that continue to tell their story. The book guides you to the Indigenous earthwork wonders of southern Ohio—some of the most extraordinary ancient monuments in North America. Featuring the eight newly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage sites, this is the first publication to present these places from a traveler’s perspective, offering deeply informative site descriptions alongside curated routes to historical, scenic, and natural treasures across the region. Southern Ohio’s landscape is layered with millennia of human history. At its heart are the monumental Adena and Hopewell earthworks—vast ceremonial constructions that reflect the ingenuity and spiritual life of ancient Indigenous cultures. This guide helps readers understand these sites as rewarding architectural experiences, enriched by archaeological, historical, and Indigenous knowledge gathered over three decades of collaborative work. Organized into eight scenic driving routes—including the World Heritage Route and seven tributary paths—the book connects earthworks with nearby historic towns, nature preserves, waterways, and cultural landmarks. Each route emphasizes two-lane roads and includes road-tested site addresses, with links to local tourism resources for updated travel information.

Leveraging Land Banks for Economic Revitalization

This session will explore how land banks are evolving from blight removal entities into strategic partners in local economic development. Drawing on real projects from communities across Ohio, the panel will highlight how land banks are assembling land, clearing title, and reducing risk to make redevelopment possible in places where the private market alone often falls short. Attendees will gain a practical understanding of how land banks support housing development, downtown revitalization, and catalytic investment, along with the partnerships and tools that make these projects work. The session will focus on replicable approaches, lessons learned, and how communities of varying sizes can leverage land banks to unlock opportunity and drive sustainable growth.

Building Community Through Collaboration

In 2026, Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom celebrates 20 years as a non-profit organization and 19 years as a Main Street America and Heritage Ohio program. The success and longevity of Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom may be attributed to a willing spirit of collaboration with individuals, organizations, and businesses in our Community. The strong relationship between Main Street Portsmouth In Bloom, the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Portsmouth-Scioto County Visitors Bureau is a testament to the transformative power of collaboration. Because of this, we have been asked to share our story and our secret to success with regional Chamber of Commerce, County Visitor Bureau, and Business Development organizations on numerous occasions. Not only do we collaborate with the Visitors Bureau and the Chamber, but we also consider other organizations in our Community to be partners instead of competitors. Our partnership extends to our local government at the county and municipal levels. This allows us to have a greater positive impact on our Downtown Commercial and Historic Districts, and it makes our fundraising dollars stretch further for projects and events. Collaboration with Small Business in our Downtown and partnering with larger businesses for sponsorships is an economic driver and allows us to create meaningful experiences for participants in our annual events. This attitude toward partnership builds our membership and our fundraising capacity. Working together on projects with volunteers in our local school district and the county career technical center generates ownership in our urban environment amongst the student body. Not only does this collaboration create a foundation for responsible civics, but it also helps to keep these young people in our area after graduation. Our strong Volunteer Program is also a reflection of our collaborative nature. The collaborations in which we participate help to build our reputation in the region, helping to attract and retain our volunteers. Collaboration builds Community, making the positive change in Downtown Portsmouth over the last 20 years possible.

Planning for Placemaking on Main Street

This session explores how comprehensive placemaking can truly transform a Main Street, moving beyond one-off projects to create a more vibrant downtown. Using real-world examples, we’ll show how a solid planning framework uses local culture to spark long-term economic growth. You’ll learn how the planning process helps create authentic local experiences, helping communities build a unique identity people recognize and love. We’ll wrap up by sharing a straightforward approach to building a strategic blueprint that ensures your future projects align with the community’s big-picture vision. Plus, we’ll talk about why the planning phase is so important for securing funding and making sure your ideas actually get built.

The Power of SIDs: Turning Revitalization into Reality

Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) are not just funding tools—they’re delivery systems that help neighborhoods consistently bring their revitalization visions to life. This session explores how SIDs support community health, safety, and vibrancy through coordinated services, placemaking, and partnerships. While many communities, particularly those with Main Street programs, have a strong vision for revitalization, they often face challenges related to consistent funding and implementation capacity. SIDs offer a structured, sustainable way to deliver day-to-day services that reinforce those efforts. Drawing on real-world examples from districts across Ohio, the session will highlight how SIDs enhance both the physical environment and lived experiences of residents, employees, and visitors, while working alongside existing revitalization and preservation efforts.   Key Topics: o How SIDs contribute to perceived and actual safety (clean + safe programs, ambassador services) o The role of maintenance and environmental quality in supporting public health and preservation o How SIDs reinforce and extend Main Street and downtown programming efforts o Leveraging partnerships with local governments, Main Street organizations, and private stakeholders to encourage neighborhood vibrancy o Translating revitalization vision into consistent, visible outcomes

Why do Main Streets matter to Tribal work?

In this session, we will discuss how Main Street organizations and other historic revitalization and local history groups can help support Tribal Nations with Ohio homeland reconnection efforts. From public art to special events to welcoming Tribes to their communities, such organizations often underestimate their importance in sharing authentic, accurate local history with Tribal visitors. We will discuss how local organizations should include Tribes in this work. We will explore several examples from across the state and workshop ideas for your community.

The Tale of Two Markets: People Centric Places – Public Markets

Today, the 2nd Street Market in Dayton and Findlay Market in Cincinnati are among the most visited destinations within their downtown and Main Street ecosystems. These iconic public markets have become engines of entrepreneurship, supporting local food vendors, artisans, and small businesses while creating vibrant community gathering places that reconnect residents and visitors to the urban core. Attendees will learn how public-sector vision, adaptive reuse, strategic partnerships, and market-driven programming transformed obsolete infrastructure into thriving civic and economic assets. The session will explore how public markets can serve as catalysts for entrepreneurship, placemaking, and downtown revitalization, providing communities with a proven model for cultivating local businesses while creating authentic destinations that drive foot traffic and long-term economic growth.

Ohio Historic Inventory

Join State Historic Preservation Office staff as they walk you through the steps to conduct an historic survey and complete Ohio Historic Inventory (OHI) forms for a historic building in downtown Cincinnati. Identifying and evaluating historic properties through survey is an important first step to knowing the historic properties in your commercial core or residential neighborhoods. Topics covered will include identifying the survey area, researching historic properties, getting ready to go out in the field, using the online Ohio Historic Inventory form to document historic properties, and preparing a survey report. Attendees will also learn about updating existing historic resources survey and associated OHI forms. Session participants will then hit the street for a hands-on activity to survey a historic building for the Ohio Historic Inventory.

Tour: American Sign Museum

The American Sign Museum promotes sign preservation and restoration by displaying nearly 100 years of signage. The museum preserves and protects American history and pays homage to the artistry and craftsmanship of days gone by. The collection explores an often overlooked part of our culture that hides in plain sight as part of our daily lives. The recent expansion of the museum solidifies the American Sign Museum as the largest and most diverse public sign museum in the country. From sign and branding history to placemaking to a trip down memory lane, the bright lights of Americana is certain to resonate with a broad audience for years to come. TICKET REQUIRED. BUS TRANSPORTATION AVAILABLE FROM LOBBY.

Making It Happen: How Ohio’s Districts Are Transforming Vision into Results

Revitalization isn’t driven by a single model—it’s a coordinated effort. Some organizations build momentum, some keep things running day to day, and others reshape the physical environment. Lasting success happens when those roles work together. This panel brings together district leaders from communities of varying sizes to share how they are implementing revitalization on the ground. Panelists will share real-world insights on how district-based approaches—specifically Special Improvement Districts (SIDs) and similar models—help support clean, safe, and vibrant environments. The conversation will highlight how these tools complement existing revitalization efforts and can be adapted for communities of all sizes and locations.

Stop Starting Over: Simple Systems That Help Downtown Leaders Work Smarter Year-Round

Downtown leaders often find themselves repeating the same work...recreating communications, scrambling before events, and trying to keep businesses engaged, often without a clear system. This session introduces a simple, practical framework to help directors move from reactive to repeatable, using three core systems that support consistent communication, business visibility, and seasonal planning. Grounded in real-world small business experience, this session focuses on what actually works in busy downtowns. Attendees will see how small shifts in structure can reduce overwhelm, improve follow-through, and create stronger, more consistent engagement across their business community. The goal is not to add more to your plate, but to make what’s already there work better.

Evaluating Archaeological Resources for the National Register of Historic Places

This session will discuss the National Register of Historic Places program with an emphasis on nominating archaeological resources to the program. Ohio State Historic Preservation Office staff members, Thomas and Abby, will provide guidance on how to identify archaeological resources, evaluate significance, and assess historic integrity as it relates to the National Park Service guidelines and requirements for nominating these types of properties. Using case studies, the presentation will provide examples of archaeological resources around Ohio that have been surveyed or listed in the National Register of Historic Places to provide insight on the proper way to evaluate these types of resources.