HISTORIC MAIN STREET
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The Lucas County Courthouse and Chariton Square is a nationally recognized historic district and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.
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The historic district covers the city's central business district and includes commercial, public, and fraternal buildings.
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Public buildings included:
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Lucas County Courthouse (1893)
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Chariton Public Library (1904)
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Former Lucas County Sheriff's Residence and Jail (1916)
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U.S. Post Office (1918)
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Fraternal buildings included:
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Knights of Pythias Hall (1894)
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IOOF Building (1904)
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American Legion (1925)
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Three commercial buildings included and listed individually on the National Register:
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CB&Q Freight House (1904)
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Chariton Herald-Patriot Building (1918)​
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Hotel Charitone (1923)
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The blue outline represents Chariton's historic Main Street District as awarded in 2012. The red outline represents businesses, historic assets, and downtown housing that became part of the Main Street District in 2018.
THE MAIN STREET APPROACH
Organization
Creates a strong foundation for community revitalization, cultivating partnerships, encouraging community involvement, and developing and identifying resources.
Promotion
Positions the commercial district as a hub of economic activity and promotes a positive image that showcases our community's unique character.
Economic Vitality
Cultivates a supportive environment for entrepreneurs and businesses, focusing on capital, incentives, and other economic and financial tools.
Design
Enhances our community's physical and visual assets, celebrating the historic integrity and creating an inviting and inclusive atmosphere for public spaces.
What Are the Four Points?
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The Main Street Approach is centered around Transformation Strategies. A Transformation Strategy articulates a focused, deliberate path to revitalizing or strengthening a downtown or commercial district’s economy.
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A program’s work on Transformation Strategies is organized around the Four Points: Economic Vitality, Design, Promotion, and Organization.
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Transformation Strategies – generated through meaningful community engagement and informed by an analysis of the district’s market position — help to guide a revitalization program’s work.
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In 2012, Chariton Area Chamber/Main Street received its Main Street Iowa Community designation from the Iowa Economic Development Authority.
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Since then, we have incorporated the Main Street structure into our program and we have four Committees that work together to support community transformation: Organization, Promotion/Tourism, Economic Vitality, and Design.