Formed in 2005 and nationally certified in 2006, Charleston West Side Main Street is one of 13 Main Street programs in West Virginia. The program, based in historic preservation, is a national model for community revitalization that was developed to save historic commercial architecture and has since become a powerful economic development tool across the country. A program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street capitalizes on a community's history and resources to tackle the complex issue of revitalizing once-booming downtown neighborhoods.

The Main Street project is a program of West Virginia State University Extension Service and is supported by the West Virginia Development Office state Main Street program, the City of Charleston, The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation, Charleston Urban Renewal Authority, and the local business owners and West Side residents. It is a community driven organization that depends on volunteers to implement the various programs of the project.

The geographic area served by the West Side Main Street program is the Washington Street Business Corridor from Pennsylvania Avenue to Route 21. Many areas of Washington Street West have been neglected for decades by a lack of infrastructure improvements and private reinvestment. Important historic buildings are in imminent danger of demolition, as some areas have structures that are seriously in need of historic rehabilitation projects and façade improvements. These issues guide the work of West Side Main Street in order to project an image that will attract new investment to the district and bring a halt to economic and social decline in the area.

You're Invited to a Community Meeting with Delegate Poore
02/04/2010

Delegate Meshea Poore will be hosting a community meeting on Monday February 8 at 5:30 PM at the Tiskelwah Center on Florida Street.  Please come share with her your concerns and interest in the West Side.
 
FestivAll West Side Wiener Dog Race
02/03/2010

FestivAll West Side Wiener Dog Race

June 19, 2010

Stonewall Jackson Middle School Lawn

700 Washington St. W.

www.charlestonwestsidewienerrace.com
 
Facade Program Taking Off
12/13/2009

By Jim Ballow

Staff Writer

The Charleston Gazette

CHARLESTON, W.VA. -- People called John Bullock a dummy for spending millions of dollars to restore a 100-year-old building. Now, as owners all around him are fixing up their buildings, it turns out Bullock wasn't so dumb after all.

Next door at Charleston Business Machines, Jerry Lewis painted his storefront and installed a new awning and signs. At the building beside Lewis, the owners cleaned and repainted exterior bricks, caulked joints and repaired and painted their metal cornices.

And across Washington Street, three more owners spiffed up their buildings this year, spending up to $40,000 of their own money.
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More Beautification Projects Underway for West Side
12/03/2009

The Gus R. Douglas

Land-Grant Institute

West Virginia State University

Agricultural, Consumer, Environmental & OUtreach Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 3, 2009

Contact: Pat McGill

Director, West Side Main Street

304-720-3161

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Institute, WV - West Virginia State University Extension Service's West Side Main Street (WSMS) program has received a $20,000 Community Participation grant from the West Virginia Legislature for facade renovations along the program's designated Washington Street West corridor. This latest award is one of multiple ongoing beautification projects designed to enhance Charleston's West Side.

With the new funding, WSMS will encourage business owners along West Washington Street, as well as those located within one block on either side, to improve the exterior of their buildings by reimbursing up to 50% of their renovation costs. Eligible activities include painting, signage, landscaping, repointing of masonry and brick, and replacement of windows and doors.

"This is our second facade grant," says Pat McGill, Direcotr of West Side Main Street. "So far we have had six facade renovations that are improving the look of the West Side business district."

The Community Participation Grant award is the lastest in a series of beautification projects on the West Side. A recent Economic Stimulus Grant will initiate a streetscape project that will improve looks and accessibility of the corridor's sidewalks over a multi-phase span.

Also, the first public park on the West Side, located on Barton Street,is in the works thanks to a gift of land from the Craft family and a lot purchased by the Charleston Urban Renewal Authority. Already planted and set for completion in the spring of 2010 with the placement of benches, the park includes perennial beds, an urban tree area and picnic tables. Additional funding for the park project came from the West Side Neighborhood Association and the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation.

West Side Main Street has been organizing community revitalization efforts along Charleston's Washington Street West corridor since its inception in 2005 through a partnership with West Virginia State University Extension Service and the City of Charleston.

Business owners wishing to participate in the facade renovation program must complete an application process. For information, contact Pat McGill at 304-720-3161 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
 
Beer Fest Coming to West Side
12/11/2009

Courtesy photo by G.L. Callahan, Fountain Hobby Center <br>Volunteers prepare bratwurst and hotdogs for the 2008 OktoberWest. The 2009 event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.

If you like brats and sauerkraut, polka music and, above all, beer, make plans for OktoberWest -- West Side Main Street's version of the traditional Bavarian beer fest.

By Jim Balow

Staff writer

Courtesy photo by G.L. Callahan, Fountain Hobby Center <br>A German oompah-style polka band from Parkersburg will play at the West Side beer garden on Saturday.

 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- If you like brats and sauerkraut, polka music and, above all, beer, make plans for OktoberWest -- West Side Main Street's version of the traditional Bavarian beer blowout.

Kids are welcome at the main event, which runs from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 3 along Bigley Avenue between Washington Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. But for the second year of the festival's short history, organizers have added OktoberWest Kids -- a series of free events aimed specifically at children.

 
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