Why El Dorado Main Street
El Dorado Main Street's Mission...
is to enhance our downtown identity and heritage, to foster a center of activity for both business and recreation and to ensure economic stability for the heart of El l Dorado through concentrated efforts of design, promotion, organization and economic vitalization.
History of Main Street
The unintended consequences of the expanding shopping malls and big box stores around the country in the 1960’s and 1970’s left many historic downtowns in severe decline. In response to this problem the “National Trust for Historic Preservation” established the Main Street program. As a result over 2,000 communities across the country have been able to bring economic vitality back to their downtowns.
El Dorado’s downtown was experiencing the same decline, so El Dorado Main Street, Inc. was formed in 1998. As a member of both the national Main Street and the state Main Street organizations, El Dorado Main Street has access to special programs and tools specifically designed to address challenges unique to the historic downtown area. El Dorado Main Street strives to work closely with our various partners such as the Chamber of Commerce, Kansas Oil Museum, Coutts Museum of Art, and the City of El Dorado.