About Us

Platteville, nestled in the beautiful rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin, was selected to become a Main Street Community by the Wisconsin Department of Commerce Bureau of Downtown Development in 1999. The Platteville MainStreet Program, Inc. is a non-profit organization that advocates restoration of the historic character of downtown while pursuing traditional development strategies—marketing, business recruitment and retention, real estate development, market analysis and public improvements.  Over 1,000 communities nationwide are actively involved in using the comprehensive and incremental four point approach of the Main Street Program to bring renewed energy to downtowns across the country. Main Street is not only an economic asset, but also the community’s crossroad—a place that evokes strong emotions and helps define the city’s identity.  The four points of Organization, Promotion, Design and Economic Restructuring are the keys to the success of the Main Street approach. Since the program is volunteer-driven, it is important to build consensus and cooperation among the stakeholders—the function of the Organization Committee, along with fund-raising and promoting the program.  Promotion means selling the image of the district through advertising, retail promotions, special events and marketing campaigns.  Design capitalizes on the historic aspects of Main Street, creates an inviting atmosphere and conveys a visual message through use of window displays, signage, streetlights, street furniture and landscaping. Economic Restructuring helps find new purpose for downtown’s enterprises by assisting with business expansion, recruiting new businesses and helping to find new uses for existing spaces.