Downtown Revival

A TIME TO FOCUS ON DOWNTOWN

Groups focus efforts on bringing activities, attractions, improvements to Litchfi eld’s downtown

Downtown Litchfield has seen its ups and downs through the years as businesses open and close, the economy rises and falls, and commerce trends fl uctuate.

But one of the constants of “Main Street” Litchfield is its historic buildings.

For many, those buildings and the businesses they house today are the key to making Sibley Avenue North a bustling hub of activities retail and community activity.

Many groups are pushing for that “revival,” if you will, from the city’s Heritage Preservation Commission — which seeks to guard the historic integrity of buildings within the downtown historic district — to the Litchfield Downtown Council — a nonprofi t association of businesses, building owners and individuals interested in bringing vibrance to the downtown.

Minnesota Department of Transportation’s reconstruction of U.S. Highway 12/Sibley Avenue in the downtown last summer brought much-needed infrastructure improvement through upgrades to the driving surface as well as city sewer and water service.

And this year, several initiatives have been introduced aimed at bringing even more improvements — and fun — downtown. Among them: • Litchfield City Council approved a façade grant program in April for downtown properties. While specifi cs of the program were still being developed when Discover went to press, the grant program

would provide up to $8,000 in matching funds for façade improvements on buildings in the downtown historic district. • The Downtown Council is teaming up with First District

Association on a project, known as “Downtown Cow Town,” that will see FDA provide 18 fi berglass cows to be decorated by nonprofit organizations and placed throughout the downtown this summer. The cows will help draw attention to First District Association’s 100th anniversary, but also help the nonprofi ts. The cows will be auctioned off at the end of the summer with proceeds going to the nonprofits involved in decorating the cows. Downtown Council secretary Darlene Kotelnicki said maps of cow locations will be created and used to encourage residents and visitors to explore Litchfield, similar to Peanuts character statutes that dotted St. Paul several years ago and the decorated buffalo that can be found throughout Buffalo,

Minnesota. • The Heritage Preservation

Commission is seeking a grant to fund benches to be placed along Sibley Avenue in downtown, with the Downtown

Council already providing some matching funds. The benches would be constructed locally and would include historic information and photos on the backs. • Litchfi eld Downtown Council and City Council cooperated on the purchase of bike racks for the downtown area. Included in the purchase will be two that resemble old-style bicycles with large front tires, which will be positioned in Central

Park. All of the racks will be locally made. • Litchfi eld Downtown Council also has requested the addition of decorative lighting in downtown. Location and display of the “Edison-style” filament lights is still to be determined, but the plan is to have them lit in the evening, tentatively from May to mid-

October. • The Litchfield Planning

Commission and Heritage

Preservation Commission have begun meetings aimed at reviving downtown buildings.

They have enlisted the help of

Mid-Minnesota Development

Commission and director Eric

Day, a Litchfield resident, to assist in coordinating the effort and to provide other assistance. • Litchfi eld Downtown Council plans “Thriving Thursdays” throughout the summer, with outdoor concerts in Central

Park and pop-up shops featuring small businesses and crafters from throughout the area. • Two holiday-related events are destined to keep downtown heated with activity as the weather turns cold. Downtown

Council is coordinating Harvest

Madness on Oct. 14, and a

Victorian Christmas event is being planned for early

December.

It’s all about bringing more attention to the downtown, which for many is still the heart of a small town like Litchfi eld.

One of the attention-grabbing efforts made by the Litchfield Downtown Council was actually installed in 2020, when the reconstruction of main street seemed to some like just the right time to add a touch of history to downtown.

A city crew installed a 10-foot clock and pedestal in the 200 block of North Sibley Avenue that’s intended to add some panache to the Litchfi eld’s downtown streetscape.

“Honestly, I think it really gives the downtown some character, especially now that I’m watching them wrap up the street project,” said Corrina McQuiston-Kurowski, owner of #Goals Nutrition and a Litchfi eld Downtown Council board member. “Without trees, it’s just kind of a big concrete slab. The acorn lights are nice, but there’s nothing really to dress up the downtown. The clock gives you a focal point to look at.”

The clock’s location between 213 and 215 N. Sibley Ave. was decided by the Minnesota Historic Preservation Office and Minnesota Department of Transportation’s Cultural Resource

Longtime Litchfield barber Larry Ackerman, a member of the Litchfield Downtown Council, stands in front of the new street clock installed near his businesses in the 200 block of North Sibley Avenue.