Historic Manassas Earns Main Street America Accreditation

MANASSAS, VA — The efforts to preserve historic downtown Manassas while promoting economic development have earned Historic Manassas, Inc. a designation as an Accredited Main Street America program.

Main Street America designated 800 communities as accredited programs in 2024 for their efforts to bring investments to their downtowns and commercial corridors. To qualify, communities had to show outcomes aligning with Main Street America's values and six performance areas: community commitment to revitalizations, inclusive leadership and organizational capacity, diversified funding and sustainable program operations, strategy-driven programming, preservation-based economic development and demonstrated impact and results.

Historic Manassas, Inc. is a nonprofit that works on promoting and revitalizing downtown Manassas. It hosts 19 signature events such as the Railway Festival, Celebrate America July 4 fireworks, Manassas Fall Jubilee, and First Fridays and hosts a farmers market on two days. According to the organization, the signature events and farmers market brought over 122,000 people to downtown Manassas and volunteers provided nearly 600 hours of service in 2023. Historic Manassas says every dollar invested in the Main Street program translated into $26.20 in downtown Manassas improvements last year.

"The [Historic Manassas, Inc.] Board of Directors remains committed to the four pillars of the Main Street program, ensuring we position our cherished historic downtown district as the center of the community and hub of economic activity," said Mark Olsen, Historic Manassas, Inc.'s board president. "The many accomplishments of the past year could not have been possible without our dedicated Board, talented staff, and volunteer base."

Across the U.S., Main Street America programs generated $5.68 billion in local reinvestment, helped open a net 6,630 new businesses, helped create a net 35,162 new jobs, helped rehabilitate 10,556 historic buildings, and drew 1,664,763 volunteer hours in 2023. On average, every dollar spent on a Main Street program generated $18.03 of new investment into communities' downtowns and commercial corridors.

"We are incredibly excited to celebrate this year’s 800 Accredited Main Street America programs, and their remarkable efforts to reenergize their local economies and public spaces," said Erin Barnes, Main Street America's president and CEO. "Main Street leaders are visionaries that see things that no one else can see and create the future world we all want to live in."

Historic Manassas held the 30th annual Railway Festival in June. Aside from the weekly farmers market on two dates and First Fridays, the next major event is Celebrate America with fireworks and other activities on July 4.