By Mark Hansel
NKyTribune Contributor
In many communities, Main Street is aptly named because it is a city center and a hub of activity and commerce.
There was a time when that was true of Florence, Ky. as well.
“When I was growing up, Main Street was Florence,” Diane Whalen, a lifelong resident and second-generation mayor of the city, said.
Over the years, however, Florence has emerged as one of the region’s primary retail hubs and Mall Road, Houston Road, and U.S. 42 have supplanted Main Street as centers of commerce and activity.
Often, out-of-town visitors only land on Main Street because they have taken too sharp a turn off Turfway Road.
A group of local business owners and artists, however, are trying to forge a new identity for Main Street and make it a destination once again. Main Street the Heart of Florence Kentucky, is the slogan for the revitalization effort.
The goal is to create an arts district along the half-mile corridor that is home to several studios, as well as restaurants and other businesses.
Chris Coors, owner of the Artists’ Brush Multimedia Art Studio and Gallery, said the mix of businesses located on Main Street is a well-kept secret.
“The secret is a little too well-kept for our liking,” Coors said. “If you stand in our bay windows and watch the traffic (that skirts Main Street), it’s phenomenal.”
One of the challenges in developing the district is that artists have to take their product to the masses to be successful, which makes it difficult to keep regular store hours.
“We’ve been here since May, but we didn’t have a lot of time to be here, because of all of the fairs and things that we do in the summer,” Coors said. “The public doesn’t know we are here, because we do so much of our stuff away from here.”
The Artists’ Brush is a family owned and run art studio and gallery that includes a myriad of works, including airbrush, portraits, murals, illustrations and other art forms created by the Coors family.
Billy Tackett Studios opened in October, about the same time merchants on Main Street began holding monthly events to raise awareness of the district.
Tackett, who specializes in splatter art, has been a professional artist for about 20 years.
“Splatter art is done with latex house paint and it’s really controlled chaos,” I take my fingers and dip them into the paint and just kind of flick it onto the board.”
Tackett also works in other mediums, and his Big Dead Machine, in oils, which features an undead Mr. Red in an old-school uniform, is among his more popular pieces.
“A few years ago, we decided we would really like a brick-and-mortar store that we could work out of and sell stuff and also live in,” Tackett said. “We would love to see this develop into a destination with its own identity.”
Keith Klein is sort of the elder statesman of the Main Street artists. His Keith Klein Art Studio has been a fixture on Main Street for more than 20 years.
“We have classes here almost every day with all different levels and interests,” Klein said. “We just love being part of everybody’s journey and the whole goal is to help people find their own voice in art. If we can develop a district and widen the exposure of art, that would be even better, because every city that has done that is a richer place for it.”
Sarah Dailey of Lakeside Park, a student of Klein’s, said he has helped her grow as an artist and a district that allows others to experience that would be great for the community.
“This area really has the feel of a Hyde Park or a Mt. Adams, which is a perfect place for an arts district to thrive,” Dailey said.
Whalen said the city is happy to work with Main Street merchants to help promote their events and businesses.
“I applaud the efforts of the new and existing business owners to bring back that hometown feel to our community, Whalen said. “I encourage everyone to take a walk and rediscover Main Street in Florence Y’All.”
The term Florence Y’All was popularized by Whalen’s father, the late C.M. “Hop” Ewing, who was also mayor of Florence. He had the words Florence Mall altered on the city’s trademark water tower to avoid legal challenges and the term stuck.
The Florence Y’All Festival on Main Street was an annual Labor Day event, which was discontinued several years ago due to declining attendance.
Arts district merchants hope to restore the event and organizers of the old Florence Y’All Festival will have a hand in the effort to revitalize the district.
Joshua Wice, Florence director of business and community development, said when the festival disbanded, organizers donated $25,000 to the city to develop a Main Street gateway feature.
Construction of the gateway project, located on property donated by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet at the junction of U.S. 42, Main Street, and Turfway Road, is scheduled to begin the spring.
Features are expected to include a three-side steel clock tower that is covered in stucco with a stone base, pedestrian pathways with a circular plaza and landscaping.
Wice said the City will invest infrastructure dollars where appropriate, just as it does throughout the city, but it is up to the business owners individually, or as a group, to drive promotion of the district.
“The reenergized effort from some of the merchants to create special events and to work together to publicize the participating business is a positive thing and we support that,” Wice said. “An arts community in a large suburban community such as Florence is a nice fit and it blends well with the other businesses located there so it all works together.”
Other merchants active in the Main Street revitalization effort includeMudlark Pottery StudioTom’s Papa Dino’s/Papa’s Bourbon and Beer House and Yesterday’s Café and Tea Room.
“With the Tea Room as an anchor, and the other restaurants, it’s a great place for people from other communities to come and look around,” Klein said. “It’s very walkable and there is plenty of parking, so people can come in the summer and, even in the winter, they can grab a coffee or hot chocolate, walk around and see what’s here.”
The business owners meet weekly at the Florence Library and hope to organize additional events throughout the year to increase exposure for the district.