The past 18 months have been a good period for downtown Columbus. TheColumbus Main Street group has worked on many interesting new projects over thatcourse of time. One of the first was the completion of the Columbus Visitor Guide. Thisfull color publication was developed with over 30,000 copies printed in January of 2007.This marketing item was distributed to businesses and travel centers all across Wisconsinand Northern Illinois.We see one of our key elements continuing to grow in significance. TheColumbus Main Street Visitor Center operated by our Executive Director Kim Bates. Thevisitor center is open five days a week and continues for be a source of information fortravelers and potential business owners in our downtown district. The visitor center isalso home the West James Gallery featuring the works of local artists, also operated byKim Bates.One of the first redevelopment projectsof the period was the completion of theJames Street Dining Company. Thismajor building restoration was taken onby owners David and Julie Woodward.Their new restaurant opened its doors inOctober of 2006 and draws customersfrom many surrounding communities foran elegant dining experience. JSDC wasrecently selected “Madison MagazineRestaurant of the Month”.“Secret Garden” opened early in 2007. This unique floral and garden shop ownedby Robin Silkweed filled a restored property on Ludington Street. Her specialties rangefrom fresh floral arrangements to garden plantings and sculptures. This beautiful shop isa great new addition to the downtown district.Late in 2007 the Wisconsin State Horse Council and the Midwest Horse Fairrelocated to larger facilities in Downtown Columbus. These entities are both long timedowntown businesses that were in need of additional space. They moved from oneshared building into two buildings creating separate offices for their operations.

The Columbus Main Street program is excited to produce its Visionand Work Plan for 2008 and beyond. After 15 years this WisconsinMain Street community felt it time for a new image. This processbegan in 2007 with the development of our new Columbus MainStreet logo by local artist and downtown resident John Rockwell.

Of course Father’s Day Weekend marked the 9

Annual Columbus CarriageClassic at Firemen’s Park. The largest annual event orchestrated by the Columbus MainStreet program was once again a big success. It drew national attention with segmentsfilmed by the Food Network for airing in 2008.November brought new excitement and enthusiasm. Spearheaded by theColumbus Main Street Program and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, ourcommunity became a “Discover Wisconsin” feature destination. The program was tapedover the summer of 2007 and aired for the first time in November of 2007. Thispartnership opens many opportunities for our community in television, radio and webbased marketing. Most residents of the Columbus area never knew they had so manyinteresting things in their community. The Columbus Main Street program was proud tomake this project a reality.

Colonial Carriage Works – before Colonial Carriage Works – after

In August of 2007 Colonial Carriage Works opened a new retail carriageshowroom in the former Bobby G’s bowling alley building on Dickason Blvd. This 8,500sf. facility was restored in the summer of 2007 and filled with carriages by the end of August. Customers of Colonial Carriage Works are now drawn to downtown Columbusfrom all across the United States, Canada and Europe.On August 25

a unique event was held in the downtown district. The 1

AnnualHorse Drawn Coach, Carriage and Sleigh Auction was held on Dickason Blvd. This streetfestival took place under the “Big Top” on Dickason Blvd. Carriage drivers and collectorsvisited Columbus in person and on-line to purchase these specialty vehicles.

The “Big Top” was also put to good use on Sunday, August 26

. The 1

AnnualCity of Columbus Picnic took place downtown, featuring food, friends and music hostedby the City of Columbus. A nice crowd of local residents came downtown to visit someof the new businesses and share a sunny afternoon with their neighbors.With a number of events taking place on Dickason Blvd. over the course of atypical year the City of Columbus unveiled a conceptual plan for this area called“Dickason Square”. This plan would incorporate our Historic City Hall into a festivalspace that could potentially extend three blocks east to the Amtrak station. Thisbeautification project will turn an existing paved street into a useful market and festivalcenter. With the future added benefit of the restored auditorium downtown Columbuscould host small conventions. The close proximity of the Amtrak station would maketravel to events convenient from Milwaukee, Chicago, or Minneapolis. Columbus is veryfortunate to have Amtrak service to our community. The Columbus Main Streetprogram sees this as a very under utilized opportunity for Downtown Columbus. It isone of the key points to this project. Continued development of the Amtrak corridor toDowntown Columbus will remain high on the list of priorities.