Catalyst on Main: Intervention Through Rehabilitation and Development

Abstract

Taylor, Texas, an accredited city of the Texas Main Street Program and my hometown, has a defined downtown core that has seen small attempts at preservation of the historic fabric. While all attempts are a step in the right direction toward a revitalized life and promising future, a need still exists for a turning point solution. For many historic Main Street communities, "the core was not only instrumental in giving a town its identity, but also provided a focus for its activities." (Longstreth, 2000, pg. 13) This proves true for Taylor, the downtown being its commercial business district with associated pedestrian activity. While activity exists with the core in its current state, a new intervention could increase the overall interest of the community in the area, day and night. Through new architectural development and the introduction of a plaza space that links past and present, the downtown edge will be able to reestablish its defining boundary.