Main Street Madison Has Been Making Huge Strides in Downtown Madison

Jen DeLessio
Executive Director
Main Street Madison

Since the official designation as a Main Street district, Main Street Madison hit the ground running with events and promotions.  Cooper, Madison’s first ever Pup Mayor was elected to support the excitement around the City of Madison’s City Council and Mayoral elections.  Wassail Fest, along with all the Christmas on Main festivities, was a beautiful example of how the City and all of our community partners work together to make Madison such a special place.  Main Street Madison is dedicated to building strong partnerships with our City and all of our amazing community partners.

Behind the scenes, MSM has been super busy building the foundation of the organization.  The MSM Board is stacked with key members in our community including district business and property owners, local Madison residents, Madison City Schools, Madison Visionary Partners, and historical and cultural organizations.  

Main Street, which has been around for nearly 50 years, uses a proven Four Point Approach to revitalize historic downtowns.  Each Main Street district is run locally with a plethora of Main Street resources.  The Four Points of Main Street include: Design, Organization, Promotions, and Economic Vitality.  The MSM organization has four standing Committees that align with each of these points.  As of February 2026 each committee is formed and is trained in its corresponding point!  Each board member serves on a committee alongside community members with skills and interests in each respective area.

Main Street 4-Point Approach

Design focuses on the visual aspects of the downtown - think of landscaping, streetscapes, building facades, banners, signage, etc.  

Organization is all about building our community partners and stakeholders, volunteer engagement, and public relations for MSM as an organization.  

Promotions is not just about events, but also about shining a bright light on the downtown and our unique offerings so that it’s not just a “hidden gem” - but a known destination for our community, visitors, investors and new businesses.  

The fourth point is Economic Vitality.  Without Economic Vitality (EV), the district cannot survive.  EV helps to strengthen the existing downtown businesses by providing tools, data and training.  Kicking off in the spring of 2026 is a Market Study for MSM in collaboration with the Downtown Professionals Network (DPN).  The Market Study will take nearly six months to complete and will assess our current conditions, gauge potential for growth and provide concepts for development and re-development.  In addition to attracting new business where it makes sense - think of EV as helping our shops and restaurants to make small adjustments that will help grow and strengthen their businesses.  When we shop, dine and use our local downtown services, the dollars we spend stay in Madison and support our friends and neighbors!

If you haven’t visited before, you need to come and experience for yourself the warmth, friendliness, historic/quaint feel of the downtown.  The MSM district is truly the heart of Madison.  And while the name of the district is Main Street Madison - it’s not just Main Street.  As an organization we have a goal to unify the district from Church Street to Shorter Street.  We want you to know undoubtedly that you are in the district whether you are getting a salon treatment on Church Street, dining or shopping on Main Street, or getting a latte at Honest Coffee.  And in case you missed it, Main Street Madison is an Entertainment District!  Green cups are available for you to walk the district from Church Street all the way to Shorter Street.  Look for sidewalk stencils to indicate the boundary.

We need you!  There are so many opportunities to get involved with MSM and to be part of the downtown Madison excitement.  Start by following MSM on Facebook  and Instagram! 

As a largely volunteer organization, we would love your ideas, and any time or skills you have to offer - whether helping us build our social media presence, website development, volunteering at events, etc.  Please reach out to Jen DeLessio at jen.delessio@mainstreetmadison.org or scan this QR code to submit the form on our website here: Get Involved – Main Street Madison

Contributions to Main Street Madison support historic preservation and initiatives in all of the Four Main Street Points.  Contributions can be made through the MSM website: https://mainstreetmadison.org.  Stay tuned as we are in the process of defining and publishing all of our sponsorship and membership levels.