The Revitalization of Downtown: 1980s to Today

by Shannon Dade, revised by Glenna Van Dyke

Since its founding, the Downtown was the heart of Wooster. However, in the 1980s, the downtown lost the hustle and bustle that many residents knew. The economy was in decline, with businesses and customers abandoning the downtown area.  However, Wooster’s leaders would not let their downtown die, and through their efforts Wooster’s downtown slowly returned, and today it is a thriving business and cultural district.  

A gazebo in downtown Wooster with banners on it advertising community events, surrounded by potted and hanging flowers and trees.

Downtown in Decline  

A map of the streets in downtown Wooster
Street map of Downtown Wooster
A photograph of downtown Wooster from the 1960s, that features a statue, a national bank, and businesses.
In the 1960s, Downtown was the primary commercial disctrict in Wooster
A newspaper clipping that says, "Stull, who has owned and operated Stull's Hair Clinic for 25 years agreed. 'As far as I'm concerned, that is what it will take to save downtown,' he said. While they all stressed that the project is still in the planning stages, Hershberger said its the type of development he had wanted to get involved with before he even started considering building a mall near Benden Drive. 'Even if this doesn't happen,' he said, 'my feeling is at least the city and chamber of commerce are excited about it'. He and Lehman, owners of Barney's Menswear just across the street and some land in the area proposed for development, told him he was willing to do anything with his property if it would help businesses downtown. With that kind fo help, Quieel, owner of Dick's Camera Shop and a downtown businessman for more than 30 years, said, 'I think this project can become reality. It is a fantastic investment for downtown. IT protects the people who are here,' he said, 'and hopefully bring in others'. The trend nationwide, he said, is to return to downtown areas. Hershberger said he hopes the development also can help stop businesses from closing downtown. 'We want people to know there's no reason to move out of downtown,' he said."
One of the proposed solutions to the decline of Downtown Wooster was to build a shopping complex with attached parking, to match the convenience of large shopping centers and chain stores

After WWII, American life, including how Americans shopped, changed. Across the country, downtown areas with small businesses were being replaced by suburban shopping centers and massive chains. With this change, towns such as Wooster began to lose their urban shopping districts, which served as the heart of the community. 1 In the 1980s and early 1990s, shopping malls on the north end of town grew more popular, putting downtown groceries, drug stores, and clothing stores out of business. In 1985, approximately forty-two percent of downtown storefronts were vacant as well as sixty-seven percent of upper-story apartments, and many buildings were badly in need of renovations. Mike Mariola, the owner of City Square Steakhouse, remembered, “When I was growing up as a kid, there was not much to do downtown”.2  However, many in the community were determined to bring Wooster’s downtowns back.  

A view of Barney's menswear from the street in the 1980s.
In the 1980s, Barney’s Menswear and Crum Drugstore stood on West Liberty Street (across from what is now the Wayne County Public Library)
An empty lot in Downtown Wooster.
Empty lots and vacant storefronts dotted the landscape of Downtown Wooster in the 1980s and early 1990s

Main Street Wooster, Inc.  

A man in the 1950s waters a pot of flowers with businesses and cars in the background.
One of Main Street Wooster’s first projects to revive Downtown was a beautification campaign, which included installing planters and trees
An aerial view of the construction to the downtown square in 1993, surrounding the Civil War statue.
Another project to revitilize Downtown was the rebuilding of the town square, which took place in 1993
The current downtown square, with a cement circle surrounding the Civil War Statue.
The town square after its remodeling in 1993, as it looks today

 Local business and civic leaders realized that they needed to take action to save Wooster’s downtown from economic decline. In 1985, the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce’s Downtown Revitalization Committee organized to form Main Street Wooster, a non-profit local subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.1 The organization had four goals: building cooperation among downtown businesses and community groups; enhancing the appearance of downtown; advertising the area to consumers and potential new businesses; and restructuring the downtown economy.2 In 1987, the organization began its first revitalization projects, putting up banners for events and other causes, and cleaning downtown sidewalks and buildings.3 These small changes had a lasting effect and as interest in the downtown area grew, more community members wanted to get involved with rebuilding it.  

A sign that says "Chamber Complex, Woster Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Wooster, inc, Farm Bureau"
Main Street Wooster and the Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce share a building on West Liberty Street
A sign on Wooster's main street for the Downtown Wooster economic development project.
The Downtown Wooster Economic Development Project was the precursor to Main Street Wooster, Inc.
A lightpole with a banner that says "Ohio Light Opera" and hanging baskets of flowers on it.
As its first project in 1987, Main Street Wooster installed banners on the streets of Downtown to advertise events and organizations
A gazebo in downtown Wooster with banners on it advertising community events, surrounded by potted and hanging flowers and trees.
Today, banners hang on light posts and on the gazebo, announcing events sponsored by Main Street Wooster, such as Kids Day or the Farmers’ Market

A New Downtown  

A graph that shows the number of businesses in Downtown Wooster from 1970 to 2013. Grocery/drug declined from 1970 to 1985, and then remained steady from 1985-2013. Resturants went down from 1970 to 1980, grew slightly from 1980-1985, fell slightly from 1985-1995, grew from 1995-1999, fell from 1999 to 2005, and then grew extremely sharply from 2005-2013. Clothing/shoes fell slightly from 1970-1980, grew slightly from 1980-1985, and then fell sharply from 1985-2013. Gift/Specialty fell slightly from 1970-1980, grew sharply from 1980 to 1985, grew slightly from 1985-1995, grew sharply from 1995 to 2005, and grew slightly from 2005 to 2013. In 1970, Wooster had 16 clothing/shoes stores, 16 restaurants, 8 groceries, and 6 gift/specialty. In 2013, Wooster had 1-2 clothing/shoe stores, 3 groceries, 17 restaurants, and 22 gift/specialty stores.
A graph showing the numbers of businesses downtown from 1970 to about 2013. Notice how in 1970, downtown had mainly restaurants and clothing stores, whereas today there are more restaurants and gift stores, with far less groceries than there were in 1970.

With the support of Main Street Wooster, the city government, and local investors, the downtown began to bounce back. Economic revitalization was a gradual process, but today the downtown boasts less than six percent vacancy and over sixty new businesses. While the number of grocery and clothing stores has decreased significantly since the 1970s, the number of specialty stores and restaurants has more than doubled as these unique stores can stand out from the chains on the north end. Redevelopment of buildings, such as the lofts along Liberty and Market Streets, was also needed to revive downtown. 1 Events such as the farmers’ market and kids’ day hosted by Main Street Wooster help to increase traffic downtown and build community ties. Bringing both residents and visitors downtown has helped provide a stable consumer base for new businesses. Though downtown Wooster’s revival has been a huge success, Main Street Wooster looks forward to future projects such as developing East Liberty street between Bever and Beall and lighting trees year-round to keep the city thriving.  

An excerpt from the Wooster Daily Record with the headline, "Waters gets first entertainment district liquor"
Having restaurants that serve food and alcohol, and often feature live entertainment, makes downtown a more vibrant place for Wooster residents to live and spend time.
An apartment building with a garage on the bottom half and windows on the top half.
Many of the newly-built appartments on West Libety Street’s Merchant’s Block have already been sold
An excerpt of the daily record with the headline "Renters loving lofts" that says "Take it as a fact: Living downtown is becoming col. Loft owners are flying high with a near-zero vacancy rate. And Main Street Wooster organizers are floored by the crowds who flocked to its second 'Live it Up! Loft Walk' recently.
This Daily Record article discusses the appeal of downtown loft appartments, which have gained popularity since the 1990s
Cars parked along South Market street.
This section of South Market Street is home to a number of new restaurants, including Omahoma Bob’s Barbeque and Tulipan Hungarian Bakery
A side view of West Liberty street, including an antique store and some parked cars.
The buildings on West Liberty Street that house Friendtique and Uptown/Downtown Antiques were previously occupied by Barney’s Menswear and Crum Drugstore

Sources by Section:

1 Lizabeth Cohen, “From Town Center to Shopping Center: The Reconfiguration of Community Marketplaces in Postwar America,” The American Historical Review  Vol.101, No. 4 (Oct. 1996), 1050.
2 Steve Huszai, “Wooster Came Together and Result is Vibrant Downtown,” Daily  Record, Nov. 29, 2011, accessed July 3, 2013, http://www.the-daily-record.com/local%20news/2011/11/29/wooster-came-together-and-result-is-vibrant-downtown

1 “Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce: History,”Wooster Area Chamber of Commerce, accesed July 3, 2013, http://www.woosterchamber.com/ABOUTUS/ History.aspx
2 “About Main Street Wooster,” Main Street Wooster, updated Feb. 12, 2008, accessed July 3, 2013, http://mainstreetwooster.org/index.php/about-wooste r/history-of-downtown-wooster
3 Steve Huszai, “Wooster Came Together and Result is Vibrant Downtown,” Daily Record, Nov. 29, 2011, accessed July 3, 2013, http://www.the-daily-record.com/local%20news/2011/11/29/wooster-came-together-and-result-is-vibrant-downtown

1 Steve Huszai, “Wooster Came Together and Result is Vibrant Downtown,” Daily Record, Nov. 29, 2011, accessed July 3, 2013, http://www.the-daily-record.com/local%20news/2011/11/29/wooster-came-together-and-result-is-vibrant-downtown.
2 Sandra Hull, Interview by author, June 19, 2013, Wooster,  OH.

How to cite this page:

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