The Main Street Project
Every neighborhood has a beating heart. Sometimes it's a single street where the lifeblood of the community flows.
As the pandemic recedes and relief money begins to flow, The Main Street Project will document economic recovery one street at a time.
We'll talk to many people living and working on each street we visit. We'll learn who's bouncing back and who's being left out. We'll look for strategies that work and take note of those that don't. And we'll look into whether the economy that's emerging on your street is more equitable than the economy we left behind.
Our series began on streets in Seattle, Tacoma and Kent. Where should we go next?
Fill out our short questionnaire to suggest a street you know.
Top Contributors
Stories
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Seattle's Central District divided over new Amazon Fresh store
A new grocery store has opened at 23rd and Jackson: Amazon Fresh. It’s on the same spot in Seattle’s Central Area neighborhood where the Red Apple grocery store used to stand. The Red Apple was a popular spot where neighbors ran into each other and said ‘Hi.’ Its closure and demolition became a sore spot for people who felt they were losing the soul of their neighborhood.
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Sometimes pushy, sometimes distant, Amazon keeps businesses near its Seattle HQ alive
Before the pandemic, Seattle’s South Lake Union neighborhood was bustling with tech workers, tourists, and residents. There were lines outside popular lunchtime spots. Then the pandemic hit, and the neighborhood quickly became a ghost town. It's not anymore.
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Firecracker Alley: It's about more than fireworks
Every year on Puyallup land near the Port of Tacoma, Puyallup tribal members gather to sell fireworks. It’s an event that draws tribal members together to socialize and make some money. But it’s an annual tradition that may not be around forever.
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This tiny Washington tourist town found its workforce after all
The town of Coupeville Washington, on Whidbey Island, has solved its labor shortage. That could be a promising sign for other communities with the same problem.
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What this Washington town learned from a job fair hardly anybody showed up to
In the picturesque town of Coupeville, Wash., job vacancies usually fill by word of mouth. This year is different. Business owners are wondering: Where are all the workers? So they put on a job fair, hoping to conjure applicants out of thin air.
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In tiny Coupeville, tourists have returned. Workers have not.
Now that so many people are vaccinated, tourists are flooding into the Pacific Northwest. That’s true in the tiny town of Coupeville Washington, on Whidbey Island. But there’s a problem. Coupeville can’t hire enough people to staff the restaurants and shops where tourists spend their money. And the tourists have picked up on it.
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How car-centric Bellevue is embracing a more pedestrian-friendly future
Bellevue is a city built around cars. But the next chapter in Bellevue’s growth could look very different. During the pandemic, plans have advanced to reorganize Bellevue’s downtown around a pedestrian and bike-friendly route from the shores of Lake Washington – to light rail stations and beyond. That plan is called “The Grand Connection.”
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On Bellevue's Main Street, businesses look forward to office workers' return
Main Street in Bellevue runs through the heart of a popular commercial district, just south of Bellevue Square. It’s full of mom and pop shops. Business has been slow for many of them, these last few months. How quickly they recover depends partly on how quickly office workers return.
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What the 'ghost light' in Mount Vernon's old theater reveals about shuttered venues
With a troubled federal relief program for shuttered venues reopening Saturday, arts organizations are on the edge of their seat to see when they can get some of the 16 billion dollars in relief that’s been promised to them by the federal government. One of those organizations is an historic theater in Mount Vernon, Washington called the Lincoln. It’s the biggest entertainment venue in town. And like most theaters, its seats have sat empty for much of the past year.
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Mount Vernon looks to tulip tourists for rescue from pandemic slump
Like most downtowns, businesses in downtown Mt. Vernon, Washington have struggled through the pandemic. But as things start to open up, all eyes in that town are on the tulip fields blooming nearby. The big question is whether visitors to those farms can help businesses in Mt. Vernon recover.
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In downtown Kent, outdoor dining seen as key to economic recovery
“Pandemic or not – what we’ve learned is that this is a great way to engage the space down here, regardless," says Haas. "It feels awesome – I love the vision that’s unfolding because of this.”
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Tacoma’s Hilltop has hope for an equitable recovery
Businesses in Tacoma's Hilltop neighborhood are trying to recover from the pandemic. And economic recovery looks certain, with the light rail coming next year and big housing projects on the way. But how does recovery happen in a way that doesn’t push out existing residents and businesses?