Memories of Main Street in Newark, Del., have a lot to do with class years.
Today, Main Street, Newark is a thriving, bustling downtown in the midst of a construction boom, with no fewer than seven new residential/retail facilities planned or nearing completion.
"The Main Street of today is more successful than any I’ve seen in half a century of life here," says Bob Thomas, co-founder and past president of the Newark Historical Society.
Some $20 million has been invested in new construction there over the past three years. A complex of 43 student apartments opened this fall at the former site of the Newark Emergency Room on the eastern end of Main Street, and still to come are new retail/residential buildings at the former sites of Newark Lumber Co. and Roy Rogers.
With all these changes, alumni "ought to come see Main Street. They won’t recognize it," says Gene Danneman, owner of the Copy Maven on Main Street and past president of the Newark Business Association, now part of the Downtown Newark Partnership. "There are a lot more restaurants, a lot more people. During the day, we have phenomenal foot traffic up and down the street. Sunday nights you see families out, pushing strollers and walking with little children," she says.
Main Street’s renaissance began with the formation of the Newark Business Association and with Newark’s participation in the Main Street program, a national initiative aimed at reviving ailing town centers. The last five to seven years have been by far the most productive, according to Newark’s assistant director of planning, Maureen Feeney Roser, AS’79,’82M. That success, she adds, came about through a united effort of the city, its merchants and the University.
"We’re very pleased with the development that has been taking place. We’d like to see that renewal continue and new businesses endure," says David Hollowell, UD executive vice president.
The University has pledged $24,000 annually to help underwrite research and staff support for Main Street enhancement.
UD made its own contribution to enhancing Main Street when it built the Trabant University Center, restored the adjoining historic former church on Main Street known as Daugherty Hall and constructed downtown’s first multi-level parking garage.
University President David P. Roselle has taken a special interest in the downtown revitalization. He serves as one of 13 committee members of the Downtown Newark Partnership, which has been charged with planning long-term development strategy.
One priority of the committee is attracting more retail shops to complement the cornucopia of eating establishments. Clothing and shoe stores would be nice, Main Street merchants say. Addressing parking and traffic issues and marketing the city are additional challenges for the Downtown Newark Partnership.
Perhaps the biggest change for students will be the additional residential choices offered with the completion by next year of more than 150 new apartments on Main Street. "I’ve been employing college students for years, and they love living on Main Street," says Marilyn Dickey, owner of Grassroots Handicrafts. "It’s the place to be."
–Theresa Gawlas Medoff, AS ’94M
Joan C. Barrett, research aide for the city of Newark, and Mary Petsak, editor of the Newark Post, provided historical photos for this article.