What The People Want

How Community Main Street Makes Cedar Falls A Beautiful Place To Call Home

When you walk down Main Street in Cedar Falls during the holidays, it looks like a scene from a Hallmark Holiday film. Snow dusts the brick walkways, twinkling lights wrap around the trees, and each of the unique businesses are inviting and warm. Even in the cold, people come out to shop and eat and explore Cedar Falls’ downtown district. In the summer months, it comes even more alive with outdoor events and attractions. This is not all coincidental. Community Main Street is a Cedar Falls volunteer organization whose goal is to make Cedar Falls’ Downtown District beautiful and charming.

As a student at the University of Northern Iowa, I moved to Cedar Falls more than three years ago. As I began to venture further from campus, I had an amazing time exploring Cedar Falls and I fell particularly in love with the Main Street Area. Many times I have walked up and down the sidewalks and popped into the many little stores and restaurants, and I am always intrigued. I wanted to find out more about how the Downtown District came to have such a picture perfect feel.

Carol Lilly is the enthusiastic Main Street Director for Cedar Falls, and she says that her goal is, “to bring vitality to the downtown district.”

Very dedicated to her job, Lilly hardly found time for an interview. But she was very gracious and personable, talking on the phone with me as she drove back from Des Moines after securing funds for a new project on Main Street. Like most people, Lilly didn’t start off her adult life knowing her calling was to be Cedar Falls’ Main Street Director. She told me, “My husband grew up in Cedar Falls, and we moved around the Midwest quite a bit, and then we decided to raise a family in Cedar Falls.”

Lilly was interested in becoming more involved in the community, “I wanted to contribute more,” she said.

And so, Lilly became a part of the Community Main Street organization and eventually became the Main Street Director.

Community Main Street is involved in four key categories that impact the Downtown District. The first has to do with the aesthetic appeal of Main Street. This includes all of the plant and flower choices, holiday decorations, decorative lighting, and a clean up crew which coordinates with Cedar Falls Utilities. All of these things help Main Street look well kept and beautiful, and this is just one reason why tourism has been growing.

They also work in promotions, for which they get the word out about events and activities that will be held in the Downtown District like Holiday Hoopla, Art-A-Palooza, Girls Night Out, Movies Under the Moon, and many more. These events encourage engaging interactions in Cedar Falls and help build a sense of community.

Economic Development for Community Main Street consists of bringing new businesses that Cedar Falls citizens and tourists want to see on Main Street. If a concerned citizen notices something is missing in the Downtown District, Community Main Street works to bring those types of businesses to the area to attract more people to Cedar Falls.

Volunteer recruitment is also important so that they can continue to have great people working towards advancing the sense of community on Main Street.

With new Mayor Rob Green starting his work in 2020, I wondered if this would change things at all for Community Main Street.

“I’ve worked with Rob in the past when he was the Overman Park Neighborhood Association president,” said Lilly, “I know that he has a lot of the same principles that we do. I anticipate that we’ll have a good relationship.”

There are many exciting projects in the works for the Downtown District. Lilly said that she is most excited about the River Place Project, which is sure to enhance the Cedar River area.

Lilly also said that they are always working alongside community members towards the goal of improving the Downtown District. “I think it’s important to know that we really rely on the support and input from the community,” she said, “At the end of the day we’re trying to build a thriving community that everyone can enjoy.”