TOURISM
Reader’s Digest chooses Fort Pierce among the
20 most beautiful main streets in the country
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The Reader’s Digest says Fort Pierce possesses one
of the most beautiful main streets in America. The
family magazine, renowned for its prowess in
condensing articles, arrived at that conclusion after
compressing a list of thousands of attractive downtowns
throughout the nation into a smartly chosen group of 20 that
vacationers might want to visit.
The honor rightly belongs to the city that nearly 46,000 people
call home, according to Mayor Linda Hudson. “The city is
a hidden gem on the Treasure Coast,” she says. “It’s a blend
of old and new Florida and is rich in history and culture.”
The Treasure Coast itself is named for the 1715 Spanish
fleet pounded to pieces by the raging waves of a hurricane.
Eleven ships sank to the sea floor, losing all the gold and
gems aboard. Occasionally coins and other artifacts wash up
on the area’s beaches.
Being named to the Reader’s Digest list has a lot to do with
the thousands of hours spanning three decades contributed
by Main Street Fort Pierce. The non-profit’s mission is to
restore the historical downtown to its former glory. It does
its job so well that in 2011 it was the winner of the Great
American Main Street competition hosted by the Main Street
America program of the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary
of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. It has
won other awards as well.
Doris Tillman, long-time manager of the local Main Street
organization, speculates that the prestigious 2011 award may
have caught the attention of Reader’s Digest writers. “We accomplished
all the steps it takes to win that award and went
over and above,” she says.
Those steps taken by Main Street and its many volunteers
and businesses are a big part of what makes downtown Fort
Pierce the success it is today.
Tillman says something else is happening though, and it
is making the downtown come alive to set it up for future
success. “The last couple of years the merchants are working
together, teaming up and meeting monthly,” she says. “It’s a
different feeling among the business people. They know that
if they work together, they can succeed. The future is bright.”
The downtown is filled with small retail shops, services
and restaurants lovingly presided over by their owners.
Hudson notes that two new microbreweries now operate
in downtown Fort Pierce, and a variety of international
food choices are available from the small restaurants, many
including fresh seafood from the lagoon and ocean with fresh
vegetables from the Downtown Fort Pierce Farmers’ Market.
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