Greenville, SC: Lessons on Downtown Development

On Fridays in the summer in Greenville, S.C., residents gather downtown after work for a city-organized block party where they can hear bands, share a beer and patronize local restaurants. Families crowd the Marble Slab ice cream parlor on Main Street, where a line of customers frequently snakes out onto the street, and local college kids and young professionals grab a seat at one of the city's 80 restaurants.
 
Greenville, located about three hours northeast of Atlanta, has gained recognition for successfully converting its once-blighted downtown into what officials call a ''24/7'' city.Last year, it won the Great American Main Street Award, which is presented jointly by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the National Main Street Center.
 
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