Downtown Hastings — Yesterday and Today

Downtown Hastings — Yesterday and Today. . , A Small Area with a Big Impact , During the late 1800s, downtown Hastings offered a wide range of goods and services to the growing river city, resulting no just in a vibrant economy, but also a visually striking commercial district of fine brick and stone buildings. In 1865, downtown was home to more than 80 businesses, offering everything from hats to boots, groceries to hardware, and jewelry to agricultural implements. Physicians, dentists, and lawyers set up shop alongside hotels and saloons. The upper floors of some buildings offered convenient and affordable housing., In this compact district you see narrow buildings with common walls on small lots. Dense development in the pre-automobile era made it easy for people to shop on foot, the only mode of transportation available to most. With all of its businesses, services and houseing, an area four times the size of downtown Hastings' commercial district could fit into the parcel needed for just one of today's super stores!, In 1977 the area was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the East 2nd Street Commercial Historic District, and was also designated as a local historic district., Captions: , Most of the buildings shown on this 1924 map are in use. The commercial district continues to offer convenient shopping opportunities. The colors of the buildings indicate the use of different building materials. Pink is brick, blue is stone or concrete, and yellow is wood. A narrow pink line on the edge shows that a brick veneer was used., Between 1914 and 1928, the St. Paul Southern Electric Railway Company, an interurban line, provided transportation from downtown Hastings all the way to St. Paul., This view of East 2nd Street from about 1908 was taken near where you are standing now. What do you see that is the same? How is it different?, Main Street Revitalized , In the early 1980s, after more than 100 years of use and a vastly changed world, Hastings' downtown had become tired and less dynamic. Working with local businesses, the city began an effort to bring back "Main Street." The public-private partnership helped the commercial district promote its goods and services and offered low-interest loans to rehabilitate historic buildings., "In the 1960s and 1970s, dense neighborhoods of old buildings and mixed uses were considered by urban renewal standards, blighted. Many of these neighborhoods were totally replaced by single-use projects, consequently losing the flexibility, opportunity, variety and vitality that comes from many people using the same area for different reasons. Buildings of different ages, offering a variety of rents and spaces, are a seed bed for small business and new business, the alternatives to mass market merchandising." , John Grossman, Hastings Main Street Coordinator, 1985, Caption: Faced with competition from suburban shopping centers, many store owners modernized their store fronts in the 1950s and 60s. By the 1980s, historic character became a marketing asset and unattractive changes began to be stripped away. One of the most dramatic examples is at 118 East 2nd Street. The metal facade was removed, and the second story bay window was reconstructed.