Downtown Russellville is getting ready for big changes—beyond spooky season. (Main Street Alabama / Facebook)

The Main Street Alabama family grew with the designation of Russellville this summer. Now, they’re planning for some big upgrades coming soon to the downtown area. Here’s what you need to know.

The five-year plan for Main Street Russellville

Downtown Russellville (Main Street Alabama / Facebook)

On June 1, 2023, Downtown Russellville became a designated Main Street Alabama city, but that’s not the start of their journey. In 2016, Russellville became a Main Street Alabama Network Member, and then became the pilot program for Main Street Alabama’s Aspiring Tier in 2022.

Becoming a fully designated Main Street Alabama city was a huge step for Russellville, and now the work really begins. Last week, a team from Main Street Alabama headed to North Alabama to help develop the Main Street Russellville Strategic Plan.

While the full plan still has yet to be released, here are some tentative five-year goals as reported by the Franklin Free Press:

First-run movies at the Roxy Theatre
New murals
Monthly events
Restaurants + shops

About Russellville + Main Street Alabama

Russellville, Alabama is located in North Alabama, a 30-minute drive south of Florence. This small town in Franklin County is home to a population of about 30,000, and it’s also home to the famous annual Watermelon Festival.

FUN FACT: In July 2023, famous singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey made a stop in Russellville for a quick boutique shopping trip.

Russellville is one of 32 Main Street Alabama designated communities. This special honor is given to those communities that are dedicated to the mission of this non-profit organization.

The designation is an “economic development tool that enhances the tax base of a community, fosters entrepreneurship, builds community capacity and creates partnerships among key groups in a community” (Main Street Alabama). That also means downtown improvements and fun events like we’ll see soon in Russellville!

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