About Taos MainStreet

Downtown Taos MainStreet is a community-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the Historic Downtown District through strategic investment, cultural preservation, and public engagement. Accredited by Main Street America in August 2019, we serve as the action-based implementation partner coordinating with the Town of Taos, Taos County, local businesses, property owners, and community organizations. Guided by the belief in the power of place, and the people who shape it. We focus on collaboration, creativity, and honoring both the history and future of our vibrant downtown.

Mural Art (Above): Lynnette Haozous 100% Taos County

Mission

Preserving the history and building the future of Downtown Taos.

Vision

We believe that the plaza district is for everyone. It is a safe walkable, and bike-able place with a strong, diverse economy and thriving businesses. It features vibrant and inviting public spaces where residents and visitors feel like they belong. At the core of our approach to revitalization is a commitment to creating places of shared prosperity, equal access to opportunity, and sustained, inclusive engagement.

About the MainStreet Program

The Main Street Program (Main Street America) was created in the late 1970’s as part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. This program was created with a Four-Point Approach: economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization. Transformation strategies are created for each community to center around the four points. Transformation strategies are used to take community vision and market understanding and create qualitative and quantitative outcomes for the MainStreet community.

New Mexico MainStreet (NMMS) was created by the state legislature in 1985 to “assist local communities in implementing this strategy to revitalize their downtown commercial corridors.” NMMS serves 31 affiliated MainStreet Districts and 12 Arts & Cultural Districts. NMMS is essential in helping Taos MainStreet to promote economic vitality in downtown Taos.

Downtown Historic District

~22 Sq Blocks

Taos’s historic downtown is a designated Arts & Cultural District and the heart of our local economy. It’s home to more than 200 small businesses, galleries and restaurants, many of them locally owned. From the iconic Plaza to the walkable streets lined with adobe architecture, the district blends tradition with innovation, making it a vibrant place to live, work, and explore.