Silver City MainStreet received a grant from the New Mexico Tourism Department to develop a walking tour of downtown. "Stories from our Streets - Discover the Town that was Built to Last" is the title of the tour. The tour will include a booklet of eighteen different buildings and plaques on posts in front of the buildings.

There will also be a website with the tour in both print and audio format and highway wayfinding signage.

The idea started with Tom Hester and his class of Western Institute for Lifelong Learning (WILL) students. The volunteers researched the stories about the people and the buildings.

Hester said: "The buildings were chosen randomly to cover both sides of Bullard St. and guided by trying to tell the story of a street rather than trying to account for architectural distinctions. (The Silver City Museum has nice walking tours that cover the architecture of the buildings in our downtown historic districts.)

All buildings in a place tell stories. That story consists of an individual narrative for each
structure and of an overall narrative. We have seen Bullard St. contain the essential parts of the mining industry, be a major commercial center for offices of professionals, give shelter to automobile agencies and groceries and movie theaters. That larger story, the overall narrative, can often be the one that "makes sense" of the present buildings."

Susan Berry, former director of the Silver City Museum, did the fact checking and photo research.

Suzy Lawrence, New Mexico Tourism Development Grant Coordinator, came to Silver City and conducted a twenty-hour workshop on how to develop the tour with members from Silver City MainStreet, the Town of Silver City, the WILL class members and community members. The tour will be marketed as a New Mexico True product.

"Silver City MainStreet is excited to implement this tour that will be available four seasons, is family friendly, and will encourage visitation to downtown. The tour will be of interest to residents and tourists alike. Downtown merchants will have the opportunity to have a decal in their window that announces the tour and have the booklets available to give out. The tour booklets will also be available at the Visitor Center," Silver City MainStreet director Charmeine Wait said. "The tour will be in place by June first and we are so grateful to the Town of Silver City, the New Mexico Department of Tourism, and the many community members who worked on producing a tour that will benefit our community."

The mission of Silver City MainStreet is "To encourage a vibrant, historic downtown Silver City which is recognized as the heart of our diverse community." Please visit our website, www.silvercitymainstreet.com to learn more.