PRESERVATION MONTH

Every May, Missouri Main Street Connection participates in the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Month by partnering with local Main Street programs to promote and advocate for the preservation of Missouri’s historic places and cultural assets. This year, Missouri Main Street Connection continues our annual celebration of Preservation Month with the theme “Preservation State of Mind”, which focuses on ways to learn, laugh, and fall in love with Missouri and historic preservation.

This theme inspires activities and experiences that highlight historic resources, partners in preservation, and local historic assets; captures the stories of Missouri’s places; and promotes the ideals of preservation-based economic development found in the Main Street Approach™ and its impact on local economies.

Missouri’s Main Streets are ready to welcome you to their community for Preservation Month 2025 with amazing experiences that will take you back in time and allow you to be an active participant in preservation activities. From buildings and battlefields to Main Streets and mansions, Missouri’s historic treasures tell the story of our diverse heritage. By the end of May, if you participate in one of these experiences you’ll be a preservationist too!

Join us in getting into the “Preservation State of Mind!”

Missouri Main Street Connection invites you to explore Missouri’s past and present this May. Pick up a “Preservation State of Mind” guidebook from one of the selected Main Street communities, official Welcome Centers, and Amtrak stations to learn about the experiences, activities, and sites you can visit this year for Preservation Month. Download our quick guide to find out where you can pick up a guidebook near you.

View the
Location
Guide

View and download the “Preservation State of Mind” Guidebook if you enjoy digital versions or cannot make it to one of the pickup locations. Inside this guidebook is 52 Missouri Main Street communities and 18 historic sites as well as numerous highlights of local and state historic resources and preservation partners. Whether you are looking for a one-day experience, weekend getaway, or month-long challenge, our guidebook you can find something to participate in at a local Main Street or at a historic site.

View the
Preservation
Month
Guidebook

Signs of the Times

Signs have provided people with direction and information about the places they work, shop, and visit for centuries. They influence how we enjoy and explore historic commercial districts consciously and subconsciously with their visual design. We imagine they say “check this out” each time someone passes by. In Missouri, countless unique and memorable signs are displayed just as they have been since their installation, serving the same purpose to enrich guest’s experiences with their visual details.

The Signs of the Times photo contest provides an opportunity for community members to share memories they have of a location in their downtown centered around its signage. This signage can be vintage, rehabbed, or new including: neon, ghost signs, wayfinding or street signs, murals, or business signs.

We are excited to discover and share the stories behind the signage that you submit! If only these signs could talk about the variety of events that happened around them. From the many memories made, the shop owners cutting the ribbon on their first day open for business, the impromptu road trip pit stop that turned into an experience of a lifetime, or a couple’s first kiss; Missouri is a special place full of stories to be shared. We can connect to the people, events, and culture that have shaped our Missouri communities through the memories and stories that are in our hearts and in the physical locations that persevere. The submissions will be displayed in a gallery at the 2025 Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference in St. Charles, where attendees will select ten winners to be featured in the “Signs of the Time” poster for Preservation Month 2026.

How to Participate:

Visit a historic commercial district.
See our map of communities that have Main Street designations to know where to start. Submissions are not limited to Main Street communities.
Take a photo of a vintage, rehabbed, or new sign or find a stunning picture you have in your camera roll from a previous visit to a historic commercial district in Missouri.
Submit the photo, a short description, reflection on why this sign is meaningful to you or the community, or story behind the sign, and your contact information through our contest form on our website between March 6^th and June 15^th.
MMSC will review submissions and notify finalists by June 20^th. Finalists will be featured in a gallery during Missouri’s Premier Downtown Revitalization Conference where attendees vote for 10 winners to be featured on a Signs of the Times poster.

Submission Details

Each submission should be focused on signage that is vintage, rehabbed, or new including: neon, ghost signs, wayfinding or street signs, murals, or business signs that are unique, or meaningful in a historic commercial district in Missouri. Additionally, each submission should include a short bio statement with mention of your connection to Missouri and a narrative that will serve as the foundation for a caption for the judges to learn more about why this photo was submitted.

AI Clause: Missouri Main Street Connection seeks submissions that express the memories and emotions that are unique to each person’s human experience, and therefore only original human creative works will be accepted. The use of AI is strictly prohibited. If your submission is found to violate this policy, any submission by the offender will be disqualified and be denied from inclusion in the gallery, poster, and publication. Spellcheck and grammar tools on your finished description is not AI and is allowed.

Intellectual Property: By submitting to Missouri Main Street Connection’s for the “Signs of the Times” contest, you grant MMSC publishing rights in perpetuity for the materials included in the submission. You will retain the copyright for your contributions.

Questions: Contact Logan at logan@momainstreet.org