Great American Mainstreet

Ripon's downtown is a three-time semifinalist of the Great American Mainstreet Award. Tremendous improvements accomplished over time enhance the Ripon downtown – helping make it an historically revitalized city that serves as the community's central area of business, gatherings and entertainment. Dozens of businesses have established themselves in Ripon – a place that's easy to be a business owner. No wonder Ripon's downtown vacancy rate is only 7 percent. Through the years, many redevelopment projects have boosted assessed property values from $7.3 million in 1998 to more than 18.7 million in 2012, amounting to more than $14 million in public and private investment. Ripon Main Street has lent a helping hand to projects including the Watson Streetscape renovation; implemented an aggressive business recruitment and retention campaign; and created innovative promotions such as the Ripon Summer Concert Series, Dickens of a Christmas, Septemberfest, and Watson Street Farmer's Market.