Tonopah Main Street earns national accreditation

Tonopah Main Street was recently honored as one of only three Nevada communities to achieve National Main Street accreditation status in 2025, a prestigious designation that signifies this nonprofit’s place as a leader in the preservation-based economic development sector.

“The Main Street accreditation recognizes these organizations for having strong commitment to economic development and community revitalization in Nevada,” a news release from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) explained. “To qualify for accredited status, communities must demonstrate a proven track record of achieving outcomes in alignment with the national Main Street Approach and exceptional performance is six areas: broad-based community commitment to revitalization; inclusive leadership and organizational capacity; diversified funding and sustainable program operations; strategy-driven programming; preservation-based economic development; and demonstrated impact and results.”

GOED Director of Rural Economic and Community Development Shari Davis, a born-and-raised Tonopah native and graduate of Tonopah High School, was delighted by the honor bestowed on all three Nevada organizations.

“Main Street accreditation is an exceptional achievement,” Davis enthused. “We are thrilled that Tonopah and Downtown Reno Partnership are joining Gardnerville in achieving accreditation. All three have worked to create positive change in their communities and their dedication and success has been recognized on a national level.”

Tonopah Main Street Executive Director Kat Galli and board president Joni Eastley both underscored how much work and community collaboration has gone into bringing the organization to where it is today. And though accreditation may have taken several years to secure, Galli noted that, given the climate in which Tonopah Main Street started, this was actually a surprisingly short time.

“We reached accreditation after only six years, most of which were during the pandemic,” Galli remarked. “And our little community in the middle of nowhere accomplished this in the same amount of time as Downtown Reno did! We are very proud.”

Tonopah Main Street has been exceptionally active since its inception, gathering together residents, business owners and other community partners for its mission of revitalizing the local business climate, improving quality of life and preserving Tonopah’s historic past. Murals and monuments have been added, its volunteers regularly organize holiday decorations along Main Street and the nonprofit hosts quarterly “booze walks” that encourage visitors to check out the participating businesses, thus driving valuable foot traffic.

Another highlight of the nonprofit’s efforts is the Storefront Improvement Grant Program, which has resulted in 21 completed projects so far and over $124,000 of investments in the downtown area since 2022. The organization has secured both this grant once more and a $4,401 marketing grant from Travel Nevada for fiscal year 2025-2026. In 2024 alone, Tonopah Main Street’s volunteer hour-value came to more than $80,000.

A major focus for Tonopah Main Street at this time is the development of an all-new, tiny downtown park celebrating the mining heritage of what was once the largest community in the state. In partnership with the town of Tonopah, the organization is creating the park in a lot located between Van-Tastic Fashions and Tonopah Fitness utilizing a $42,722 grant from the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

“This has been a lot of work and it would not have been possible without our amazing volunteer board members and our many volunteer helpers who support us with our events, downtown beautification or even dirty tasks like helping clean our new downtown park space,” Galli added. “We are grateful for the town of Tonopah and our over 60 sponsors who believe in us and support us financially so we can accomplish our goal of making our community better for everyone.”

For more information visit TonopahMainStreet.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com