Banners bring fresh look to downtown Owatonna
Lisa Cochran, Main Street director for the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, holds one of the new banners that will be hung downtown. Staff photo by Jonny Clubb
The streetscape in downtown Owatonna will soon get another update, with new banners on light poles thanks to the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism and a grant from Minnesota Main Street.
The banners are one of the finishing touches to the downtown streetscape project and will add a nice pop to the already beautiful area.
Funding for the new banners was obtained through a grant from Minnesota Main Street. According to Lisa Cochran, Main Street Director for the Owatonna Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism, applying for the grant is pretty simple; an idea and invoice must be ready in order to apply.
Cochran said that since the City of Owatonna had recently gotten new branding and the downtown streetscape project had just been completed, it was decided that new banners would “pull it all together.”
The Main Street Design Committee then worked to come up with an idea for the new banners. Once the group had an idea, they went to Legacy Signs to get prototypes and have the banners made.
“Obviously we want to stay local if we can,” said Cochran. “(Legacy Signs) is located right downtown in the Main Street district…so I want to support those businesses as much as possible.”
The new banners will hang in the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of Cedar Avenue in downtown, as well as on some side streets. Cochran said that the goal is to have the new banners up by the next Downtown Thursday event which will be held on August 1. She also thanked the City of Owatonna for their help installing the banners.
“The streetscape looks amazing,” Cochran said. “The trees have been growing, and the landscaping is full. The flower baskets are looking great, and then to add those banners with the new branding…I think people will definitely notice.”