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 Bath provides a
picturesque downtown, which is bordered to the east by the Kennebec River, twelve miles from the ocean and located on mid-coast Route 1. Its
ambiance is nineteenth century with brick sidewalks and simulated gas street
lamps reflecting its rich maritime and naval history. The vibrant
downtown has a wide range of retail businesses housed in buildings which
reflect the history of the city. It is also home to Bath Iron Works, the
state’s largest employer.
With a population of 9,266, community spirit in Bath is enormously high, including the support of area residents for the July 4th Heritage
Days, launchings at Bath Iron Works and for other special events. Bath is uniquely positioned to serve as a center not only for its year-round residents,
but also for the summer residents and tourist trade from nearby coastal
areas. Bath has also been listed as number 17 on the list of the top
100 small cities in which to live. Bath is in a rare position to have
its entire downtown’s first and second floors filled with successful and
unique businesses. In 2005 Bath was named a “Dozen Distinctive
Destination” by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
At the encouragement
of the local Main Street Maine organization, several  businesses in Downtown
Bath recently decided to stay open later once a week to attract people to
shop in the district after work hours with live music provided throughout the
downtown. Main Street Bath has also recently conducted an extensive
business owner’s survey, installed public art and each year successfully
fundraised for gorgeous over flowing flower pots to be maintained throughout
the summer. Main Street Bath recently hosted its second annual game
show “So You Think You Know Bath” with trivia about the downtown. Responses
from participating businesses, community groups and audience members has been
overwhelmingly positive. In the summer of 2008 Main Street Bath will launch its historic downtown walking tour pod cast, which along with the award
winning website, web cam and MySpace page, has given Bath a national  reputation as a
trendsetting community.
Since being designated a Main Street Maine
community, downtown Bath’s revitalization efforts have resulted in:
•22 net new businesses
•$6.8 million in new public and
private downtown investment
•Over 31,400 volunteer hours
•122 net new jobs
•For every $1 invested in the Main Street Bath program, an additional $11 have been invested in downtown Bath
For more
information on Main Street Bath, please go to their website.
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