Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Brown.
Hi Julie, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Pleasant Hill Historic District grew out of a group of dedicated downtown merchants and community members who shared a desire to revitalize and bring new life to our historic shopping district. With buildings dating back to the late 1800s and early 1900s, our downtown has seen its share of ups and downs over the years! Some buildings sat vacant for years, while others have been lovingly restored and given new life.
By working together and supporting one another’s efforts, we’ve been able to build new momentum downtown—attracting new businesses, helping existing businesses thrive, encouraging investment and beautification, and creating events and experiences that bring people into the district.
There is still plenty of work to do, but that’s also part of what makes this chapter so exciting. Every restored building, new business, community event, and person who chooses to invest their time and energy here adds another piece to the story. We’re incredibly proud of how far downtown Pleasant Hill has come, and even more excited about where it’s headed.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Like most worthwhile things, it definitely hasn’t always been a smooth road! Revitalizing a historic downtown takes time, patience and a lot of people willing to believe in what an area can be—not just what it looks like today.
One of our biggest challenges has simply been working with limited resources. Historic buildings are beautiful and full of character, but they can also require significant investment and a lot of creativity from the property owners who take them on. Our role as an organization is to encourage that investment, celebrate the people doing the work, connect people with resources when we can, and help create an environment where businesses and property owners feel confident investing in downtown. Many of our own board members and volunteers have personally taken on historic buildings and poured an incredible amount of time, work and love into bringing them back to life.
Another challenge is changing perceptions. When an area has experienced vacant storefronts or years of decline, it takes time for people to begin seeing it differently. Every new business, restored building, successful event, flower planted and improvement made helps build that confidence and momentum.
There have certainly been setbacks along the way, and there will probably be more! But we’ve learned that revitalization doesn’t happen all at once. It happens one building, one business, one project and one person at a time. Seeing people get excited about downtown again makes all of that work worthwhile.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Pleasant Hill Historic District?
Pleasant Hill Historic District is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our Historic district by encouraging investment and entrepreneurship through strong community connections. At the center of everything we do is a simple goal: we want people to love being downtown!
Our work takes many different forms. We organize community events and promotions, such as the Pleasant Hill Farmers Market, the Longest Table dinner, Piccadilly Gala, and 3rd Friday Cruise Nights. We support and promote our local businesses, encourage historic preservation and investment, work on beautification projects, and build partnerships with our city and other community organizations. Sometimes our role is creating something ourselves, and other times it is simply connecting people, sharing resources, promoting a great idea or helping someone else bring their vision to life.
One thing that sets us apart is how much of our work is truly grassroots. Our board and volunteers are business owners, property owners and community members who are personally invested in the future of downtown. We don’t just want to preserve our history—we want our historic district to be an active, vibrant place where people shop, eat, gather, celebrate and make new memories.
We’re especially proud of the sense of community that has grown alongside the physical revitalization of downtown. Seeing sidewalks full of people during an event, watching a new business open its doors, welcoming families to the Farmers Market, or seeing someone take a chance on a long-vacant building are all signs of progress to us.
More than anything, we want people to know that downtown revitalization isn’t the work of one organization. It happens because people choose to participate—by opening a business, restoring a building, volunteering, attending an event, shopping locally or simply telling someone else, “You need to come see what’s happening in downtown Pleasant Hill.” We get to help bring all of those pieces together, and that’s something we’re incredibly proud of.
So, before we go, how can our readers or others connect or collaborate with you? How can they support you?
There are so many ways to be part of what’s happening in downtown Pleasant Hill! You can volunteer with us, become a sponsor, attend our events, shop and dine with our local businesses, visit the Farmers Market, or simply help us spread the word about all the great things happening downtown.
We also love collaborating with businesses, property owners, community organizations and individuals who have ideas for making our downtown even better. Some of our best projects and events have grown from people coming together, sharing ideas and asking, “What if we tried this?”
And support doesn’t always have to be financial or a huge time commitment. Sometimes it’s volunteering for a few hours, sharing one of our social media posts, showing up for an event, welcoming a new business, or choosing to spend your dollars locally.
We truly believe a thriving downtown belongs to the entire community. The more people who get involved, in big ways or small ones, the stronger it becomes—and there is always room for another person at the table.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.historicpleasanthill.org/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PleasantHillHistoricDistrict
