FERNDALE WINS! Prettiest Painted Place (small town) in the Northwest Region, 2012
Ferndale outshines Port Townsend, WA;
Astoria, Oregon; and Wallace, Idaho.
Attractively painted neighborhoods, remarkable Main Streets, meticulously restored commercial areas, authentically preserved historical districts, exquisite outdoor mural programs, and creative flair in the use of exterior paint on everything from streets and sidewalks to life-size folk art. America in indeed blessed with an abundance of pretty painted places!
After four months of rigorous contact work, background research, and thorough evaluation of the nearly 200 exceptional communities who were nominees in this year’s competition, the judges chose one small town and one large town in each of six regions as the nation’s 12 “Prettiest Painted Places in America”:In the Northwest Region, the small town winner is The Victorian Village of Ferndale, California and the large town winner is Eureka, California.
In the Northeast Region, the winners are Brookville, Pennsylvania and Downtown Frederick, Maryland.
In the Southeast Region, the winners are Historic Downtown Smithfield, Virginia and Key West, Florida.
In the North Central Region, the winners are Bay View Association, Michigan and Stillwater, Minnesota.
In the South Central Region, the winners are Old Arabi Neighborhood, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana and Lafayette Square, St. Louis, Missouri.
In the Southwest Region, the winners are Tubac, Arizona and Manhattan Beach, California.
Because certain regions were so very competitive, there is a separate category of award for nine nominees who are not among the winners, but have “exceptional merit” as beautifully painted places. These communities are: Cape May, New Jersey; Crested Butte, Colorado; Old Louisville, Kentucky; Ottawa and Franklin County, Kansas; Owego Historic District, New York; Paducah, Kentucky; Historic Park City, Utah; Richmond, Indiana; and Original Townsite Historic District, Victoria, Texas.
Congratulations to the 12 national winners and the nine “exceptional merit” communities!
