Even buildings used for junk storage can dress up their windows and contribute positively to your downtown. Photo by Becky McCray
Every small town has empty buildings downtown. Whether they are completely empty or just used for storage, they can make your downtown look vacant. If the building has windows, though, there’s an opportunity to dress them up a bit and maybe even promote another business at the same time.
In the picture above, a building used for storage is also being used to advertise another business that’s located across town. Here’s a previous display in the same windows:
Rather than leave the windows bare, the owner rented just the window display space to a retail store. Photo by Becky McCray
In Elkhart, Kansas, I saw two more good examples. For one, they made a custom banner to hang in the window and make it look like boxes in a display window:
The illusion of looking and seeing boxes stacked gives this ad more attention-getting power. Photo by Becky McCray
That’s definitely better than just empty windows or another vacant building.
In another set of windows, a local business used promotional items they already had on hand:
This satellite business used existing advertising materials (signs, stand-ups and banners) to fill the windows of this empty building. Photo by Becky McCray.
At first, I didn’t realize the building was vacant because the windows looked so lively.
In Hollis, Oklahoma, Betty Motley told me how a local group printed special banners to hang in windows. They found images online to use. This one is an empty building with an old-fashioned barber shop theme.
It’s all an illusion. There is no barbershop, no barber pole. That’s all on banners hung inside the windows. Photo via Betty Motley
They even painted the door with barbershop lettering to complete the illusion. They also did another building using an antiques store as the theme.
Stacey Colledge from Central City, Iowa, sent me the photos below. They used historic photos of actual old-time businesses in their town, and printed them on static cling material so they can be moved when a building gets rented. A total of 9 has cost them about $2,000, she said.
Volunteers proudly pose with one of their historic photo window clings. Photo via Stacey Colledge
Not only did they put the window clings up, they put out a welcome mat, too! Photo via Stacey Colledge
Look into the future
So far, we’ve seen windows that featured businesses from the past and present, but what about businesses from the future? You know your town has a past, but do you spend enough time reminding people that your town has a future?
Here’s one town that did. Longview, Texas, used a window decal to show a vision of the building occupied by a future business.
This building would make a great boutique hardware store! Photo via Kevin Green, News-Journal Photo.
Read more about this one at the Longview News-Journal.
Window displays don’t have to be all business. They could be creative, too. Renton, Washington, did a series of window displays featuring a fairy tale theme.
Art is a smart way to dress up windows of empty buildings. Photo via Tory Franklin
Read more about it at the Renton Reporter.
Filling Your Empty Buildings
You don’t have to stop with decorating the windows. You can actually fill empty buildings with business, no matter how small your town is. Join Deb Brown and me for a 2-part webinar on Filling Empty Buildings at SaveYour.Town. The deadline to register is June 19, 2018.
- Downtown is your town’s core: How to make your case - February 22, 2021
- Zoom Towns: attracting and supporting remote workers in rural small towns - December 10, 2020
- In an economic crisis, spend your brainpower before your dollars - November 25, 2020
- Video: How to fill empty car dealership buildings for the holidays - November 6, 2020
- How has 2020 changed the challenges rural small towns face? Tell us here - October 20, 2020
- The Idea Friendly Method to surviving a business crisis - October 6, 2020
- Join me for the Rural Renewal Symposium online Oct 13 - September 26, 2020
- Cheap placemaking idea: instant murals - September 11, 2020
- Refilling the rural business pipeline - July 7, 2020
- Huge vacant buildings: grants to renovate? - June 9, 2020
Hollis, Oklahoma is really shaping up. Thanks to Betty Motley and her group of volunteers. HH HOL LL LIS HOL LIS Hollis, Hollis Hollis
Thanks for the cheer, Almatene!
It is time for our Building Owners to join together to
create the energy needed to be recognized by our
City government. There
are 22 empty spaces in our
Downtown that needed to
be filled.
Our Mayor & Council members feel that it is not
their concern; that this is
the Chamber of Commerce
that should have the ideas!
We have a 6 strong business owners that have
“Gumption” . I have turned them onto your
website. I have signed up
for the webinar for the 19th; so will share it with
them👍.
Hi Carol, thanks for joining in! I’m glad you and your 6 with gumption are ready to take action yourselves. You can’t wait for the city, the chamber, the mayor or anyone. Today individuals, people like you, are the ones who make things happen. Then those other groups will come along later when they see it working.