Are artists the secret to revitalizing Main Street?

Part of our series on the future of Main Street

(Image credit: A painted mural on Gran Boulevard, Detroit.(Barry Lewis/In Pictures/Corbis))

The long, imposing brick buildings of the Alexander Smith Carpet Mills are a local icon in Yonkers, New York, sitting alongside the Saw Mill River as it winds its way into the Hudson north of New York City.

The Smith Mills, impossible to miss dominating their block, remain a fixture even in a city which can claim other industrial innovations like the Otis elevator and early Bakelite plastic. But beyond their brick fronts, they also stand as constant reminders of the city's industrial past, as well as just how much that industry has changed.

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Matt Hansen has written and edited for a series of online magazines, newspapers, and major marketing campaigns. He is currently active in press freedom and safety research with Global Journalist Security.