In the late 1970s a group of community visionaries headed a series of projects to revitalize downtown. This came at a time when some businesses were moving out of downtown to be more accessible by all island residents, many to shopping centers being built on 14th St. Among other things, the revitalization project restored the Court House, created the historic district and the Historic District Council along with redesigning Centre St.
The redesigned street introduced lighting in keeping with the historic setting, new sidewalks and trees, and implemented signage that used historic fonts and colors. Over the years, the consistency of design has been blurred with different projects that did not address the entire downtown area.
The 2019 signage was designed to project a new identity through the use of various types of signs and graphic standards, while helping pedestrians find their way through our historic business district. Through the efforts of Fernandina Beach Main Street, new signage which looks much more like the signage from the 70s project, was put in place in downtown. This project, along with landscaping efforts, event planning and sponsorship and marketing for downtown all support the Main Street mission.