Jul 16, 2015 2 min read

Now that the tent that was the center of activity at last week’s Whiskey Rebellion Festival has been removed, work has begun in earnest on the Community Pavilion, a double-arch structure that will cover both city parking lots on South Main Street.

Construction by Maccabee Industrial of Belle Vernon is scheduled to be completed later this year. After the 15,000-square-foot roof is erected, tents will no longer be necessary in that area for next summer’s festival, and shoppers at the Main Street Farmers’ Market, which operates on Thursdays from May through the end of October, will be under cover and no longer drenched by frequent afternoon showers.

Another bonus is that the pavilion will provide public parking sheltered from snow and ice during the winter.

The project was made possible by private and corporate donations, money from the local share of gambling proceeds from The Meadows Racetrack & Casino and by a county tourism grant. The $849,000 project does not include a building housing an office and restrooms, which it is hoped will come soon under a second phase.

The new pavilion can only accelerate the rejuvenation on South Main Street. Buildings there that were not long ago rundown and empty are now home to cafés, restaurants and other businesses. The pavilion will be a venue for community events that attract more people to downtown – customers who will spend their time and money here and thus attract more merchants. The Community Pavilion is evidence of the spread of vitality up Main Street, and we hope it can continue north, past the courthouse to the heart of downtown Washington, which is sorely in need of new life.

Raising this roof is an event to celebrate.