National Heritage Areas are based on partnerships: bringing together a range of Tribes, organizations, businesses, and governments around heritage resources and stories. One of our partners is the Downtown Anacortes Alliance. If you are interested in becoming a partner, learn more on our become a partner page.
The maritime community of Anacortes is home to a unique historic downtown, nearly 3,000 acres of well-preserved forests, a thriving industrial port, and plenty of maritime heritage. The Downtown Anacortes Alliance works to tie the many opportunities available in Anacortes into a nautical small-town experience that few big cities can parallel.
“Anacortes is a really wonderful community, and it has more civic engagement per capita than anywhere else I have ever been,” said Alliance Executive Director Jordan Hay.
This commitment to community is reflected in the recent formation and rapid growth of the Downtown Anacortes Alliance. In 2021, a group of advocates worked with the Anacortes community, city council, and mayor to start developing a Main Street program for Anacortes.
Main Street is a 40-year-old movement dedicated to directing economic and community development around a place’s unique assets. By using the Main Street Approach™ the Downtown Anacortes Alliance invites community members to come together to build shared experiences, shared spaces, and shared opportunities. The organization joined the Washington State Main Street Program, a program of the Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation managed by the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation as an Affiliate in 2021, growing with support including a capacity-building grant for the hire of Jordan in 2022.
From a dedicated board of volunteers to a staffed organization with over 60 volunteers who gave over 1,500 hours of service in 2025, the Downtown Anacortes Alliance has proven shipshape and will be designated a Main Street Community starting January 1, 2025.
Past and Present Maritime Heritage
Located at the northern tip of Fidalgo Island, Anacortes has always been a community with a wealth of maritime stories. The Samish Tribe, who has called this area home since time immemorial, has long harvested clams, oysters, salmon, sea urchin, and crab along its shores. It is the hometown of a member of “The Boys in the Boat” who won gold in the 1936 Olympics. And for decades, a fishing fleet docked at its port, relying on local businesses like the Luvera family store to keep them on the water.
Jordan said that sense of maritime character hasn’t disappeared from the community and is still a living part of Anacortes. “We feel really strongly that Anacortes’ identity is maritime, and we’re excited to be able to focus on that… it’s really an important part of our history and our future,” said Jordan.
Today, the waterfronts of Anacortes are still bustling. The Port of Anacortes features a marine terminal and moorage for more than 1,000 vessels at a time, providing an appealing option for many travelers with their close access to downtown. Last year, they hosted nearly 18,000 guest boater nights. Nearby, Dakota Creek Industries is a well-known, family-run shipyard that works on boats from fishing vessels to ferries to fireboats and everything in between. On the west side of town, Washington State Ferries depart for the San Juans from Ship Harbor, while the smaller Guemes Island Ferry shuttles cars and passengers across the Guemes Channel.
“People really like being in a place where not only is there maritime heritage, but where the maritime tradition is happening every day,” said Jordan. “The people who move here like that sort of activity and energy around creating ships.”
With ship repair facilities located at the end of Anacortes’ downtown corridor, that maritime industry is front and center for those strolling down Commercial Ave. One of Jordan’s favorite experiences was a recent visit from the R/V Atlantis, the vessel that carries the Alvin submersible on scientific research missions. Residents had the chance to marvel at the famous oceanic research vessel during her stay in Anacortes’ dry dock repair facility. “That’s one of the most famous boats in the world, and it’s doing science every day,” Jordan said. “And we’re making it work.”
Building Community on Main Street
As Executive Director of the Alliance, Jordan is responsible for bringing together those who care about Anacortes’ downtown corridor. “It’s a job where your [role] is literally to get to know everyone in town,” she said. Jordan envisions a place where visitors and residents alike can gather in downtown, businesses can thrive, and the incredible maritime history of the city is preserved.
“We’re working with the Washington State Main Street Program and Main Street America to take things that have worked in other towns and ideas from other places, to bring them here and make them unique and special for our town,” said Jordan. “We’re helping to carve out a space for all of these people who are already doing interesting stuff to come and fill that space with just wonderfulness.”
Jordan is the only employee of the Alliance, but she has plenty of support from her board. At a recent Earth Day event, “I think almost every board member I had was actually shoveling dirt in the morning and running parades at night,” said Jordan. Other events hosted by the Alliance include a Procession of the Species, a Luminary Light Parade, and a “Whale of a Sale” sidewalk sale. Beyond events, the Alliance hosts seminars, screens movies, improves signage, runs social media campaigns to encourage downtown activity, and creates community gardens.
The Alliance also tackles bigger-picture questions about the future of Anacortes. “How do we make the built environment nicer? How do we promote the downtown district? How do we reach out and bring all the members of our community in?” Jordan asked. As the Downtown Anacortes Alliance grows and finds answers to those questions, Jordan is looking forward to building a downtown rooted in its maritime heritage where the Anacortes community can live, work, shop, and play.