At the Washington State Main Street Program’s recent annual Excellence on Main awards ceremony, the Centralia Downtown Association was honored with the Outstanding Special Project Award for its Hub City Community Mural, according to a news release from the local organization.
Operated by the nonprofit Washington Trust for Historic Preservation under contract to the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, the Washington State Main Street Program helps communities across the state revitalize the economy, appearance and image of their downtown districts.
Today, the Washington State Main Street Program encompasses a network of nearly 80 towns and cities across Washington, including Centralia.
Every year, as a cornerstone event of the annual PLACES Conference, the Washington State Main Street Program hosts the Excellence on Main awards ceremony, honoring projects and individuals whose hard work and innovative efforts are making a difference in their communities and beyond.
This year’s 2026 Excellence on Main award winners were announced on Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) Ellensburg Lodge No. 20, during the PLACES Conference held Oct. 6-8.
The Outstanding Special Project Award is an annual award that recognizes great projects or activities that affect a downtown or neighborhood commercial district’s revitalization efforts. The Centralia Downtown Association has been named a 2026 Outstanding Special Project Award recipient for their Hub City Community Mural, which took shape through planning and partnerships in the leadup to their 2025 Founder’s Day celebration, themed “Restore. Remember. Rejoice.”
Centralia’s connection to and reverence for its founders, George and Mary Jane Washington, has been significant to its recent renaissance, the downtown association noted in the news release. Faced with the 150th anniversary of their city’s founding, the Centralia Downtown Association wanted to create something meaningful and lasting; something the community could feel connected to and enjoy for years to come.
They viewed the 150th as a rare opportunity to reflect on where they had been while inviting residents to take an active role in what comes next, the news release stated.
The Centralia Downtown Association worked with property representatives, sponsors, volunteers and community partners to select the location, develop the concept, secure support, promote the opportunity, and connect the mural to Founder’s Day.
Muralist Matthew Anthony coordinated supplies, prepared areas for painting and welcomed public contribution to a permanent piece of downtown art.
Over the three-day weekend, community members of all ages picked up a paintbrush and added their own contribution under Anthony’s guidance. In what the CDA called “a wonderful coincidence,” exactly 150 people participated, one for each year of Centralia’s history. The youngest painter was 18 months old and the oldest was 86 years old.
“A beautiful mural is something to enjoy; but a true community-led mural gives people the gift of participation,” noted Washington Main Street Director Breanne Durham at the Excellence on Main ceremony. “Centralia’s Hub City community mural reminds us that successful placemaking is not only about the finished result, but about helping people see themselves reflected in downtown.”
Durham personally presented the Outstanding Special Project Award to Anthony and Centralia Downtown Association Executive Director MacKenzie McGee.
Since 1984, the Washington State Main Street Program has been helping communities revitalize the economy, appearance and image of their downtown commercial districts using the successful Main Street Approach, the news release stated.
A program of the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Washington Main Street is operated under contract by the nonprofit Washington Trust for Historic Preservation. For more information, visit the Washington Trust’s website at preservewa.org/mainstreet.
