Jonathan Rhodes Honored by New Orleans City Council with Proclamation for Community Work

Jonathan Rhodes Honored by New Orleans City Council with Proclamation for Community Work

The New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to honor Attorney Jonathan Rhodes with a formal proclamation recognizing his outstanding service to the community as Board President of St. Claude Main Street. The proclamation acknowledged Rhodes's leadership in driving the commercial and cultural revitalization of St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans's historic 8th and 9th Wards.

St. Claude Main Street: Revitalizing a Historic Corridor

St. Claude Main Street is a community and economic development organization dedicated to the commercial and cultural rebirth of St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans's 8th and 9th Wards. Rooted in the principles of tactical urbanism and grassroots community organizing, the organization is committed to the responsible, community-driven development of the corridor.

In 2012, St. Claude Main Street received a prestigious grant from ArtPlace, a national foundation that funds creative placemaking projects across the United States — a significant recognition of the corridor's cultural vitality and the organization's innovative approach to neighborhood revitalization.

What Main Street Programs Do Across the Country

St. Claude Main Street is part of a powerful national movement. Main Street America leads local efforts across the country to strengthen communities through place-based economic development. The network spans hundreds of communities in all 50 states, helping towns and urban neighborhoods revitalize their historic commercial districts through a proven, four-point approach: economic vitality, design, promotion, and organization.

Main Street programs are the economic engine, the big stage, and the core of the communities they serve. They celebrate community character, preserve historic architecture, attract new businesses, and generate impressive economic returns — all while keeping local identity and culture at the center of development.

Louisiana Main Street: A Statewide Network Since 1984

In Louisiana, the Main Street movement has been transforming downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts since 1984. Louisiana Main Street leads a powerful, grassroots network of designated communities across the state, helping cities and towns see that a prosperous, sustainable community is only as healthy as its commercial core.

The Louisiana program operates on the belief that Main Streets are places of shared memory — where people still come together to live, work, and play. The program is grounded in the Main Street Approach, a strategy-driven framework that has guided community-based revitalization efforts for more than four decades, blending economic development with historic preservation.

Unanimous Recognition from the City Council

The City Council's unanimous proclamation reflects the broad, cross-community impact of the work Jonathan and his colleagues carried out along St. Claude Avenue. Under his leadership, the organization helped attract investment, preserve the corridor's cultural character, and build the kind of community infrastructure that supports long-term, equitable economic growth in one of New Orleans's most storied neighborhoods.

At The Rhodes Law Firm, community commitment is not separate from our legal practice — it is part of who we are. If you need legal assistance, contact us for a free initial consultation.