Honors & Awards

Great American Main Street City Award

In 2003, Rome was recognized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as a Great American Main Street City. At the time, Rome was one of only two cities in Georgia to receive this award and one of only 45 in the USA. The award is given to a community for their dramatic efforts to rebuild the pride, spirit, and economic prosperity of their traditional commercial districts. For more information, please visit Great American Main Street City Award.

Preserve America

In 2004, Rome was designated by the Department of Interior as a Preserve America Community. Rome was one of only four recognized in Georgia. These communities are designated as communities that protect and celebrate their heritage, use their historic assets for economic development and community revitalization, and encourage people to experience and appreciate local historic resources through education and heritage tourism programs according to Preserve America Communities.

Georgia Main Street City

In 1981, Rome was designated as a Georgia Main Street City by the Department of Community Affairs. This program assists Georgia cities and communities in the development of their core commercial areas. These cities are also expected to work within the National Main Street Center's Four-point approach: Organization, Design, Economic Restructuring, and Promotion. For more information, please visit Georgia Main Street City.

Tree City USA

The National Arbor Foundation has been recognizing Rome in its Tree City USA program since 1990. Tree City USA provides direction, technical assistance, public attention, and national recognition for forestry programs in cities and communities across the USA. Tree City USA cooperates with USDA Forest Service and National Association of State Foresters and is sponsored by The National Arbor Day Foundation. For more information about the program, please visit Tree City USA.

America's Top 100 Places to Live

In 2007, Rome was designated as a top 100 place to live by both Forbes Magazine and Relocate America.

Selected for Georgia's Exceptional Main Streets Program (GEMS)

In 2014, The Georgia Department of Community Affairs announced that Rome, a Georgia Main Street City, will progress to Georgia's Exceptional Main Streets Program. This program provides advanced technical assistance to communities that have been proven leaders in their field of downtown development.