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It was a big night for the state of Wisconsin’s Main Street Program and similarly it was a big night for Viroqua.

The city of Viroqua, one of the smallest cities in the state’s Main Street Program, was noted as having the state’s top historic restoration project, the Temple Theatre, at the Wisconsin Main Street 20th Anniversary Celebration, held at the Monona Terrace Convention Center in Madison last Thursday.

The Temple Theatre was judged to be the best historic restoration project in the 20-year history of the Main Street Program.

“That was quite an honor,” Ingrid Mahan, Viroqua Partners executive director, said. “The people of Viroqua can be very proud of the theater.”

While many people helped make the Temple Theatre project come together, Viroqua’s Fred Nelson was one of its key champions.

Nelson’s efforts to help create the Viroqua Partners and also to revive the Temple Theatre led him to be one of the first inductees into the Wisconsin Main Street Program’s Hall of Fame. He did not know about the honor until he was called to the stage at the convention center, Thursday night.

“To know that I’m one of six people chosen to be in the Hall of Fame is overwhelming for me,” Nelson said.

The Viroqua Partners did very well in the 2007 Main Street Awards, which were also announced at the event.

The Viroqua Writer’s Workshop was deemed the state’s Best Downtown Image Campaign/Event

The Viroqua Partners, working with Platteville and Prairie du Chien were deemed to have the Best Business Development Program/Project with their CBED Grant Collaboration.

Vernon Memorial Healthcare’s Medical Office Building was named the Best New Building Project.

Viroqua Partner volunteer Debbie Abt received a 2007 Volunteer of the Year award from the state Main Street Program.

Viroqua’s Trudy Wallin was named to the State Main Street Program’s 2007 Honorary Board of Directors

Meanwhile, Mahan received an Executive Director Years of Service Award for her 14 years of service to the Viroqua Partners.

The event, while held in Madison, had a distinctly local flavor, as the evening’s emcee was none other that the Rev. Dr. Steven Fossum of Viroqua.