AUGUSTA -- Augusta's downtown has a lot going for it -- plenty of places to park your car, go to work or just sit and watch the Kennebec River flow freely by.

The downtown is filled with historic buildings, most in relatively good shape.

And, just across the river, the historical treasure of Old Fort Western, the country's oldest wooden fort, awaits.

So why, at certain times of the day, and even more so at night, does the place seem nearly deserted?

A difference-maker in the downtowns of the other northern New England capitals of Concord, N.H., and Montpelier, Vt., is the very presence of the Capitol buildings in those downtowns.

The statehouses in Vermont and New Hampshire are located downtown, providing a captive audience of state workers, legislators and lobbyists who live, shop and dine in the hearts of those cities.

Relying on state government to bring life and vibrancy to Augusta's downtown doesn't appear to be an option here. Sure, there are some state offices downtown in the city of about 18,560 people and 55 square miles.

But the Maine Statehouse is about one mile away from Augusta's downtown -- uphill and across Western Avenue's cross-town traffic. Maine's Statehouse probably won't be moved downtown any time soon.

But Augusta's downtown, and the larger city itself, still can be revitalized, Mayor Roger Katz said.

"Would it be great if the Statehouse were in our downtown?" Katz asked. "Sure, it would. But that's not an insurmountable problem. I think this is a great community in which to live.

"I think we have so much more potential we have yet to realize. We're the state capital. We're the heart of the state's population. We're on the banks of a beautiful river. We have rich history and tradition.

"If we believe in ourselves and strive for excellence, there is a great future here."

Some of Augusta's staunchest supporters are merchants who have carved out niches for themselves downtown.

Stacy Gervais, owner of Stacy's Hallmark, a long-time downtown business in Augusta, believes the existing merchants would welcome new businesses and investment. She remains committed to the downtown.

"We've been here, doing what we do, every single day for 35 years," Gervais said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Nor is Patrick Quigg, owner of Riverfront Barbecue and Grille. He told councilors he was staying put, at a meeting where Katz unveiled plans to revitalize downtown.

When other members of his family wanted to sell the Augusta location of the family-owned Beale Street Barbecue, Quigg said he decided to strike out on his own, based on his conviction that Augusta's downtown is about to blossom and bring success to his eatery. So he took over the since-renamed restaurant.

"The best thing for my restaurant and Stacy's business, I think she'd say, is to have more businesses downtown," Quigg said. "I'm proud to be a business owner of the Riverfront Barbecue and Grille, and real estate, in New England's most beautiful city. That's how I've branded myself. It's about changing the way the next generation thinks. That's the future of Augusta. We have so many treasures in this city that we should exploit them."

Katz, in his inaugural address as mayor in 2007, said the city in which he grew up and went to school has a bright future -- if all its citizens find a way to pull together.

But Katz, who had never served in elective office until winning the mayor's seat, also said city officials must take stock and decide how best to move ahead.

Downtowns often provide a community's identity. They're also places to gather. And places to reconnect with history.

Augusta's downtown once thrived, serving as the place to socialize and shop in the city. Nearby mills provided a base of employment.

In 1837 the Kennebec Dam, first on the river, according to the Kennebec Historical Society's timeline of Augusta history, was completed. Shortly thereafter, some 10 sawmills were at work on the river.

In 1843, six sawmills were erected by the Kennebec Locks and Canals Co., formerly the Kennebec Dam Co., as were a large flour mill and a cotton mill, the forerunner of the Edwards Manufacturing Co.

Eventually, the mills closed. Manufacturing at Edwards Mill ended in 1981.

Retail development moved out of the downtown, bringing growth elsewhere.

The recent retail development at The Marketplace at Augusta and Augusta Crossing provides economic development and a variety of places to buy things. But they do not provide the sense of place that can be found in a nice downtown, some officials and residents say.

"People are yearning for a unique setting," said Augusta Develop-ment Director Michael Duguay. "You don't see people rushing out to malls and sitting in the green space to get that unique setting. People are looking for places to dine. Looking for unique opportunities."

Downtown Assets

To help boost confidence in the downtown and bring shoppers and investors there, Katz proposes the city, in a plan he hopes will gain private funding, take on several projects that would cost $500,000.

They range from installing decorative lighting on Memorial Bridge to give the city's skyline a dramatic new look to installing hardware that would provide free wireless Internet access throughout the downtown.

Other ideas are meant to make it easier for people to find the downtown and learn about Augusta and what it has to offer. Those ideas include proposals to install numerous signs throughout the city, directing visitors to the city's downtown and Kennebec River waterfront; create a low-frequency radio broadcast that people could tune into in Augusta to hear about events going on in the city; install a series of 30 informational signs that, together, would serve as a "museum in the streets" by providing historical and other information about spots around the city; and publish and distribute maps showing cultural, historical, recreational and other areas of the city.

"What is special about Augusta?" Katz asked. "For us in Augusta, that's an easy question. We are the state capital, but that's not it. We're a medical center, but that's not it. We're a retail center, but that's not it.

"I'd say it's that we're on the banks of one of the most beautiful rivers in the country. Augusta was built on the river. It's the river. And it's also our downtown. A downtown which has history and character in its buildings. This is our greatest asset, if we're to really meet our potential as a great place to live.

Old Fort, New Ideas

Residents, business owners and city officials in Montpelier say that small city has done well for itself by preserving its historic, walkable riverfront downtown.

History would also appear to be on Augusta's side in that regard. Many of its downtown buildings are historic and they've been well-maintained. The downtown infrastructure is in pretty good shape in Augusta.

Just across the river is Old Fort Western, a National Historic Landmark and America's oldest surviving wooden fort. It sits on a site, where, in the summer of 1754, workmen and troops from Massachusetts hacked out a 400-yard opening in a dense, old-growth forest as far north as they could sail their ships up the Kennebec River.

There they built a rudimentary fort that, with its sister fortification in Winslow, marked the farthest outpost of English colonial settlement to the north. That outpost eventually would become Maine's capital city.

The main house has been continuously occupied since 1754, said Jay Adams, curator of the fort. By the early 20th century, the building had been converted to an apartment building and it had deteriorated. The Gannett family funded a restoration in 1921-22 and it became a museum. The fortifications and buildings were restored to their present conditions in 1987-88.

Duguay, the economic-development director, said the city should take better advantage of the fort, even suggesting Augusta mimic the Old Port District of Portland with, instead, its own "Old Fort District."

"The fort is an asset we share with no other community in this country," Duguay said. "Other communities would kill to have something like that to identify their communities. People are yearning for a unique setting. To give people reasons to come back down to the downtown is critical here.

"It's hard to find these assets if (people) don't know they exist. When someone tries to find Water Street, downtown, it's very difficult."

That's why Katz's proposals for downtown include plans for new signs to be placed around the city, pointing the way to the downtown. In particular, Katz said, the city should have signs at The Marketplace at Augusta retail center, which is near, but not connected to, the downtown. The Marketplace draws numerous shoppers to Augusta every day but many never make it past The Marketplace; they never see the downtown.

"We want to tell the people coming into our community, visiting our malls, about our beautiful riverfront downtown," Katz said. "If we want them to come into the heart of our city, we've got to tell them that. Downtown and the riverfront are not easy to find."

Katz recently pitched his downtown plans to business leaders at a Kennebec Valley Chamber of Commerce meeting.

He hopes the business community will come forward with $250,000, the cost of putting decorative LED lights on Memorial Bridge. He hopes private contributions will pay for "more than half" of the lighting project cost.

Other bridges decorated with lights include the graceful Leonard P. Zakim Bridge in Boston.

"I'm really convinced lighting the infrastructure of Memorial Bridge can do what it's done for other cities around the world," Katz said. "That is, to change the ambiance of the community."

One project already being developed by the city's Historic Preserva-tion Commission before Katz revealed his downtown plans is the "museum in the streets." The plan is to install a series of signs describing historical places and events throughout the city. The commission has raised about $30,000 of the $40,000 needed for the historic-locator signs.

Take a Shot

As a state capital, Augusta, like Montpelier and Concord, sees burdens in being home to government and the non-profit organizations that tend to cluster around it. That's because neither government nor non-profits are required to pay property taxes.

In New Hampshire and Vermont, the states make payments to their capital cities in lieu of taxes, though the payments fall well short of what the property taxes would be on the state-owned property.

Maine does not make payments in lieu of taxes, although Katz noted the state has been a good partner with the city in other ways.

Katz said he'd like the city to explore ways to get some funding from state government and non-profits to help offset the cost of providing services to the state, to non-profits and to the people who come to the city to conduct state business. He suggested looking into charging for police and fire services, similar to the way the utilities district bills the state and non-profit organizations for water and sewer services.

He also suggested the city advocate for state legislation to return some of the sales-tax proceeds generated by a business to the municipality where the business is located.

"That would obviously benefit Augusta, with our huge retail presence," Katz said.

Katz said the recent creation of a new bold plan for the city, and a city council that is motivated and thinking strategically about the future, make this a key time for Augusta.

"For the first time in a while there is a real, particularly with the energy generated by the new comprehensive plan, there is a real optimism and willingness to look at new ways of doing things." he said. "It will be easy to lose that if we don't capitalize on these things, so I do think this is a really important time."

Keith Edwards -- 621-5647

kedwards@centralmaine.com