Downtown Belleville shows the signs of a central business district that never hit the skids; it is well-occupied, and with numerous slip-covers from the 1950’s and 60’s, it shows that owners updated their buildings frequently over the years.

The Lincoln Theater is a standout; its architecture an interesting mix of Beaux-Arts with other eclectic details.

The one problem is the noose of one-way streets that circles the downtown; while Main Street has nice, “urbanist” parking and curb bump-outs, the two parallel, one-way streets on either side are race-tracks for commuters.  One would think there might be more business downtown if pedestrians did not have to play “Frogger” to get there.