Gateway Arts District Pumps Up Internet Efforts

The Gateway Arts District has launched a new blog to highlight news and social media coverage of life along Maryland's southern Route 1 corridor.

It's the latest in a series of steps taken by the Gateway Arts District and the Hyattsville Community Development Corporation to improve their footing in the digital realm. 

The new Route 1 news aggregator, dubbed the Gateway Arts District Reading Room, will collect posts from a variety of local media outlets in one location for convenient access. It's currently in a beta-launch right now, using a Wordpress domain, according to Justin Fair, economic development coordinator at Hyattsville CDC and the content manager for MyGatewayArts.org. But before long, the site will be incorporated under the MyGatewayArts.org domain.

"The purpose of the reading room is to provide a collection of all the news media that comes out of the arts district and about the arts district," said Fair in an interview. "It also helps us to tap into our social media presence, because it provides a place for all of our information to be centralized."

The Hyattsville CDC runs the Gateway Arts District on behalf of the district's management team. Since Fair was hired by the Hyattsville CDC earlier this spring, he has taken an increasing role in the shape of the organization's web presence. As content manager for MyGatewayArts.org, he played a key role in the

The Gateway Arts District is made up of the Route 1 and Rhode Island Avenue communities of Mount Rainier, Brentwood, North Brentwood and Hyattsville. It is one of  19 arts and entertainment districts in the state of Maryland. Artists and arts-related businesses within arts and entertainment districts are eligible for various tax credits and other incentives.

The Gateway Arts District stretches along Route 1 from the Mount Rainier border with Washington D.C. to Hyattsville's northern border with Riverdale Park. It is one of a number of creative arts districts instituted by the state legislature.