In the heart of Idaho's Wood River Valley, the town of Ketchum has long embodied a rare balance between rugged authenticity and refined sophistication. Once a 19th-century mining town and later the birthplace of the American ski resort, Ketchum's Main Street has always been a conduit between its past and its promise.

After decades without significant updates, the city launched a comprehensive reconstruction of Main Street to elevate functionality and accessibility while honoring the town's distinctive sense of place. Led by landscape architecture firm GGLO in collaboration with the City of Ketchum and the Idaho Transportation Department, the project sought to make the downtown corridor both safer and more beautiful- "more intentional," as Mark Sindell, PLA, ASLA, LEED AP Legacy, Principal at GGLO describes it. "Like your garage over time, stuff just kind of collects," he says. "This was an opportunity to clean up a bit of a hodgepodge and create a more cohesive, intentional streetscape that felt true to Ketchum."

From the beginning, the team understood that authenticity was essential. Residents made clear that they wanted Main Street to feel familiar and approachable—not overly urban or polished, but sophisticated and distinctly local. “People said, 'we’re not Seattle or Portland, and we don’t want to be Park City or Aspen,'” Sindell recalls. “Nostalgia was really important, but it also needed to feel fresh and forward-looking.” That balance came to life most clearly in the Northport area light from Landscape Forms. With its modern interpretation of a historic gaslamp form and updated performance for full Dark Sky compliance, Northport lighting became the defining visual element of the redesigned corridor. 

Customization played a vital role in achieving that harmony. Working closely with Landscape Forms, GGLO adapted the Northport fixtures to accommodate banners, hanging flower baskets and concealed irrigation lines-details that elegantly offer additional functionality while reaffirming a warm sense of place. "We were able to get the irrigation coordinated to run up through the post so there's not an unsightly black tube strapped on," says Sindell. "That level of quality and integration mattered to everyone here."

The partnership extended well beyond product specification. Sindell, who has collaborated with Landscape Forms for more than two decades, emphasized the importance of that relationship and the company's willingness to engage deeply throughout design and fabrication. "Given what was on the line, I didn't want to take risks," he explains.

That trust proved essential amid the project's challenges, due mainly to Ketchum's location and short mountain construction season. "Things sometimes were hard to get, and we had to span two construction seasons, but we got there," Sindell says. "In the end, everyone was happy with the outcome because it really felt like Ketchum."

The town’s alpine climate demanded an equally thoughtful approach to durability and maintenance. Generation 50 benches, Generation 50 Litters, MultipliCITY bike racks and Sorella planters were installed with customized removable bases, allowing the city to detach and store them each winter to protect against snowplows and heavy freeze cycles. “We developed a custom base detail with metal sleeves so everything can be unbolted and pulled out before the snow comes,” Sindell explains. “Then they reinstall them each spring—it’s simple, but it saves the furnishings and keeps Main Street looking great year after year.” The Sorella planters were further customized with flexibility in mind, equipped with quick-coupler irrigation connections for easy seasonal maintenance. The Northport area lights also adapt throughout the seasons—supporting hanging flower baskets in summer, festive garlands and snowflakes in winter and banners for community events year-round.

Today, Ketchum's Main Street feels both renewed and rooted-an expression of the town's enduring character. Landscape Forms site furnishings and lighting establish a unified rhythm along the corridor, blending wood, metal and warm illumination in ways that resonate with the mountain town's architecture and culture. "The community is proud of it," says Sindell. "It's forward-looking without feeling foreign-nostalgic, but not stuck in the past. It raises the game perfectly."

Through thoughtful design, skilled customization and genuine collaboration, Ketchum’s Main Street now reflects a community confident in both where it’s been and where it’s going—guided by design that honors its past while revealing its future.