Lykens, Pennsylvania, USA

Defining Main Street: The Train Station. Rail lines were lifelines for most small towns, where train depots served passenger and freight interests. Proof of their iconic status: All those 20th-century Christmas tree yards that featured Lionel or Bachman choo-choos always had a snap-together rail depot to authenticate the townscape. [2022]

Durango, Colorado, USA

Defining Main Street: The Hotel. Lucky is the town with an historic hotel on Main Street. The rail lines, the regional economy (in this case mining), and local entrepreneurial ambition were usually the three factors that sustained such operations in the late 1800s. [2013]

Courtland, Kansas, USA

Defining Main Street: The Gas Station.  The "fillin' station" didn't hit Main Street until the 1920s. They were never in the heart of the business district but further down the road. Almost all are now gone, or in decay, victims of economies of scale. [2009]

Ennis, Montana, USA

Defining Main Street: The Bank. The frontier bank was immortalized by Louis L'Amour: "The bank was opposite the store, and the building next to the store was the express office. A man placed there could cover the door of the bank and the side door as well." All banks needed to be defended, the one in this quote appeared in his novel Son of a Wanted Man. [2003]

Ottawa, Kansas, USA

Defining Main Street: The Drug Store. Some of us just cannot get used to calling them pharmacies or (if you are in England) chemists. So few independent pharmacies are left on Main Street. The national chains seem to have taken over, and they are committed to the suburbs. [2021]

Spencer, Indiana, USA

Defining Main Street: The Barbershop. Every Main Street has (or had) a barbershop, but they don't all look alike. This one seems to have been custom-built in a vacant lot between brick buildings. Maybe you would like to stop for a haircut and meet one of the barbers who works here, in Spencer, Indiana. [2017]

Sauk Centre, Minnesota, USA

Defining Main Street: The History.  Sinclair Lewis did not sentimentalize Main Street in his novel by the same name. Today, we do. We glorify it. We have even shaped our country's newly-built "town centers" as Main Street mimics. Because of its importance, we will spend all month on Main Streets trying to appreciate both their diversity and their unity. [2012]