Main Street
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Main Street is the generic street name (and often the official name) of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world. It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in the central business district, and is most often used in reference to retailing.
Main Street is commonly used in the United States, Canada, Ireland, some parts of Scotland and also in some countries in central Europe (e.g. Slovakia and the Czech Republic). High Street is the common term in the United Kingdom. In Jamaica as well as North East England and some sections of Canada, the usual term is Front Street. In Cornwall (and also in some towns in Devon), the equivalent is Fore Street. In the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, the term would be "rue Principale".
In some larger cities, there may be several Main Streets, each relating to a specific neighborhood or formerly separate city, rather than the city as a whole.
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[edit] American cultural usage
In the general sense, the term "Main Street" refers to a place of traditional values.
In the North American media, "Main Street," or the interests of small businessmen, is sometimes contrasted with "Wall Street" (in the United States) or "Bay Street" (in Canada), symbolizing the interests of corporate capitalism. For example, in the middle 20th century the Republican Party was sometimes divided between "Wall Street" (socially liberal) and "Main Street" (socially conservative) factions, of which the latter came to predominate late in the century[citation needed].
"Main Street" is part of the iconography of American life. Examples include:
- In the United States, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the outfit that operates the PX and BX stores on military bases, chose the name "Main Street USA" for its food courts.
- The novel Main Street, a critique of small town life, was penned by the American writer Sinclair Lewis.
- Two Walt Disney Company theme parks, Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and the Magic Kingdom in the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, both have "Main Street, U.S.A." sections immediately at their front. These areas, which are designed to look like the main street of a small town, house gift shops, restaurants and various services, along with park offices on the second floors. While the architecture of these "streets" appears to be turn-of-the-century, in fact these are decorative false-fronts on industrial-style buildings. Main Street, U.S.A. is also present at Disneyland Paris and Hong Kong Disneyland. At Tokyo Disneyland the area is named "World Bazaar," but has the same look as Main Street, albeit housed under a decorative glass roof for protection from Japan's unpredictable weather.
In small towns across the United States, Main Street is not only the major road running through town but the site of all street life, a place where townspeople hang out and watch the annual parades go by.
[edit] Preservation and Main Street
Main Street is the name of a community revitalization program begun by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the late 1970s. The core of the Main Street philosophy is the preservation of the historic built environment by engaging in historic preservation. Main Street focuses on a holistic approach to revitalization based on the "4-point" approach of design, promotions, economic restructuring, and organization. Originally targeted at small, traditional downtowns, over the years the program expanded to include towns of various sizes and now even includes neighborhood districts of several large urban centers.
[edit] International equivalents
- In Hong Kong, "Main Street" can be translated in Chinese into "Ching Kai" (正街) or "Tai Kai" (大街). However the actual "正街", in Hong Kong, officially "Centre Street" is a branch road off Sheung Wan District.
- In England, the terms "Market Street" or "Market Place" are often used to designate the heart of a town or city, as is the more common High Street (certainly in newer urban developments, or towns or cities which were not original market towns). High Street is often the name of a fairly busy street with small shops on either side, often in towns and villages.
- In Sweden, almost all towns and cities have their own main street, a street called "Storgatan" (literally, "The big street"). They are typically surrounded by stores and restaurants, and in most cases open for pedestrians only, where no vehicles are allowed.
- Many Canadian cities and towns also have Main Streets, such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Markham. Toronto's Main Street, however, is a mostly residential avenue in the city's east end. (It was at one time the main street of the hamlet of East Toronto, which was annexed by the city of Toronto in 1908. It has kept its historic name, and evidence of its commercial origins can be seen in the stores at the corner of Main and Gerrard Streets.) Saint Lawrence Boulevard, which divides Montreal between east and west, is unofficially known as "the Main."
