American cultural usage Main Street

a traditional main street; bastrop, texas, featuring small shops , old-fashioned architecture typical of rural towns

in general sense, term main street refers place of traditional values. social realists 1870 1930 used name symbol of stifling conformity. sherwood anderson, example, wrote winesburg, ohio: group of tales of ohio small town life in 1919. best-selling 1920 novel main street critique of small town life, american writer sinclair lewis. locale gopher prairie, presented ideal type of midwestern town, , heroine, carol kennicott, more urbane, ideal-typical progressive.

in north american media of later decades, main street represents interests of everyday people , small business owners, in contrast wall street (in united states) or bay street (in canada), symbolizing interests of large national corporations. thus, in 1949 movie adaptation of on town, song when walk down main street me refers small-town values , social life. main street republicans, example, see supporting values against urbane or wall street tendencies.

main street part of iconography of american life. example, army , air force exchange service, outfit operates px , bx stores on military bases, chose name main street usa food courts.

main street popular term during economic crises in 2008 , 2009: proposed bailout of u.s. financial system, 2008 presidential campaign, , debates. 1 reviewed book bailout: inside account of how washington abandoned main street while rescuing wall street (2012) neil barofsky.

in small towns across united states, main street not major road running through town site of street life, place townspeople hang out , watch annual parades go by. slang term popularized in 20th century, main drag , used refer town s main street.

walt disney

two walt disney company theme parks, disneyland in anaheim, california, , magic kingdom in walt disney world resort near orlando, florida, both have main street, u.s.a. sections @ front. these areas, designed main street of small town, house gift shops, restaurants , various services, along park offices on second floors. while architecture of these streets appears turn-of-the-20th-century, in fact these decorative false-fronts on industrial-style buildings. main street, u.s.a. present @ disneyland paris , hong kong disneyland. @ tokyo disneyland area named world bazaar, has same main street, albeit housed under decorative glass roof protection japan s unpredictable weather.

disney s design copied visual elements of small-town america seen in films frank capra , others, in deliberate attempt capture iconic symbolism of small-town america. disney wanted embed values , memories associated life in small towns entertainment experience tourists.

preservation , main street

main street inc. name of community revitalization program begun national trust historic preservation in late 1970s. core of main street philosophy preservation of historic built environment engaging in historic preservation. main street focuses on holistic approach revitalization based on 4-point approach of design, promotion, economic restructuring, , organization. targeted @ small, traditional downtowns, program has expanded include towns of various sizes, including neighborhood districts in several large urban centers.

in many communities, merchants association or business improvement district serves promotional role on behalf of merchants of downtown main street. individual city governments may engage in revitalisation or historic preservation efforts support downtown core, either make community appear more attractive tourism or stem flow of commerce out of city suburbs shopping malls , cookie-cutter big box stores.

in united states federal funds allocated restoration of historic properties on former u.s. route 66, main street of many roadside towns; funding administered national park service.