12 Main Streets Where The United States Comes Alive

We spent about a century trying to kill the American main street. We ran the highways around it, moved the shopping out to parking lots off the interstate, and let the good downtown buildings go dark. In a handful of towns, people never went along with it. The twelve below split into two kinds. Some, like Park City, Breckenridge, and Deadwood, kept their streets alive by giving people a reason to stay after dark, whether that is a ski lift, a casino, or a saloon. Others, like Carmel-by-the-Sea, Beaufort, and Annapolis, run their best blocks straight down to the water. What they share is a downtown you cover on foot, where folks still do the ordinary business of a town out in the open.

Nevada City, California

Walk uphill on Broad Street and Nevada City's Gold Rush past stays in view almost the entire way. Nineteenth-century brick storefronts stand beside wooden buildings with balconies and narrow upper windows. The Nevada Theatre has stood on the street since 1865 and still holds performances, and it is California's oldest theater building. Independent bookstores and galleries occupy several of the smaller commercial spaces nearby. Broad Street rises sharply through the Sierra foothills, so each block sits at a slightly different angle to the historic center. Restaurants and bars at the upper end stay busy after the shops close. During Summer Nights, the city closes downtown streets for live music and food vendors, and artists and local businesses set up outside, turning the old commercial district into a pedestrian festival for the evening.

Park City, Utah

A ski day in Park City can end with a walk straight into one of Utah's busiest small-town downtowns. Historic Main Street climbs through the former silver-mining district, with the Wasatch Mountains above its upper blocks. Restaurants fill restored commercial buildings, and cocktail bars occupy many of the spaces between them. The Egyptian Theatre schedules concerts and stage performances through the evening. Town Lift links the ski area with downtown, so mountain access sits unusually close to the street. In summer, restaurant patios open onto the sidewalk and art-event crowds return to the same blocks. The steep grade changes the view block by block: uphill are rows of colorful facades, and downhill is a long sightline across the lower town.

St. Augustine, Florida

On the busiest stretch of St. George Street, the city keeps out cars, leaving the old Spanish colonial core to pedestrians. Coquina walls and narrow building fronts make the street feel much older than the broad commercial avenues elsewhere in Florida. Visitors can step into small museums without leaving the main route. Taverns and dessert shops sit in neighboring buildings, so sightseeing breaks up easily for food. The Plaza de la Constitucion sits near the southern end of the street, and the Castillo de San Marcos is a short walk from the northern end. Matanzas Bay lies just beyond the fort, a waterfront stop on the same compact circuit. After dark, pub crowds and outdoor diners replace much of the daytime museum traffic.

Leavenworth, Washington

Front Street looks like a Bavarian village set down in the Cascades and ringed with hiking trails. Half-timbered facades stand along the central blocks, and carved signs and flower boxes carry the Alpine theme down to street level. German bakeries sell pretzels and pastries near restaurants serving sausages and schnitzel. Beer gardens get especially busy on festival weekends. Front Street Park sits directly beside the commercial district, and the town holds concerts and community events there. Large crowds pack the town for Oktoberfest each fall. Winter has its own rush, when thousands of lights cover the center through the holiday season. Outdoor shops stay useful year-round because trailheads and climbing areas sit close enough to make Leavenworth more than a themed shopping stop.

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California

Ocean Avenue ends at the Pacific, and that shapes nearly every visit to downtown Carmel. The road slopes toward Carmel Beach past low-rise buildings with tiled roofs and stone walls. Art galleries take up a large share of the commercial blocks, a reflection of the town's long history as an artists' community. Small luxury shops and jewelers fill many of the spaces between them. The most interesting shopping areas are not always visible from the avenue. Narrow passageways lead into landscaped courtyards where restaurants and boutiques sit behind the street frontage. Some buildings use timber framing and cottage-style details instead of conventional commercial facades. A few minutes farther west, the storefronts end at white sand and the cypress-lined shoreline of Carmel Beach.

Breckenridge, Colorado

Bright Victorian buildings stand along Breckenridge's Main Street, a band of color even when snow covers the surrounding mountains. Many date to the town's mining era, though their ground floors now hold ski shops and restaurants. Peaks stand above the rooftops at the southern end of town. The ski resort sits close enough that people head back to Main Street soon after the lifts close, and the bars fill quickly in late afternoon during winter. In summer, hikers and cyclists replace the ski crowd on their way to nearby trails. The Blue River runs close to the commercial district, a quieter walking route a block or two away. Several bridges cross between the downtown streets and the river path, so moving between the shops and the water takes no car.

Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Eureka Springs makes pedestrians work for every block. Spring Street bends around the Ozark hillside, and staircases cut between places that would take a much longer walk by road. Victorian hotels stand above stone retaining walls on the steeper sections. Galleries occupy small storefronts set into the curves and corners. Main Street carries much of the restaurant and bar traffic through the lower downtown. Spring Street holds more of the ornate architecture that made the town famous in the late nineteenth century. Buildings often sit at different heights on the same block because the terrain changes so quickly, and a doorway at street level on one side may face an upper story on the other. That uneven ground leaves downtown with a run of balconies, stairways, and unexpected viewpoints.

Annapolis, Maryland

From Church Circle, Main Street points almost directly toward the water. The road drops through Annapolis's historic commercial center until the buildings open onto City Dock. Brick storefronts run down the slope, and small shops fill many of the narrow ground-floor spaces. Pubs fill with Naval Academy visitors and locals, especially on busy weekends. Restaurants closer to the bottom of the hill sit in the path of the harbor traffic. Sailboats and tour vessels crowd the water around City Dock through the warmer months. The United States Naval Academy sits just beyond the downtown core, and a steady flow of midshipmen and visitors moves through the nearby streets. From near the top of Main Street, you can look downhill past the shops and see masts rising beyond the final blocks.

Fredericksburg, Texas

German settlers gave Fredericksburg a downtown unlike most others in Texas. Limestone commercial buildings stand along Main Street, and the broad road runs through the center of town past the Marktplatz, a large central square. The Vereins Kirche stands inside the square, a reconstruction of one of the settlement's earliest public buildings. German bakeries and restaurants remain a major part of the food scene. Wine-tasting rooms are now just as common, a sign of the rapid growth of vineyards across the surrounding Hill Country. The National Museum of the Pacific War sits close to Main Street and fills several buildings. During Oktoberfest and other heritage events, the Marktplatz becomes a center for music and food stalls, and much of the town's activity moves back to the middle of downtown.

Beaufort, South Carolina

Few downtown streets sit this close to a waterfront. Bay Street runs beside the Beaufort River, with Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park between parts of the commercial district and the water. Restaurants along the river use outdoor seating when the weather cooperates. Galleries and locally owned shops occupy many of the older storefronts farther inland. The surrounding historic district begins only a few blocks away, where large live oaks shade streets of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century houses. Spanish moss hangs from many of the trees, the look closely associated with the South Carolina Lowcountry. Waterfront Park has swings and benches facing the river, an easy place to stop between shops, and boats pass close enough to stay in view from much of the promenade.

Deadwood, South Dakota

Deadwood still trades heavily on the lawless reputation it earned during the Black Hills gold rush. Main Street holds brick buildings that now contain casinos, saloons, hotels, and restaurants. Jack McCall shot Wild Bill Hickok in town in 1876, and local museums still tell the story of his final days. Calamity Jane turns up throughout local exhibits and historical programming. Actors stage some reenactments directly on Main Street, including gunfights during the tourist season. The surrounding Black Hills rise sharply behind the downtown blocks, and their forested slopes leave the street in a more enclosed setting than most Western main streets. Many businesses stay open well into the night for the casino crowd. Visitors can also walk from the casino district to Mount Moriah Cemetery, where Hickok and Calamity Jane are buried.

Staunton, Virginia

On Beverley Street, the detail worth catching is above the shop signs. The upper stories keep decorative cornices and tall windows from Staunton's nineteenth-century commercial boom. Bookstores and cafes occupy several of the ground-floor spaces, and restaurants stay open along the street into the evening. The American Shakespeare Center's Blackfriars Playhouse stands nearby and stages performances in a recreation of Shakespeare's indoor theater. Staunton's hills add another visual layer to downtown. Church spires stand above the rooftops from several viewpoints, and some side streets climb sharply away from Beverley Street. In warmer months, the city closes sections of the street to vehicles for outdoor dining, tables spread into the roadway, and both the restaurants and the pedestrians get more room through the center.

Choosing The Right Main Street

For a winter trip, Park City and Breckenridge have ski slopes within easy reach of downtown restaurants. Leavenworth is busiest during Oktoberfest and its winter lighting season, so festival dates matter when planning a visit. In Annapolis and Beaufort, the walk from historic streets to the water is shortest. Carmel-by-the-Sea is the strongest choice for anyone who wants galleries followed by a walk on the beach. Deadwood stays active latest, given its casinos and saloons. Eureka Springs is especially rewarding on foot, since its staircases and steep streets lead to parts of downtown that drivers miss. Fredericksburg is worth timing around a heritage festival or a Hill Country wine weekend, and Nevada City's Summer Nights fills its historic streets with live music.