Main Street in Los Altos, California. Los Altos (lɑːˈsæltoʊs is a city at the southern end of the San Francisco Peninsula, in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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. A street name or odonym is an identifying name given to a Street. A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet, but smaller than a Town or City. A town is a type of settlement ranging from a few to several thousand (occasionally hundreds of thousands inhabitants although it may be applied loosely even to huge metropolitan A city is an Urban area with a large Population and a particular Administrative, Legal, or Historical status It is usually a focal point for shops and retailers in the central business district, and is most often used in reference to retailing. A central business district ( CBD) is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city

Main Street is commonly used in the United States, Canada, Ireland, some parts of Scotland and also in some countries in central Europe (e. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. g. Slovakia and the Czech Republic). Slovakia (long form Slovak Republic; Slovak:, long form, is a Landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million The Czech Republic ( ˈt͡ʃɛskaː ˈrɛpuˌblɪka short form in Česko ˈt͡ʃɛskɔ also called Czechia, High Street is the common term in the United Kingdom. High Street, or the High Street, is a Metonym for the generic name (and frequently the official name of the primary Business street The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located In Jamaica as well as North East England and some sections of Canada, the usual term is Front Street. Jamaica (ˈdʒəˈmeɪkə} is an Island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length and as much as in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. 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". French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk

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.

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. Wall Street is a street in lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. Bay Street is a street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's financial district and is often used by Corporate capitalism is a term used in social science and economics to describe a capitalist marketplace characterized by Hierarchical, Bureaucratic organizations 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. Main Street Republicans is a term used to describe a philosophy in the Republican Party of the United States.

"Main Street" is part of the iconography of American life. Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Examples include:

A traditional Main Street; Bastrop, Texas, featuring the small shops and old-fashioned architecture typical of rural towns. Bastrop is a city and the County seat of Bastrop County, Texas, United States, located about thirty miles southeast of Austin it is

• 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 Army & Air Force Exchange Service (or AAFES) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense. A food court is a plaza that is contiguous with the counters of multiple food vendors and provides a common area for self-serve dining
• The novel Main Street, a critique of small town life, was penned by the American writer Sinclair Lewis. Main Street is a satirical Novel written by Sinclair Lewis, and published in 1920 Sinclair Lewis ( February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American Novelist, Short-story writer and
• 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. Theme park is the generic term for a collection of rides and other Entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a large group This article is about the Theme park at Walt Disney World Resort. Walt Disney World Resort is the most visited and largest recreational resort in the world containing four Theme parks two Water parks twenty-three themed hotels Orlando is a major City in central Florida, USA and is the County seat of Orange County Florida. Main Street USA is the first "themed land" inside the entrance of the many Magic Kingdom -style parks run by The Walt Disney Company around the 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. Disneyland Resort Paris' is a Holiday and Recreation Resort in Marne-la-Vallée, a New town in the eastern suburbs of Paris Hong Kong Disneyland ( is the first Theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks 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. is a 115 acre (466535 m² Theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, near Tokyo.

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. A street is a Public thoroughfare in the built environment It is a Public parcel of land adjoining Buildings in an urban context

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. Historic preservation or heritage conservation is a professional endeavor that seeks to preserve the ability of older (e 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.

International equivalents

The main street in the Peruvian town of Máncora, which happens to be the Pan-American Highway. Peru (Perú Piruw Piruw officially the Republic of Peru ( reˈpuβlika del peˈɾu is a country in western South America. Máncora is a town and Beach resort in the Piura Region, in northwestern Peru. The Pan-American Highway (see below for its name in other Western European languages is a network of Roads nearly 48000 kilometres (29800 miles in

• 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). England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland High Street is often the name of a fairly busy street with small shops on either side, often in towns and villages. High Street, or the High Street, is a Metonym for the generic name (and frequently the official name of the primary Business street
• In Sweden, almost all towns and cities have their own main street, a street called "Storgatan" (literally, "The big street"). "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. They are typically surrounded by stores and restaurants, and in most cases open for pedestrians only, where no vehicles are allowed. A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot whether Walking or Running.

• Many Canadian cities and towns also have Main Streets, such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Markham. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Vancouver (vænˈkuːvɚ is a coastal Toronto (təˈrɒntoʊ colloquially pronounced or) is the largest city in Canada and is the provincial capital of Ontario Markham ( pronounced /ˈmɑrkəm/ 2006 population 261573 is a town located in the Regional Municipality of 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. East Toronto Ontario was an incorporated community in what is today a part of the city of Toronto, Canada. 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. For the Ottawa road see St Laurent Boulevard. For the Gatineau road called "Boulevard Saint-Laurent" see Boulevard des Allumettières Saint Lawrence Montreal, or Montréal in French ( pronounced in French, in English) is the largest city in the Canadian province of Quebec "

See also

• Disneyland
• Electric Avenue
• Side street
• Shopping mall
• Strip mall
• Will it play in Peoria?