Lesson 20 - Main Street

Many towns in the United States have a main street. The street might be called Main Street, First Avenue, or Center Street. No matter what name the street has, it's probably where the town first began.

Why did towns start with Main Street as the center? Perhaps the street was near the railroad tracks. Maybe it was near the river.

Over the years the street may have changed. One store was built, and other soon followed. Then, as people moved to the area, houses were built. A church and a school followed. Then a barbershop, a restaurant, and even a bank might have been added to Main Street.

The first Main Street was different from Main Street today. The dirt street was busy with horse-drawn wagons and trolley cars. Gas lamps lit the fronts of buildings.

Then the town really began to grow. Many businesses moved into the area. More houses were built, and streets were added.

Time passed and the town continued to change. Cars and trucks replaced horses and carriages. Stores and shopping centers grew on the edges of town.

Then the mall was born. People began to shop at the mall rather than in the stores on Main Street.

What happened to Main Street? Because people were not shopping there, many stores went out of business. New businesses did not replace the old ones. Main Street was becoming empty.

In some towns, though, Main Street is coming back.

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