Gallery of Mid-Michigan Main Streets, 1900s-1949

Main Street USA.
The backbone of any community, town, or city.

Usually, “Main Street” is the name of the main downtown road where the majority of shops, restaurants, and other businesses reside. But there are other main roads that cut through town with other names like “Elm”, “Washington”, “Maple” and on and on, but still referred to as that town’s “main street”.

Bigger cities can have a variety of “main streets”, one at each compass point of the city: north, south, east, and west…all with different names. And it could still have one named “Main Street” smack in the middle of it all.

The term ”main street” can evoke small-town charm or a bustling downtown. It’s become a generic term that can make one feel comfortable and at home. We shop on Main Street, hang out on Main Street, watch parades on Main Street, drag on Main Street, and meet the opposite sexes on Main Street.

Below is a gallery of some Mid-Michigan Main Streets as they appeared, going back over 100 years.