I’ve spent a semester with Gainesville’s Main Street constantly in the back of my mind. I’ve felt as if story ideas have been with me nearly at all times. In the same way, I now drive through Gainesville’s tiny downtown and constantly wonder what people and stories are there and who in the community is connected to Main Street. I hope that curiosity stays around for a long time.
It’s just that type of curiosity that brought me back to where it all began: The Mapping Main Street Project.
As I mentioned in my very first post the project set out to document the Main Street’s of America. A team set out to document the state of Main Streets across the country and who exactly made up the population on a day-to-day basis.
The team then became involved with NPR and asked for listener submissions. That’s exactly how I heard about the project.
I went to the Web site a few days ago and stumbled upon a wealth of stories about Main Street U.S.A.
I found a story by a group of girls in their senior year of high school in Queens, NY who chronicled a slice of life on Main Street.
They did a Soundslides piece “Steam Buns ‘R’ Us” in conjunction with WNYC’s Radio Rookies.
What better place for Alexis Gordon, Hawa Lee and Melissa Best to start than to do a piece on what they eat nearly every day after school – steam buns. They stop by AA Plaza on Main Street to have steam buns in the afternoons once school is finished.
“It’s not just one type of ethnic food, it’s likeable by a lot of different cultures,” they said about the food.
And then they pointed out something that seems to be a common theme with Main Street U.S.A. “This kind of brings us back to Main Street Flushing where so many cultures coexist together.”
Now, I’ve never been to Flushing, Queens but because of the Main Street project I’ve learned a bit about the culture there and what life is like after the bell rings and a day in high school is finished.
Mapping Main Street on Vimeo
After taking a look at the project Web site I found that Mapping Main Street has 18 videos on Vimeo. There are videos running the gamut from “Searching for Main Street’s Flushing Pimp” to “Main Street Cinemas.”
Mary Pearson and Rob Barber of the band High Places wrote a song about Main Street in Los Angeles and the song and a video can be found on Vimeo.
Barber says, “L.A. Main Street is still mostly a viable and important center of the city. Like the spirit of California, it means different things for different people. For example, it contains the oldest part of town, as well as the home of L.A.’s underground music scene, the Smell.”
I’ve enjoyed the time I’ve spent with Gainesville’s Main Street at the forefront of my mind. Take a look around at the Mapping Main Street Project’s Web site and links. You are guaranteed a walk through the neighborhoods and cultures of the U.S.
