Smalltown help!!

[ratjag]

Hi all,
I would like to represent a "small town" on my midwest prarie layout of the late 50s. A bit of a problem having never been to the US. I don't know what they really look like ( other than films which seem to be in the wrong area). Should I have a mix of wooden & brick buildings in the main street or all wood or all brick????

Heeelllp !! Please? :thumb:

 

[LongIslandTom]

Check out Google Image.. Search for "Midwest Main Street" and you will get oodles of photos.

Good luck!

 

[jim currie]

unless a twister,fire or other disaster hit a town most downtown's of small town's anywhere have not changed much from the 50's or 60's lived in one small colorado town that the newest building in the downtown was built in the 1920's. we lived there in the late 90's all the buildings were brick or stone.

 

[Gil Finn]

No, all brick, drug stores and woolworth's. Mabe a barber shop, a firsestone store, city office buildings and a gas station. A post office. Wood structues on the end of town.

Check out ebay for exaples.

 

[Gil Finn]

Also a fed store and a lumber yard, farmers supply and a small grain elevator.

Car dealer ship to.

 

[Herc Driver]

I've seen some towns that used large slabs of slate for sidewalks instead of concrete used everywhere today. Also, almost every town had a small drug store that had an ice cream/soda fountain. Some even had a small (but imposing looking) bank. Probably few stop lights too. Almost all houses I can remember seeing around the country had detatched garages. There might be one doctor, one dentist, and a small grocery store.

 

[MilesWestern]

...and don't forget the train shop! Oh, and a hadware store too.

 

[ratjag]

:thumb: Guys thanks for all the great info, I've no excuses for getting it wrong now!! It is just what I wanted. Long Island Tom, That website had some sideways links where I found some pics & and info on towns I had intended to put on my previous unfinished & dismantled garage layout !. You guys are great & the modelling skills I've seen in other threads is amazing. Am I glad I joined this forum-- Fantastic.bounce7

 

[shortliner]

Ratjag - another suggestion from farther north than you - try http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/active.asp you'll probably need to join - then do a search in "craftsmans corner" for "Town buildings" There are six pages to hunt through for what you want
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands

 

[shortliner]

Ratjag - this may also be useful
http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9544
Shortliner(Jack)away up here in the Highlands

 

[60103]

ratjag: one feature that happened in the 50s and 60s (at least in Canada) was the replacement of the traditional bank building by a hideous "modern" structure. Our town has a main intersection with 4 modern bank buildings.
One other feature is that a street of houses would probably not have 2 the same -- they would be put up at intervals, not by the dozen.

 

[ratjag]

Shortliner & 60103. Thanks for that additional info fellas :thumb: ,that link looked very interesting shortliner. I'll be getting clipped round the ear soon for spending too much time on the computer.announce1 :cry: . Trouble is -there is SO MUCH interesting stuff to read!!:thumb:
See ya guys
dennis

 

[60103]

I grew up in a small town in eastern Ontario (pop. 5200) in the 50s and the specifics probably won't match the mid-west.
On our street we had everything from stone built (our apartment building) to brick to wood to "insulbrick" which was an asphalt siding printed to look like bricks. While most of the houses were one-offs, there was a section of town with identical semi-detacheds that had been "company houses" for one of the factories. We also had a tract of houses that were war-time identicals - sort of 2-up 2-down detached.
Row housing was rare. Buildings with no space between them were mostly along the main (high) street.