Downtown America: a history of the place and the people who made it

Introduction. Beyond decline: assessing the values of urban commercial life in the twentieth century

City beautiful or beautiful mess? The gendered origins of a civic ideal

Fixing an image of commercial dignity: postcards and the business of planning Main Street

"Mrs. Consumer," "Mrs. Brown America," and "Mr. Chain Store Man": economic woman and the laws of retail

Main Street's interior frontier: innovation amid Depression and War

"The Demolition of our outworn past": Suburban shoppers and the logic of urban renewal

The hollow prize? Black buyers, racial violence, and the riot renaissance

Animated by nostalgia: preservation and vacancy since the 1960s

Conclusion. "The lights are much brighter there".