A surprising number of the brick storefronts around the Mountain View square are individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places — the Lackey General Merchandise and Warehouse, the Farmers and Merchants Bank, the C.L. Smith & Son General Store, the Stegall General Store, the A.B. Brewer Building, and the Commercial Hotel among them. They are mostly turn-of-the-century one- and two-storey brick, with the original cornices and storefront geometry intact.
Walk all four sides of the square and the half-block north on Peabody and south on Main. The whole circuit takes twenty minutes and is most rewarding in the late afternoon, when the light catches the brick and the pickers are starting to set up. Most of the buildings are now in some form of commercial use — antique shops, restaurants, music shops, and small offices — so doorways are easily peeked into.