Main Street Historic District

Park City's Main Street is one of the best-preserved Victorian mining town streetscapes in the American West. The buildings, mostly dating from the 1880s and 1890s, run uphill along a steep slope, their facades a mix of red brick, ornate cornices, and painted wood that has been carefully maintained rather than rebuilt. Today they house restaurants, galleries, boutiques, and the Egyptian Theatre — a 1926 movie house that serves as a main Sundance venue.

The street is manageable on foot in twenty minutes, though you will want longer to look at the architecture, browse the galleries, and stop for coffee. The gondola at the top connects to the Park City Mountain ski area; in winter, skiers ski directly down to the base of the street. At the bottom, the Park City Museum occupies the historic 1885 city jail and provides good context on the mining era.

In January during Sundance, Main Street is transformed into the festival's social hub — the restaurants are booked solid, celebrities are spotted at the coffee shops, and the air is thick with deal-making. The rest of the year it is pleasant and walkable without the crowds.

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A story
Park City's silver boom lasted from the 1870s until the early 20th century. At its peak the town had 10,000 residents, 30 saloons, and enough money sloshing around to build elaborate Victorian commercial buildings along Main Street. When silver prices collapsed, the population fled and the buildings sat empty — which is the reason they survived intact long enough to be restored when the ski industry arrived in the 1960s.