Finding 'The Perfect American Street'

"While driving through a little town in the Berkshires, I glanced sideways for a moment and found myself looking at the perfect American street.

Railroad Street it was named, about 163 years ago, because near one end of it ran the tracks of the Housatonic Railroad, which arrived in the 1840s to connect the Berkshires to New Milford and Bridgeport. The tracks are still there, carrying an occasional freight train.

I pulled over for a closer inspection. What was it that made Railroad Street - a narrow passage lined by buildings more than a century old - so appealing? Partly it's the location at the center of Great Barrington, Mass. (pop. 7,527) - a town where a generous flow of tourist dollars keeps the restaurants flourishing, the clothing and jewelry stores profitable, the arts and crafts shops busy and the buildings well cared for."