Main Street Historic District

Main Street Historic District is a historic district in Roslyn that extends along the main street between North Hempstead Turnpike and East Broadway, also incorporating Tower Street and sections of Glen Avenue. The area preserves a collection of about 50 buildings that form a cohesive streetscape.

The area developed during the 19th century and contains the oldest known structure dating to 1680. This long span shows how the place grew over two centuries into a settled district.

The area takes its name from the main commercial street and preserves the appearance of a 19th-century village center where homes and shops sit side by side. Visitors can walk the same streetscapes that residents and merchants used daily more than a century ago.

The district can be explored on foot along its organic street layout, which follows the natural terrain. Visitors should know that the area is protected, so any modifications to buildings need approval to maintain the historic character.

At the center of the district stands a Victorian clock tower with a working Seth Thomas timepiece from 1895, known as the Ellen E. Ward Memorial. A nearby park marks the site of a former paper mill that operated here starting in 1773, and today includes a replica of the original building.