Main Street (original name: ) is the main arterial

street A street is a public thoroughfare in a city, town or village, typically lined with Building, buildings on one or both sides. Streets often include pavements (sidewalks), pedestrian crossings, and sometimes amenities like Street light, streetligh ...

in the

British overseas territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Gibraltar Gibraltar ( , ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory and British overseas cities, city located at the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, on the Bay of Gibraltar, near the exit of the Mediterranean Sea into the A ...

History

Main Street's route was established in the 14th century which was confirmed when the ''Puerta de África'' (now called the Southport Gates) were built in 1575, during the Spanish period. Nearly every building on Main Street was damaged during the

Great Siege of Gibraltar The Great Siege of Gibraltar was an unsuccessful attempt by Enlightenment in Spain, Spain and Kingdom of France, France to capture Gibraltar from the Kingdom of Great Britain, British during the American Revolutionary War. It was the largest ba ...

when from 1779 to 1783 the town was attacked by a combined French and Spanish fleet. Because Main Street was near the harbour, it was easily bombarded by the ships in the harbour. Col. John Drinkwater wrote: The street's route has only had minor adjustments when the front of the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned was re-modeled and downsized in 1801 in order to straighten the street on the orders of the British

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Charles O'Hara General Charles O'Hara (1740 – 25 February 1802) was a British Army officer who served in the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary War and later served as governor of Gibraltar. He served with d ...

. A branch of

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks & Sparks or simply Marks) is a major British multinational retailer based in London, England, that specialises in selling clothing, beauty products, home produc ...

was established in Gibraltar on the street in 1968.

Description

Main Street is Gibraltar's main commercial and

shopping district A shopping street or shopping district is a designated road or quarter of a municipality that is composed of retail establishments (such as stores, boutiques, restaurants, and shopping complexes). Such areas may be pedestrian-oriented, with ...

. It runs north–south through the old town which is

pedestrianised Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or ...

and lined with buildings displaying a blend of Genoese, Portuguese, Andalusian,

Moorish The term Moor is an exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct or self-defi ...

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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styles, most of which have shops on the ground floor. Upper floors provide residential accommodation or offices.

Tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...

s and visitors will find a wide variety of shops, many of which will be familiar from British high streets. '' Irish Town'' is a street name and one of Main Street's sub-districts and was named in the early 19th century when Gibraltar was split into differing quarters. Gibraltar's city centre is largely protected by the ''

Gibraltar Heritage Trust The Gibraltar Heritage Trust is a non-profit charity established by statute on 1 May 1989 to preserve and promote the cultural natural heritage of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. Funding and responsibilities The Trust collaborates w ...

'' and is part of a continual restoration programme.

Grand Casemates Square

Grand Casemates Square Grand Casemates Square (colloquially Casemates Square or Casemates) is the larger of the two main town square, squares within the city centre of Gibraltar (the other being John Mackintosh Square). The square takes its name from the British-built ...

at the northern end of Main Street, once the centre of

public execution A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...

s, is the hub of Gibraltar's

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

, and is filled with numerous restaurants,

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

s and bars.

Notable buildings on Main Street

* Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned *

Cathedral of the Holy Trinity Holy Trinity Cathedral, Cathedral of the Holy Trinity or Trinity Cathedral may refer to: Africa * Holy Trinity Cathedral (Addis Ababa), Ethiopia * Holy Trinity Cathedral (Accra), Ghana Americas Canada *Holy Trinity Cathedral (New Westminster), Br ...

* Gibraltar Governor's Residence, The Convent * Gibraltar Law Courts *

Gibraltar Parliament The Gibraltar Parliament is the legislature of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Between 1969 and 2006, it was called the Gibraltar House of Assembly. Functions The House of Assembly, set up under the 1969 constitution, was a unic ...

* Ince's Hall Theatre * John Mackintosh Hall *

King's Chapel King's Chapel is an American independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in ...

Royal Gibraltar Post Office The Royal Gibraltar Post Office is the postal services in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. It is currently a department within the Government of Gibraltar. History The Gibraltar Post Office has been running for over 150 years, as ...

at No. 104

References

{{Commons category, Main Street, Gibraltar Streets in Gibraltar Archaeological sites in Gibraltar