"Main Street" Sauk Centre by zrim

Sauk Centre Travel Guide: 7 reviews and 10 photos

I wonder if anyone ever reads Sinclair Lewis anymore. The nobel laureate and auther of classics such as Elmer Gantry, Babbitt, Cass Timberlane and of course, Main Street, was born and raised in Sauk Centre. The town was thinly disguised and renamed Gopher Prairie in his classic 1920 novel, Main Street. He drew the ire of the uppercrust of Sauk Centre because they thought that he was ridiculing their provincialism. 21st Century Sauk Centre has embraced Sinclair Lewis (why? there isn't a heck of a lot else going on in this stretch of the prairie).

Last visit to Sauk Centre: Jun 2003
Intro Written Jul 23, 2003
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Reviews (7)

how it looks on a summer afternoon - Sauk Centre

Main Street Circa 2003 Things to Do (6)

I am sure that Main Street looks vastly different than 1920 Sauk Centre, but it doesn't look as though it has changed... more travel advice

One-room schoolhouse Things to Do (6)

In my day we walked ten miles to school and it was uphill both ways, not to mention the blizzards that started October... more travel advice

The Main Street Cinema Things to Do (6)

A downtown theater that still shows movies! This is becoming a rarity in the U.S. I suspect every town of at least a few... more travel advice

Psycho? Warnings and Dangers (1)

Go ahead and stay at the Gopher Prairie Motel if you wish. But it is just a bit on the creepy side for me (and by that I... more travel advice

Comments (7)

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pipsqueak May 11, 2004 at 11:29 AM

One of my friends recently stayed at The Palmer House Hotel in Sauk Centre. It is supposed to be haunted, especially room #11. Check it out if you go back.
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mrclay2000 Aug 11, 2003 at 1:14 PM

I read Elmer Gantry, Babbitt and Main Street. . .Arrowsmith is on the shelf but hasn't been perused.
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yooperprof Aug 10, 2003 at 5:57 AM

I read "Main Street" in high school - along with "The Jungle" and "Great Gatsby" - in a course called "The Great American Novel." Of course, this was shortly after the invention of the printing press.
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herzog63 Aug 7, 2003 at 6:08 PM

Gosh, If I thought Norman Bates even thought about staying there I'd be speeding by that hotel!!
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globetrott Aug 4, 2003 at 2:15 PM

I never heared of that book ... but that kind of town reminds a lot of the places I saw in movies sometimes
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kaloz Jul 29, 2003 at 9:19 PM

Main Street revisited. Just read the book last summer.
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craic Jul 26, 2003 at 9:46 AM

That's a great pic of the Main Street. I have read MS. Many years ago. I remember liking it very much. But I had forgotten SL had won the obel prize.