Looking for ideas for a small downtown scene (4-5 buildings)

Maybe make a main street like this?

If you don't have a lot of room, then use what makes sense.  MTH makes a nice corner store (they make a left and a right).  The bank buildings for instance take up a lot of space, make sure you consider the foot print of some of what's available out there.  If you don't have a lot of room you can always run a single track with a bump-n-go trolley.  

How old is your son?  Maybe you two could work together as a team assembling and painting Downtown Deco buildings.  Very easy to assemble, easy to paint and terrific signs are enclosed in each kit.  John in Lansing, ILL

Four or five of our two story 820 series or three story 870 series Ameri-Towne commercial buildings should do the trick. They have a 6" by 6" footprint for both the two story and three story buildings, so they don't take up a lot of space.  Another way to go is to use the Ameri-Towne building fronts if you are pinched for space.

Hope this helps.

Ed Boyle

Let's not forget Department 56, either.  Lots of options there.

Don't forget to add stores that make sense.  What do your townsfolk want to shop for downtown?  Maybe groceries, a small cafe, hardware etc.  

What would do good?  Remember you are the Mayor.  Issue permits for outfits that will stay in business.  In my town, the bar and grocery store do well and we support a furniture store.  there is a Ford dealer on the edge of town.

 The fabric store closed, the snooty coffee shop never had a chance and is now a hobby shop.

Lemax makes 2-3 story LED-lighted building facades in a footprint of about 10"L x 4"D. We have 6 buildings already and they don't take up much space. The scale is similar (or even better than) the Dept 56 items, and our O-gauge figures (about 1:48, 1:50) fit in perfectly. Be aware that these are just a bit more expensive than other Lemax  and Dept 56 full-size offerings, but you have the choice of battery or plug with these. But they take up much less space.

OC Patrick posted:

Lemax makes 2-3 story LED-lighted building facades in a footprint of about 10"L x 4"D. We have 6 buildings already and they don't take up much space. The scale is similar (or even better than) the Dept 56 items, and our O-gauge figures (about 1:48, 1:50) fit in perfectly. Be aware that these are just a bit more expensive than other Lemax  and Dept 56 full-size offerings, but you have the choice of battery or plug with these. But they take up much less space.

I use 2 of these on one of my Christmas layouts...a real blessing for small spaces. They run on batteries or plug-in. This is the first time I saw the movie theater one. Very nice!

I am kind of leaning towards a mixture of the Railking and ameritowne structures.  Anyone have any pictures of a completed small downtown scene using these buildings?   This is what I am struggling to find in my searching.  What I am really trying to decide when I say,"what types" is things like, do I use a corner shop, grocery store, theatre, one story, two story, three story? I'm trying to decide how to put together something minimal in size that captures that mainstreet spirit of the 50's.  I was hoping maybe some of you had some pictures to give some inspiration.  When I search online all I can find is images of layouts much larger.  

C&O Allie posted:

Maybe make a main street like this?

This is close to what I was thinking.  Is this your layout?  If so what buildings are in this shot? 

Mlindberg posted:

C&O Allie posted:

Maybe make a main street like this?

This is close to what I was thinking.  Is this your layout?  If so what buildings are in this shot? 

Yup - this is my layout.  

In the pic above, the buildings from left to right are:  MTH, K-Line, Lionel, MTH, Lionel.  All had their bases removed and I made a new base for them using 1/8" hard board I painted gray and scribed every 2" to simulate sidewalks.  Here is another picture (sorry for the fingerprints):

In the back row, the buildings from left to right are:  Lionel, Ameri-Towne, Ameri-Towne, MTH, MTH:

Here is the whole city minus the station in my original picture (which is Lionel):

All buildings are lit using 12V power supplies, one for each row of buildings (4 in total) with the wires being under the plywood running up to terminals.  Here is the night effect with the sidewalk base and several buildings yet to be installed:

Here's 5 Ameritowne and 2 Lionel buildings I use on my layout:

This is a photo of my old layout.  The latest rendition has all the buildings in a straight line.  I've got them on a piece of 1/16" thick styrene about 9"-10" wide and 48" long (I bought a 4x8 sheet of styrene a few years back).  The citizens, hydrants, and phone booth are glued to the styrene.

Even got a couple of Homies near the Police Station!!!

Here's a couple of photos of my 1st O-scale layout, a 7x16 in 1/3 of my garage using the same buildings:

Here's a picture from the old layout for an idea.....

Here are a few pictures from the current layout for more ideas....

 If you are looking for pre-built  buildings.  Woodland Scenics offers a number of buildings that are great for a downtown area. Very well detailed with some light weathering. Each offering is somewhat unique. I prefer to build my own from kits. Even I couldn't resist a couple of them.

Woodland Scenics have a lot of buildings available.  A few photos of my current small downtown area....