As shopping malls decline and the big-box era wanes, a new trend in retail development is emerging. The Manufactured Main Street (MMS) is a mixed-use outdoor shopping center that imitates the look of the traditional small-town main street, but retains the private commercial elements of the shopping mall. This study is an analysis of these sites, which are well-documented in real estate literature, but have not been thoroughly examined beyond this field. A more thorough analysis of these projects, considered through the critical perspective of the urban geography, defines these developments, and creates a typology of the different forms that MMSs in the U.S. take using case studies of projects in Ohio and content analysis of real estate literature. Research shows that MMS are created through three different processes: downtown addition, downtown creation and demalling. Case studies of MMSs indicate a progression from the traditional main street and shopping malls, highlighting the intersection between for-profit development and a nostalgia that permeates our built landscape. This critical reading of the landscape examines issues of privatization of public space and criticisms of resultant urban sprawl.