The Main Street-Frye Street Historic District is a residential neighborhood of 47 contributing and five non-contributing, 19th and 20th century buildings. The district includes both sides of the one block Frye Street, a contiguous stretch along Main Street at the west end of Frye Street, and a contiguous stretch along College Street at the east end of Frye Street. The Historic District lies just north of the Lewiston business district and adjoins the Bates College campus. The buildings in the district were erected between 1843 and 1956, and represent most of the distinctive styles of American domestic architecture which flourished during this period: Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Stick style, Shingle Style and Queen Anne in the 19th century; and (English) Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival and Contemporary in the 20th century. The district is an architectural showplace in part because architects designed 22 of the 37 houses, including twelve designed by George M. Coombs of Lewiston. Resources in the district also illustrate the architectural and functional transition from carriage houses to garages after the turn of the century. While many of the residents of the district were prominent in the educational, cultural, economic, and civic history of Lewiston, three men from one family deserve special note: Col. John M. Frye, a Maine state senator from 1834-36; his son, William P. Fry, a thirty year U.S. Senator, and president pro-tempore from 1896 to 1911; and Wallace H. White, jr., the grandson of Senator Frye, and a U.S. Representative and Senator between 1917 and 1948. The Main Street - Frye Street Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association with these three politically influential members of the Fry family. It is also recognized under community planning and development for the manner in which this former farm land reflects the prosperity and growth that characterized Lewiston in the second half of the nineteenth century, as well as for the architectural significance of the buildings within the district.