This area's charming, tree-shaded streets, lined with architecture ranging from Colonial to Italianate, represents one of the most beautifully preserved historic districts in the nation. High on the hill sits Thayer Street-the shopping center of the university community-which brims with bookstores, coffee houses, shops and restaurants. Former warehouses below the hill on South Main Street have been converted into boutiques and restaurants, adding to the aura of the past that pervades this section of the city. This district is home to Brown University.