Downtown Manhattan, 1931. Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Downtown is a term primarily used in North America to refer to a city's core, usually in a geographical, commercial, and community sense.

Etymology

Downtown Miami, unlike many U. Downtown Miami is the Central business district of South Florida, Miami-Dade County and Miami, Florida. S. cities, has a corresponding Midtown and Uptown

The term is thought to have been coined in New York City, where it was in use by the 1830s to refer to the original town at the southern tip of the island of Manhattan. Miami skyline 20080516png|thumb|center|800px|Partial view of the Midtown skyline with Downtown Miami to the left]] Midtown Miami is a neighborhood in the city of Miami For the part of New York City see Upper Eastside The Upper Eastside (alternatively spelled East Side and commonly referred to as the Northeast The neighborhood The City of New York For the game see 1830 (board game. Year 1830 ( MDCCCXXX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York ^[1] As the town of New York grew into a city, the only direction it could grow on the island was toward the north, proceeding upriver from the original settlement (the "up" and "down" terminology in turn came from the customary map design in which up was north and down was south). ^[1] Thus, anything north of the original town became known as "uptown", while the original town (which was also New York's only major center of business at the time) became known as "downtown" or "Lower Manhattan". Upper Manhattan denotes the more northerly region of the New York City Borough of Manhattan. Lower Manhattan (or downtown Manhattan) is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the ^[1] During the late 19th century, the term was gradually adopted by cities across the United States and Canada to refer to the historical core of the city (which was most often the same as the commercial heart of the city). ^[2] It was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. ^[3] By the early 1900s, downtown was clearly established as the proper term in American English for a city's central business district. Phonology North American English regional phonology In many ways compared to English English, North American English is conservative in its Phonology. ^[3]

Relative geographical use

The terms downtown and uptown can refer to cardinal directions, for example, in Manhattan, where downtown is also a relative geographical term. Anything south of where the speaker is currently standing, in most places, is said to be downtown. Anything north of the speaker is uptown. In the common New York phrase, "We're going to take the subway downtown," downtown refers to traveling in the geographic direction of south. The New York City Subway is a Rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency A person standing on 121st Street and walking ten blocks south could also be said to have walked ten blocks downtown. The term uptown is used to refer to the cardinal direction north.

Such concepts derive from Manhattan's elongated shape, running roughly north/south and nowhere more than two miles (3300 meters) wide. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York As such, most of the train service and major thoroughfares on the island travel in the uptown/downtown directions. The other boroughs are wider, and "downtown" there refers to Lower Manhattan, Downtown Brooklyn, or some more local business district. In New York City, a borough is a unique form of government which administers the five fundamental constituent parts that make up the consolidated city Lower Manhattan (or downtown Manhattan) is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower by DSJPG|thumb|The Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower is a prominent symbol of Downtown Mercantile efforts to promote the South Bronx as "Downtown Bronx" have met little success. The South Bronx is a region of the New York City Borough of The Bronx.

Manhattan exceptions to the equation of "downtown" with "south" include Cherry Street and nearby parts of the Lower East Side, where downtown is westward towards City Hall, while south on Montgomery Street is not called downtown since it runs into the East River. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York Cherry Street, in the New York City borough of Manhattan, was originally established in colonial times to run from the intersection of Pearl Street The Lower East Side is a Neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. A city hall or town hall is the chief administrative building of a City or Town 's administration and usually houses the city or Montgomery Street is a north-south thoroughfare in San Francisco California, in the United States. The East River is a tidal Strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end

Downtown Los Angeles, like most North American downtowns, has no corresponding uptown. Downtown Los Angeles is the Central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center

In New Orleans, "downtown" is a synonym for "downriver" and "uptown" a synonym for "upriver". New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana The New Orleans central business district is referred to as "the CBD" rather than as "downtown". ^[4]

In most other North American cities, "downtown" is the formal name of the neighborhood in which the city's central business district is located. Someone or something within the boundaries of that neighborhood is said to be "in downtown" rather than "downtown".

See also

• Central business district
• Concentric ring model
• Downtown (song)
• Inner city

References