I think that defining the term related to the distance one is from the area is spot on. The examples that have been pointed out such as someone from the suburbs saying that they are going downtown might mean that they are going anywhere in the city, where someone living in Lincoln Park might have a more "micro" view of what downtown is. Another example that confirms this theory is that when traveling out of town, a person who lives in Naperville, for example, might say they are from Chicago when asked where they live.

If we are using loose boundaries, can I consider chocolate to be anything that is not vanilla?

hattyn wrote:If we are using loose boundaries, can I consider chocolate to be anything that is not vanilla?

I don't know. Have you actually tried chocolate?

hattyn wrote:If we are using loose boundaries, can I consider chocolate to be anything that is not vanilla?

Most recipes that I know of that contain chocolate also call for vanilla ... it's not a dichotomy there ...

Here in Evanston we have at least four shopping districts but only one is downtown.So,even if chocolate contains vanilla it still isn't vanilla.Of course I reserve the right to change my mind after my morning coffee!

hattyn wrote:Here in Evanston we have at least four shopping districts but only one is downtown.So,even if chocolate contains vanilla it still isn't vanilla.Of course I reserve the right to change my mind after my morning coffee!

So chocolate trumps vanilla? BTW, (totally off-topic) I'll be in one of those shopping districts Saturday to pick up Christmas presents at Belgian Chocolatier Piron on Main Street (so named because it was the main street in South Evanston, before "South Evanston" merged with "Evanston." - Same for Central Street - was the center of "North Evanston" before that community merged.)

Totally on topic,did I say chocolate trumps vanilla?

hattyn wrote:Totally on topic,did I say chocolate trumps vanilla?

I've gotta go dip the vanilla biscotti I made yesterday into chocolate ...

The lake and the two expressways provide nice, neat boundaries for the east, south and west. For the north, one might liberally say North Ave or more conservatively, Division Street. This incorporates the concepts of both high density and mixed use. Anyone who considers much outside those boundaries to be "downtown" is conflating "downtown" with "the city," as some suburbanites are prone to do.

312 area code: downtown

773 area code: not downtown

Simple.

sundevilpeg wrote:312 area code: downtown

773 area code: not downtown

Simple.

Not really! The 312 area code goes as far west as Western. Grand and Western is not downtown!

Okay, how about this for a working definition:

if you can walk out the door and hail a cab (and you are not at an airport!), you are downtown.


Amata
still in 312
and definitely no longer downtown

Amata wrote:Okay, how about this for a working definition:

if you can walk out the door and hail a cab (and you are not at an airport!), you are downtown.


Amata
still in 312
and definitely no longer downtown

but then that includes lakeview, wicker park, and mccormick place, and that's just a little silly.

-ed

hmmm, okay.

Let me turn it around then, to exclude Prairie Avenue Historical District and the suburban kids crossing the city line and thinking they are downtown:

if you CAN'T count on seeing a cab on the street, you are NOT downtown!