Information and translations of uptown in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions … downtown (adverb) toward or … More example sentences. Literally, to go to the central part of a city. Also the title of a hilarious … Prior to the invention of the elevator – and later the high-speed elevator – buildings were limited in height to about six stories, which was a de facto limit set by the amount of stairs it was assumed that people would climb, but with the elevator, that limit was shattered, and buildings began to be constructed up to about sixteen stories. Miscellaneous. [25] Due to well-intended but ineptly executed urban revitalization projects, downtowns eventually came to be dominated by high-rise office buildings in which commuters from the suburbs filled white-collar jobs, while the remaining residential populations sank further into unemployment, poverty, and homelessness. Definitions: Downtown: an "artistic", "bohemian" style. [5], Downtown lay to the south in Detroit, but to the north in Cleveland, to the east in St. Louis, and to the west in Pittsburgh. the central area or commercial center of a town or city. for example, the straightlaced expensive part of the city center. All of these factors contributed to the lesser recovery of downtown relative to the city as a whole and the metropolitan area. Furthermore, the "taxpayers", which many people had expected to disappear once the economy improved, remained in place, and even increased in number. The same relationship was true in St. Louis in the mid-20s (20%) and Los Angeles in the early 1930s (17%). Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English-speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). [12] Eventually, a model law, the Standard State Zoning Enabling Act of 1922 was drawn up for the guidance of cities wishing to enact zoning regulations, which are now part of virtually every American city. Demand for commercial space was so light that it did not make financial sense to construct expensive new buildings, and banks began to refuse to make loans for that purpose, redlining whole neighborhoods in the central business bistrict.[24]. What does downtown mean as a name of something? Anything south of where the speaker is currently standing, in most places, is said to be downtown. By the 1700s, the duties of footmen became somewhat less athletic and included assisting the butler serving at table, answering the door, and running errands. In British English, the term "city centre" is most often used instead. John went downtown after being caught drunk driving. In between were those who saw a diminishment of the area's influence, but not enough to prevent it from remaining the "Sun" that the outlying business districts revolved around. It was also the place where street congestion was the worst, a problem for which a solution was never really found. For instance, in Chicago between 1929 and 1949, the population of the city grew 7%, and that of the entire metropolitan area by about 14%, but the daytime population of The Loop only rose 1/3 of 1%. “dahntahn” for “downtown” The vowel in words like “stuff” can be pronounced with the tongue further down in the mouth. Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart, and is often synonymous with its central business district (CBD). Debrett's. What shattered that restriction was the invention of first the iron- and then the steel frame building, in which the building's load was carried by an internal metal frame skeleton, which the masonry – and later glass – simply hung off of without carrying any weight. Most major North American cities are located on major bodies of water, like oceans, lakes, and rivers. In 1926, Chicago's central business district, which took up less than 1% of the city, had 20% of the city's land value. [6], Although American downtowns lacked legally-defined boundaries, and were often parts of several of the wards that most cities used as their basic functional district, locating the downtown area was not difficult, as it was the place where all the street railways and elevated railways converged, and – at least in most places – where the railroad terminals were. [23], The slow recovery from the effects of the Great Depression began in the mid-1930s, decelerated at the end of the 1930s, and picked up speed with the start of World War II, so that by the early 1940s the country was for the most part out of the Depression. Definition. Excess commercial space began to be used, vacancy rates dropped, department store sales rose, hotel occupancy rates went up, and revenues increased. What Is The Definition Of Downtown In Basketball? Even with the "taxpayers" taking away commercial space, vacancy rates rose precipitously. As cities expanded, people built further away from the water and their historical cores, often uphill. DWTN: Downtown. Let's have a few drinks at home first; we can go downtown later on. And in many cases, the downtown area or central business district, itself began to grow, such as in Manhattan where the business district lower Manhattan and the newer one in midtown began to grow towards each other,[Notes 1] or in Chicago, where downtown expanded from the Loop across the Chicago River to Michigan Avenue. noun - plural: downtowns. It is marked by a cluster of tall buildings, cultural institutions and the convergence of rail transit and bus lines. Other terms relating to 'downtown': go downtown; Definitions include: to perform oral sex on a partner. downtown meaning: 1. in or to the central part of a city: 2. in or to the central part of a city: 3. in or to the…. Debrett's is a British publisher of etiquette guides and Debrett's Peerage & Baronetage, a … [18], With the loss of manufacturing, the major cultural institutions, much of the retail shopping in the city, and its loss of status as the entertainment center, the nature of downtown had changed considerably. [5], Notably, "downtown" was not included in dictionaries as late as the 1880s. Rating. [3] Some have posited that the term "downtown" was 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. This is a term that refers to the area behind the three point line. Anything north of the speaker is uptown. The term footman originally applied to servants who ran alongside their masters who were on horseback - servants who were literally on foot. Downtowns also had less daytime population because people now went to the outlying business districts, which were closer to their homes by car, for their shopping and entertainment, to do business, and to work. Downtown definition: Downtown places are in or towards the centre of a large town or city, where the shops and... | Meaning, pronunciation, translations and examples Literally, to go to the central part of a city. 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