Cardinal Directions in Manhattan
The terms "Lower Manhattan" and "Downtown" are often roughly synonymous when used as a place name, referring to the same geographic area."Downtown Manhattan" may have different meanings to different people, especially depending on what part of New York City they live in. Generally speaking, it refers, like "Lower Manhattan," to the area of Manhattan south of Canal Street. With this understanding, it would refer to the neighborhoods of the Financial District, Battery Park City, Tribeca, and most of Chinatown. However, many people (especially when talking about business matters) would use the term "Downtown Manhattan" to refer only to the Financial District and the businesses located there. This area is also the earliest settled (by Europeans) area of New York City, and is one of the few areas of Manhattan that does not have its streets arranged in a strict grid pattern. The area of the World Trade Center is also within Downtown Manhattan. The terms downtown and uptown can also refer to cardinal directions. If somebody says, "We're going to take the subway downtown," the term refers to traveling in the geographic direction of south. If one is standing on 121st Street and walks ten blocks south, they have walked ten blocks downtown. Conversely, the term uptown is used to refer to the cardinal direction north. This concept applies mainly in Manhattan, which is an elongated island facing north/south, and never more than 2 miles wide. As such, most of the train service and major thoroughfares on the island travel in the uptown/downtown directions. The other boroughs are all much larger geographically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Manhattan
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