Quote:
Originally Posted by Dac150
I have a question for Chicago forumers:
Is the area where which all the skyscrapers are centralized considered 'Downtown'?
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"Downtown" in Chicago is kind of a loose term that can refer to just "The Loop" which is a well defined community and our central business district. Or it may more broadly refer to the entire central area of Chicago, i.e. where most of the tall buildings are. That would include "The Loop" plus the Near North, Near South, and some of the Near West sides. Note however that Chicago has highrises lined up across most of the lakefront and satellite CBD-like areas like downtown Hyde Park on the South Side.
I would basically agree with cbot's boundaries for the idea of "downtown" bounded by North Ave. on the north, Halsted St. on the west, Roosevelt Rd. on the south, and Lake Michigan on the East. But I would add to that the idea of "downtown" may continue to expand, particularly further south and west, as the dense core of development spreads.
I made a Google map that shows the boundaries of Chicago's 77 community areas as defined by the University of Chicago.
Click Here. If you scroll the sidebar all the way to the bottom You'll see "The Loop" That area is properly "downtown". Cbot's definition includes most of the "Near North Side" and a sliver of the "Near West Side" -- hopefully those shouldn't be too hard to find.
And for my obligatory on-topic statement: Ryan, have you made models of the OMP, OMPW, and the Grant Park Towers? I'd love to see those from some different angles.