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urbanboyto
Guest
and yet having "Uptown" below "Midtown" just doesn't sound right to me...
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wyliepoon
Guest
Who uses terms like Uptown and Midtown in daily parlance, anyway?
My Chinese friends at Ryerson use "uptown" as frequently as "downtown". In our group, downtown simply refers to the area around campus, whereas "uptown" is the collective term for all the suburban Chinatowns (Markham, Scarborough, Richmond Hill, North York). For example, if a friend asks me, "do you want to eat downtown or uptown?", it means whether I want to go to a restaurant in Chinatown (Spadina and Dundas) or somewhere in Scarborough.
I'd like to see the MT/UT debate end once and for all. Perhaps the best way to start is to change the names of Yonge subway stations to reflect the name, much like Bay-Yorkville.
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interchange42
Guest
wylie:
The TTC won't change those station names though - not without a huge public outcry, and one doesn't exist. These two big condo projects are the only things I know of that stake any significant claim to either name. We'll see if they have any lasting influence as time goes by...
urbanboyto:
Yeah, a reversed Uptown and Midtown does seem wrong, but that's what makes them more memorable for me: the illogic is far more interesting.
42
The TTC won't change those station names though - not without a huge public outcry, and one doesn't exist. These two big condo projects are the only things I know of that stake any significant claim to either name. We'll see if they have any lasting influence as time goes by...
urbanboyto:
Yeah, a reversed Uptown and Midtown does seem wrong, but that's what makes them more memorable for me: the illogic is far more interesting.
42
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Archivistower
Guest
Then let me propose "Sidetown" for Queen West. The whole "Queen West" and "West Queen West" thing gets on my nerves some times, and no one calls it Trinity-Bellwoods or anything else like that.
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building babel
Guest
Sidetown? So what do we call the east side of downtown - chopped liver?
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Archivistower
Guest
Hmmm. I like that.
TO TO What a wonderful Town.
Midtown is UP and chopped liver is DOWN!
TO TO What a wonderful Town.
Midtown is UP and chopped liver is DOWN!
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scarberiankhatru
Guest
"My Chinese friends at Ryerson use "uptown" as frequently as "downtown"."
My Chinese friends don't, although there's potentially a bias there, with Ryerson being "downtown" and U of T being "uptown."
My Chinese friends don't, although there's potentially a bias there, with Ryerson being "downtown" and U of T being "uptown."
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blixa442
Guest
Perhaps the best way to start is to change the names of Yonge subway stations to reflect the name, much like Bay-Yorkville.
I've always thought the Dundas station should have been changed to Dundas Square (...ala Times Square station).
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andreapalladio
Guest
^The name of which is of course 42d Street/Times Square, the station being there before the square was renamed.
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troodie
Guest
i find that the average torontonian that i know doesn't ever really use these terms, but i sometimes ask them how they would geographically define them out of curiousity.
growing up on the danforth, i would usually say i was 'going downtown' when i would cross the bridge. whether i was going south of bloor or not, it was all downtown. as i've gotten older and gotten better acquainted with the cities geography, it doesn't make sense for me to call such a large area downtown.
personally, i use major east/west streets to define areas in what i used to refer to as 'downtown'. for instance, i might say 'i'll be at yonge and bloor this afternoon, but then i'm meeting so and so for a drink down near king'. this to me makes more sense than saying 'i'll be downtown all day'.
furthermore, i use terms like 'the north end', 'the east end', and 'the west end' (yeah, i'm aware i didn't invent these) to refer to anything outside of the agreed upon core, formerly known as 'downtown'.
this is all very interesting to read though, i just love hearing what others have to say about their own personal historical-geographic view of the city
growing up on the danforth, i would usually say i was 'going downtown' when i would cross the bridge. whether i was going south of bloor or not, it was all downtown. as i've gotten older and gotten better acquainted with the cities geography, it doesn't make sense for me to call such a large area downtown.
personally, i use major east/west streets to define areas in what i used to refer to as 'downtown'. for instance, i might say 'i'll be at yonge and bloor this afternoon, but then i'm meeting so and so for a drink down near king'. this to me makes more sense than saying 'i'll be downtown all day'.
furthermore, i use terms like 'the north end', 'the east end', and 'the west end' (yeah, i'm aware i didn't invent these) to refer to anything outside of the agreed upon core, formerly known as 'downtown'.
this is all very interesting to read though, i just love hearing what others have to say about their own personal historical-geographic view of the city
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esplanade guy
Guest
Welcome to New York North
Let's face it, uptown, midtown, terms like that are very NYC wanna be. People in Toronto usually don't use those terms, we use neighbourhood names or streets, like Cabbagetown, Yorkville, the Gay Village, Queen West, Yonge and Eglinton, St. Lawrence. My brother lives at Yonge and Eglinton and I have never heard him refer to it as "midtown". That's just for real estate agents, tourists and Mel Lastman types who want to be world class like NYC, so they copy every NYC referance they can. (Soho, "the theatre district" NY Towers) No, this isn't New York North, or even Hollywood North for that matter. lol
Let's face it, uptown, midtown, terms like that are very NYC wanna be. People in Toronto usually don't use those terms, we use neighbourhood names or streets, like Cabbagetown, Yorkville, the Gay Village, Queen West, Yonge and Eglinton, St. Lawrence. My brother lives at Yonge and Eglinton and I have never heard him refer to it as "midtown". That's just for real estate agents, tourists and Mel Lastman types who want to be world class like NYC, so they copy every NYC referance they can. (Soho, "the theatre district" NY Towers) No, this isn't New York North, or even Hollywood North for that matter. lol
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Greg29Toronto
Guest
Re: Welcome to New York North
Well let's see, the Downtown theatre used to be at Yonge & Dundas, the Uptown theatre at Yonge & Bloor and the Midtown theatre at Bathurst & Bloor. Go figure!
Seriously, I grew up here & I never understood anyone using "uptown" or "midtown". What did make sense to me was "let's go downtown and we'll go out for dinner".
Where is downtown? I always thought roughly south of Bloor to the lake, DVP to maybe Bathurst. Just my 2 cents.
I tend to think of Bloor-Yonge as Uptown because of the late lamented theatre, and Midtown as Yonge and Eglinton. (So it's out of order traveling north from Downtown - big deal!)
Well let's see, the Downtown theatre used to be at Yonge & Dundas, the Uptown theatre at Yonge & Bloor and the Midtown theatre at Bathurst & Bloor. Go figure!
Seriously, I grew up here & I never understood anyone using "uptown" or "midtown". What did make sense to me was "let's go downtown and we'll go out for dinner".
Where is downtown? I always thought roughly south of Bloor to the lake, DVP to maybe Bathurst. Just my 2 cents.
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adma
Guest
Re: Welcome to New York North
Hey, Quebec has its Upper Town and its Lower Town...
Hey, Quebec has its Upper Town and its Lower Town...
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samsonyuen
Guest
I don't think it's a NY thing to use the name Soho. There's a street called Soho, which was probably named after the street and area in London, not NY's SoHo (SOuth of HOuston).
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CanadianNational
Guest
Maybe in Toronto, it means SOuth of HOcken.
...Uh, probably not.
...Uh, probably not.