What point does it become Downtown ______ vs ______ Center? (Boston, Cambridge: neighborhood, zip code)

[btownboss4]

When does it change? For example nobody would say Downtown Billerica, but Billerica Center, nor would anyone say Salem Centr, it's always Downtown Salem?
It seems to be rather random, because Newton (80,000) is Newton Center, but Newburyport is Downtown (18,000).
Is it only if there are other villages, but Lexington doesn't, and it is Lexington center.

[495neighbor]

Newburyport and Salem are cities, Lexington and Newton are towns. The commercial center of Salem has many more and higher buildings than Lexington.

[btownboss4]

Originally Posted by 495neighbor

Newburyport and Salem are cities, Lexington and Newton are towns. The commercial center of Salem has many more and higher buildings than Lexington.

Newton is a city, so is Quincy, but they both have centers, not Downtowns.

[AtkinsonDan]

I think it simply stems from pure geography. If the original commercial district of the community was not at the geographic center of a place it become known as a downtown rather than center (i.e downtown Boston is not the geographic center of Boston).

[MikePRU]

Newton Center is an entire village of Newton and not just a "downtown" area. So, I'm not sure it should be in this conversation.

To add more to the confusion and debate, I give you the example of Framingham. It actually has a Framingham Center (area near the intersection of RT 9, RT 30, and Main Street) and also a Downtown Framingham (area near the intersection of RT 135 and RT 126).

[thenewtexan]

Tomato Tomata

[Verseau]

The term "center" is often used in towns that have several villages/settlements of importance within their boundaries, with "center" being reserved for the most geographically central settlement. Newton Centre is a good example of this.

"Downtown" is a more modern appellation and is generally reserved for the largest central business district.

In some towns the two may coincide. If "center" has historically been a part of the name, then it will probably persist. If not, "downtown" is the default description.

In some towns the two do not coincide. As an example from my native NH, downtown Meredith and Meredith Center are two very different places.

[Champ le monstre du lac]

Originally Posted by Verseau

The term "center" is often used in towns that have several villages/settlements of importance within their boundaries, with "center" being reserved for the most geographically central settlement. Newton Centre is a good example of this.

Agreed. Plymouth, Mass is a prime example of this. The town has 134 square miles and several villages within its municipal boundaries, some with their own zip code such as Manomet, Cedarville, White Horse Beach, and North Plymouth. Plymouth has the "Centre" as the nucleus of the entire town.

[BHboston]

Honestly, I think it might just be on a case-by-case basis depending on what people are used to saying, or even just what flows off the tongue better. Take "Downtown Lexington," and "Downtown Arlington," for example - they sound awkward to me because the -town and -ton suffixes almost rhyme but not quite, like a tongue twister.

"Downtown" around here does seem to be correlated with bigger cities, but I can think of a couple other major cities that use the "Center" terminology - i.e., Center City, Philadelphia, or City Center in Portland, OR. (Why they can't agree on the order of those words is another can of worms - completely beyond me).

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by BHboston

Honestly, I think it might just be on a case-by-case basis depending on what people are used to saying, or even just what flows off the tongue better. Take "Downtown Lexington," and "Downtown Arlington," for example - they sound awkward to me because the -town and -ton suffixes almost rhyme but not quite, like a tongue twister.

"Downtown" around here does seem to be correlated with bigger cities, but I can think of a couple other major cities that use the "Center" terminology - i.e., Center City, Philadelphia, or City Center in Portland, OR. (Why they can't agree on the order of those words is another can of worms - completely beyond me).

I also think people are reading too much into this. DT/center are just names given, there is no hard reason why one town's is called one while the other is called another. There are many commercial hubs in the Boston area called "squares" as well. Dedham Square (downtown Dedham), Bellingham Square (downtown Chelsea). There is no "Downtown" (or centers) in either Cambridge or Somerville, but many squares (Harvard, Central Porter, Kendall, Inman, Union, Davis). Quincy Center is occasionally referred to as "Quincy Square". Weymouth has Jackson Square, Columbian Square, and Weymouth "Landing" but again no "downtown or center". Braintree has East Braintree, Braintree Square and South Braintree Square (and the Highlands) but South Braintree really serves as the downtown. While Hyde Park is a neighborhood of Boston, it has a definitive center (Cleary Square, rather than Hyde Park center/square, etc.).