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They’re attempting to do a Midtown Dallas district which is located way north of Uptown Dallas. It hasn’t came around yet but if it does, this would certainly be a geographic question mark.
While we’re talking Texas, Midtown Houston being South of Downtown is also geographically in question. One would assume Greenway Plaza or Upper River Oaks would be a more appropriate business district since it’s sandwiched between downtown and uptown
"Uptown," "midtown," and "downtown" usually refer to elevation or river flow; "uptown" is upstream of "downtown," which really mattered in the years prior to motorized transit or sewage pumps. These terms do not refer to compass points, as north is not universally above south. (Even maps of Manhattan didn't always standardize on "NE as up," e.g., the 1811 Commissioners Plan and this IRT map from 1939 show the Hudson on top, or WNW as up.)
Most of the midwest/western US is pretty good about grids, but a few more that bother me:
- West Seattle is just as far south as west of Seattle, and separated by a good chunk of Elliott Bay.
- Portland's grid is just odd, with NW, N, and NE Portland but just SW and SE.
- The street grids of Minneapolis and Saint Paul always leave me turned around, since the numbering scheme tries to accommodate the river-oriented downtowns, the curving river, and the cardinal-grid neighborhoods.
- East Chicago (a town in Indiana) is much further south than east of downtown Chicago, and indeed most of it is south of Chicago's southern city limit (i.e., E 138th St). It is a few miles further south than South Chicago, which is just a neighborhood within the city.
- While I'm at it, North Chicago is west of almost all of the city of Chicago. Neither it, East Chicago, nor West Chicago are contiguous with the city.
The most accurate compass, on the agonomic line, doesn't run very close to any metros, A compass will point true north aling a line through central Illinois and Alabama. the declinations are most extreme at the northern corners, 20 degrees east at Port Angeles, Washington, and 20 degrees west at Caribou, Maine.
West St. Paul being south of regular St. Paul still perplexes me to this day.
It is named that because it lies on the WEST side of the Mississippi River. a river that is undisputedly a North/South flowing river. The west side of the river after which it is named happens to be in a bend of the river that is geographically South of the city of St. Paul. Meanwhile, the city of South St. Paul which is contiguous and located directly south and east of the city of West St. Paul, is also on the West side of the Mississippi. The neighborhood in the city of St. Paul due north of West St. Paul is called the West Side. On the East side of the river the city of St. Paul neighborhood is called West Seventh, formerly known as the West End.
Confusing? Yes, but you can see the logic if you consider both the compass and the course of the river as it flows through the area.
In Hawaii, the city of Hilo sits in the eastern part of the South Hilo District. North Hilo District is west and northwest of South Hilo District.
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