What's the difference between uptown and downtown?

Question

A friend and I were discussing this earlier. In our hometown the center of the city (city hall, police station, etc) is called downtown. Here in Athens, OH it's called uptown. We didn't know if it had to do with the way in which you travel i.e. north/south, uphill/downhill. or maybe with the actual makeup of the area. Is uptown more of a commercial, social area whereas downtown is more of a business, government related area?

Answer 1

Uptown and Downtown is similar to 'yonder', 'up yonder' and 'over yonder'. It describes a location where you are not.