Downtown with a Capital D

Some people noticed that when I refer to Downtown San Jose, I write the word downtown with a capital "D" instead of a lowercase letter. I started doing this years ago and it is entirely intentional.

When you write it as "downtown" you are referring to a type of place... such as a street, a block, or an alley. It's a generic descriptor to can refer to a downtown anywhere. It's nothing more than a common noun.

However, when you write "Downtown" it becomes a proper noun and means a place in and of itself. It's a destination or district, such as Willow Glen, Japantown or Santana Row and it gives our urban core some respect. Instead of "a" downtown it becomes "the" Downtown, our Downtown.

It may seem like a small difference, but I feel like it changes the context of the word entirely. Its just something to keep an eye out for when reading what other people write about Downtown San Jose. How the word is written will already give you a lot of information on what their opinions are. I hope to see more people using the capital D in the future!