I ran into a friend who I hadn't seen in 20 years the other day. We exchanged greetings and then I asked where he was living.

"Whitefish Bay," he said. "How about you?"

"Downtown," I said.

He asked where and I told him. And he said, "Is that really Downtown?"

Needless to say, it got me thinking. With so many people getting rid of their houses and wanting to move "Downtown," I began to wonder where Downtown really is.

The Department of City Development has what they call "a master plan" for Downtown. In that plan they have a definition of what it is.

The Downtown Plan recognizes the boundaries of Downtown Milwaukee as Walnut Street to the north, I-43 to the west, the Menomonee River to the south and Lake Michigan to the east.

I don't even want to talk about the plan, which was adopted by the City Plan Commission in 1999. It's long on generalities, woefully short of specifics and could probably have been drafted by a first year architecture student at MATC.

But the definition is useful.

Let's take it to the west, for example. They say that boundary is I-43.

Well, remember the great argument over the Pabst City development that failed by one vote in the Common Council. A House of Blues, a big arcade, retail and some condos and office spaces? All that excitement Downtown. Here's news. Try walking from the far western and northern edges of the Pabst complex and see if you call it Downtown. It's more than a hike. It's a hike and a half. Part of the Downtown definition has to include walkability.

Milwaukee's Medical Examiner, who works on Highland between 9th and 10th streets, thinks he's Downtown.

"When people ask me where I work, I tell them I work Downtown," said Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen, the Medical Examiner. "I'm in the middle of Downtown."

Sorry to break it to you, Dr. Jentzen, but you're either on the far western fringes of Downtown or you are not Downtown. Certainly, not "in the middle."

Now let's consider the eastern border of Downtown. The Lake. Not much of an argument there. If you live west of the Lake, it's Downtown. East of the Lake, and it isn't.

Perhaps the most troubling spot is the southern border. The official plan says it's the Menomonee River. The big problem is that includes the Historic Third Ward, which clearly has, and is developing, a strong identity of its own, completely apart from Downtown. They've got big signs all over that say "Historic Third Ward." They don't have a single sign that says "Downtown."

I called 13 places, six restaurants or bars and seven offices. The restaurants or bars all said they were downtown. Like Thu Nguyn, operations manager at the Milwaukee Public Market. "Sure," she said. "We are Downtown." But, these are consumer dependent places. If I had called and asked if they were in Racine, they would probably have said "close."

The offices all said no, they weren't Downtown but were in the Historic Third Ward. Of course, one of the offices was the Historic Third Ward Association, so they probably don't count.

On the north, you are going to get a variety of answers. Call Sanford, arguably the very best restaurant in the city, and just kitty corner from my home, and ask the receptionist if their restaurant is Downtown.

"Sort of," replied Petra. "We are on the northeast edge of Downtown." It could be she was unsure whether being downtown would be a lure or a turn off to me.

Go north, along Brady Street, and they seem to get the idea of Downtown. Out of nine businesses contacted, all nine said they were not Downtown. One of them, Mimma's, said they were close, but you could tell they didn't really mean it.

So, what are we who want to leave our suburban lives behind and move Downtown to do?

I measured, and the front steps to my porch are 48 strides from Pleasant, which turns into Walnut, which is the official north side of Downtown. So, I guess, officially, I'm just outside Downtown.

But the question is whether living Downtown is a matter of geography, or a matter of attitude.

"Downtown is everywhere," said no less an authority that Pat Curley, chief of staff to Mayor Tom Barrett. "It's a spiritual thing."

And my spirit says I live Downtown.