Downtown Crossing

The Opera House, with its many ornamental details restored, is a Washington Street landmark. (John Tlumacki/Globe Staff/File 2004)

Downtown Crossing
Median home prices: Condominiums $540,000 (Boston proper)
Residential tax rate: $10.97 (citywide)
Average tax bill: $3,801 (citywide)
Choice location: The Opera House on Washington Street, with its mural art and ornamental details, restored to its former glory.
Cocktail party nugget: British troops trashed the Old South Meeting House during the Revoluntionary War as payback to the patriots who used the historic building as a gathering spot.
SOURCES: Warren Group, City of Boston, Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Old South Meeting House

THE GOODS It wasn't that long ago that buying here would have been considered a questionable move. But these days Downtown Crossing is more than just the junction of several MBTA lines or a destination for some quick lunch-time shopping. Downtown Crossing is emerging as a neighborhood - a very cool one, its newest residents argue. Some of the 6,000 people who live in the area where Washington, Winter, and Summer streets intersect consider this a vibrant community. They tend to be young professionals looking for a raw, urban environment to call home. Some of its rougher edges are in the process of being smoothed out - Emerson College is rebuilding the Paramount Theater as theatrical space, and the Filene's block is being renovated. The Boston Redevelopment Authority is heading a rebranding campaign, and new hotels, retail, and restaurants are lining up to be part of the changes underway here.

PROS This is a busy place. Nine hundred condo units are proposed or under construction, including high-end luxury units on top of the Filene's building and at 45 Province. The Residences at the Ritz Carlton were among the first of a new generation of luxury housing to come here. There are numerous new loft-style units that have been redeveloped in the small buildings on the side streets. A few units have balconies, but as a whole the neighborhood tends to have the feel of converted office buildings. Real estate prices for the area's lofts and condos are arguably lower here than many of the city's more established neighborhoods. And you can get a big, rectangular apartment here with newer finishes, 12-foot ceilings, tall windows, and an open layout. Two local colleges are also building dorms here. There's plenty of shopping right at your fingertips, although one can argue how good it is - particularly without Filene's Basement, which closed last year. One of the most beautiful parks in the country is your front yard, and it's hard to top the central location.

CONS One needs a bit of patience to settle here - the name doesn't yet carry cache and the neighborhood is still in flux. Teenagers seem to always be hanging around, some storefronts are empty, and the community lacks certain amenities many people have come to expect of urban communities, such as a grocery store. It looks in many ways like a thoroughly commercial district and is quieter at night than some people might want.

KRISTEN GREEN