The 15-story corporate tower proposed for downtown will be a welcome addition to the city's economy and skyline. The Williams Mullen building will rise at 10th and Canal and will claim One James Center and Riverfront Plaza as neighbors. The news makes us muse -- about downtown's past, present, and future.

Main Street once not only conveyed an address but served as a political and social symbol. For many years the city's banks, brokerages, financial houses, and law firms clustered around Main. Nationally "Main Street" signified small-town values; in Richmond and Virginia "Main Street" signified political and economic clout. Main was Richmond's version of Wall Street and Madison Avenue.

Some years ago office buildings began migrating to the riverfront. Although Main retains considerable vitality, Canal rates as a new hub. We doubt crusading populists will denounce Canal Street! with the vigor they once denounced Main Street!, however. Canal lacks the ting of the pitchfork.

As is the case with other cities, Richmond has numerous downtowns. In addition to the business zones associated with Main and Canal, "downtown" boasts Shockoe Bottom and Slip, which have individual yet complementary personalities. The retail cores along Broad and Grace have vanished and probably never will return, at least in forms cherished by nostalgia buffs. Nevertheless, The National has reopened and the Carpenter Center is under renovation. The Library of Virginia inhabits a magnificent building and throbs with activity. Nearby Capitol Square represents Richmond's governmental role. Mr. Jefferson's Capitol sets the national standard for an aesthetic statement of republican virtues. The capitals of few states can equal Richmond for overall dignity and presence.

Downtown includes Virginia Commonwealth University's medical empire, as well as the Biotech Park, and museums (The Valentine Richmond History Center and, for now, the Museum of the Confederacy). The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar falls within downtown's confines. Jackson Ward offers history, too. The district also recently has learned good news regarding housing at sites dear to the city's collective memory. The blocks on Broad just east of Belvidere are rising as an arts and entertainment center. Restaurants fill the storefronts of yesteryear.

The downtown plan recognizes that "downtown" jumps across the James. Neigborhoods on the south side of the river meet the definition of downtown. They also offer expansive views, perhaps the region's urban finest.

Where does downtown begin and end? Is the Fan downtown, or an entity unto itself? (Defining the physical boundaries of the Fan is another ancient Richmond tradition, capable of provoking arguments and oh dears.) What about Carver? Does VCU qualify as downtown or VCU-ville? If Belvidere marks a natural border then some of VCU sits downtown, some of it does not. Oregon Hill is Oregon Hill; its residents and partisans would not have it any other way. Let's not forget downtown's churches, either. Services to God inside sanctuaries translate into services for man outside. The churches transform.

What does all this mean? Perhaps this: "Downtown" identifies not merely streets, blocks, and neighborhoods but -- pre-eminently -- a temperament, an outlook, a state of mind.