What does "gold star downtown" mean in the following context?

Mika and I wrote letters for 15 years. When I moved to Manhattan I sent her a map of the island with a gold star downtown. “I am here,” I wrote.

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Sometimes people will put a large, brightly colored dot on a map, to show where something important is. This makes it easier to see where it is on the map, without getting confused.

If a map is installed in a public place like a park or a metro station or a mall, it might have a big dot to show where the map is, and therefore where you are standing as you read the map. Which makes it easier to see where everything else is in relation to where you are. Which makes it easier to find the other things you see on the map, because you know which direction to go from the place you are standing at. It makes a starting point and it orients you. These will often say "you are here" next to the dot to explain how it works.

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This concept of marking spots on a map is also sometimes used to help show someone a place they want you to go to. "I marked on the map all the places you need to stop and visit on your trip." etc.

The exact type of marking can be a dot or a star, sometimes brightly colored or large so it is easy to see. But anything can work, even putting a sticker in the spot you want to mark. People sometimes draw stars because it is easy to do and easy to see where you marked it. Or using a colored marker, because the color makes it easier to see.



In this case they draw a star on a map to show where they live now, so that they could share this knowledge with their friend. They can't show them in person, because they live far apart. But they can show them where it is on a map. The "downtown" part is the part of town where they live, and the "gold star" is what they drew on the map to show where their apartment is located. So the gold star is in the downtown section of the map, because that is where they live now.