![Empire City](images/dc/empirecity.png)
EMPIRE CITY
HISTORY
The site of Empire City was home to a Native American group called the Fox Tribe. European settlers established a fishing encampment in the area during the early 17th Century, but a permanent settlement was not established until nearly the end of the century. Empire City itself was founded in 1691 by a mix of groups, notably including King James loyalists who fled Boston after news of the Glorious Revolution had reached the colonies, as well as various disaffected religious groups. Relations with the local Fox Tribe started out well but deteriorated over time and by 1720 the last of the tribe had been killed or driven away.
The populace was divided during the Revolutionary War, with the British loyalists keeping control of Empire City in the early years. The city was the site of a major battle of the war in 1779 when the Continental Army took control of Empire on the back of heroic actions by Tomahawk's Rangers and noted local hunter and tracker Peter Kirk.
Initially driven by fishing and agriculture, the city's economy transitioned to textiles and printing during the 19th Century. The city was also the site of a strong abolitionist movement and was part of the Underground Railroad. Up to this point the population was largely English, Scottish and Welsh Protestants; but the 19th Century saw a wave of immigration, primarily Irish but with a handful from Eastern Europe as well as a small group of Chinese immigrants, who found work in the burgeoning textile industry and founded the city's Chinatown. These immigrants would settle the land on the west side of the Thunder River.
Despite the increasing development on the western shore, the area on the east shore around the original settlement remained the dominant center of Empire City until the start of the 20th Century. In 1908 a new bridge was built across the Thunder River connecting the two parts of the city. This led to a boom in construction on the western shore and by the middle of the century it had become the new city center. This was cemented in 1991 when the new City Hall was built in the Newbridge neighborhood.
In the 1940s the city was home to the Mystery Man called Manhunter, who was secretly the big game hunter Paul Kirk (a descendant of local Revolutionary War hero Peter Kirk). Kirk would vanish after the war, going missing during a hunting trip to Africa. Despite his disappearance, Kirk's legacy would impact the city in the decades to come. In reality, Paul Kirk had been taken in by a secret organization which used him as the template for cloned soldiers. Kirk would resume his Manhunter identity and take down this organization, at the cost of his own life, but some of his clones would survive. One of these found a trove of alien technology and became the criminal mastermind the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster organized a global Great Game, a competition modelled on a chess match that pitted criminal and intelligence groups across the world against each other. The one rule above all others in the game was that Empire City was to be left alone, a holdover from the Grandmaster's origins as a clone of Paul Kirk.
Though not crime free by any means, for five years the rules of the Great Game kept Empire City safe from the likes of super villains and terrorist organizations that did not want to risk retaliation from the Grandmaster. This changed when the Crime Cartel broke the rule and conducted an operation in Empire City. Their actions led to the formation of the heroic Guardians team, who the Grandmaster tasked with protecting the city now that the rule had been broken. The team did their best, but the lifting of the Grandmaster's edict meant that several groups, from corrupt city officials to street gangs to organized crime figures, began vying for power in the city.
The rising conflicts in the city were merely the beginning, as soon Empire City found itself at the center of the Revelations crisis. During this period an earthquake devastated the Brighton neighborhood and gang violence reached epic proportions before the crisis was ended in a final confrontation in Empire City's Midtown between the forces of evil and a gathering of heroes. The city had barely begun to recover when it was threatened with further destruction from an ancient being, one of the so-called Millennium Giants, until that threat was stopped by the apparent sacrifice of the Guardians.
Two years on, Empire City is still on the road to recovery with many new construction projects aimed at revitalizing the devastated areas of the city. A reborn Guardians team has recently appeared on the scene, giving the city back its superhuman protectors.
GEOGRAPHY
Empire City is located on the southern coast of Bristol County in Massachusetts, near the border with Rhode Island. Empire City is comprised of many distinct neighborhoods, including:
- Bayshore: Looking out on Buzzards Bay, the Bayshore neighborhood is the location of many middle and upper-middle class homes. Many of its residents are employees of the nearby nuclear power station.
- Brighton: Brighton is a primarily industrial area, though the east side on the shore of the river is more dominated by professional offices and is also the site of the Coliseum sports arena, home of the city's basketball franchise, the Centurions, and hockey team, the Gladiators. The southern edge was home to the city's tech sector but it was destroyed in the recent earthquake. Rehabilitation and recovery efforts are still ongoing in that area.
- Charter District: Charter Hill is home to the city's historical textile industry. Though no longer the dominant force in the local economy it once was, the area is still home to several specialty manufacturers and print shops. Some of the old factories are preserved as historical landmarks while others have been upgraded to newer manufacturing facilities and still others converted to mixed commercial use. While not the center of Empire City's economy anymore the district is still a bustling business area.
- Chelsea: Chelsea was the home of the city's artists until it was gentrified by an influx of the city's growing executive and business class. It is now an affluent suburb of expensive renovated townhouses and brownstones, with trendy restaurants and streetfront shops, home to Empire City's new money.
- Chinatown: Built by the Chinese immigrants who came to work in the textile industry in the 19th Century, Empire City's Chinatown remains a traditional Chinese community. It attracts tourists and locals alike to its restaurants and markets, but is otherwise a self-contained community that rarely seeks or accepts outside assistance.
- Empire Valley: Empire Valley has resisted development and remains a rural sanctuary for nature and agriculture. The area is a mix of old family farms and parkland with numerous nature trails.
- Hunter's Gate: This is one of the city's oldest working class neighborhood, having started out as the home of many of the area's fishermen. Hunter's Gate is also home to the Huntsmen baseball team.
- Little Dublin: The heart of the city's Irish community, the neighborhood reflects its heritage with winding streets, narrow alleys, and numerous pubs. The boardwalk boasts some of the best fish and chips this side of the Atlantic.
- Manchester: Manchester has become a haven for the city's artistic community, which was driven out of neighboring Chelsea. Older Colonial and Victorian buildings have been converted to apartments offering beautiful but affordable accommodations for young artists. The area has a growing art scene with small theater and music venues popping up alongside cafes and trendy galleries. Tazer and Guardienne shared an apartment in Manchester.
- Midtown: Midtown is the business and shopping center of Empire City and is home to many fancy restaurants. The area was devastated during the Revelations crisis but has seen a swift recovery, with the influx of money seeing rapid construction of new modern office and commercial complexes.
- Newbridge: Newbridge is home to Empire City's downtown core, having taken the role from Old Town after the construction of the Thunder River Bridge. It is home to City Hall and most municipal government offices as well as several museums. The area also shares the shopping and business district with neighboring Midtown.
- North End: The North End is mix of residential and professional offices, home to doctors, lawyers, architects, and other upscale businesses. It has many renovated Victorian homes that date back to the expansion of development on the western shore of the river in the 19th Century.
- Old Town: Old Town was the site of the original Empire City settlement and had been the center of government before the development of Newbridge. The area had deteriorated and was run-down until recently. As part of reconstruction efforts sections of Old Town have been declared national historic sites and restored, and older residential areas are being renovated to attract young professionals to move to the neighborhod.
- Salisbury: Salisbury is dominated by the campus of Empire City University. The area around campus is a mix of single family residences, apartments, and dormitories that are home to the faculty and students of the university. The neighborhood is dotted with mainly student-oriented coffee shops, bars, and restaurants.
- Skara Brae: A desolate spit of rock in Empire Harbor at the mouth of the Thunder River, the island of Skara Brae only has two things of note on it. Firstly, the island is the site of the ruins of a mysterious Neolithic village (the inspiration for the island's current name), and secondly the state prison that was constructed on the island in the 1960s. The prison has recently undergone extensive renovations to include containment facilities for metahuman prisoners.
- South Side: The South Side is the site of the docks and is dominated by warehouses and other businesses that support the busy shipping industry. The area is also the site of a small dockyard where ships can get emergency repairs.
- Tower Hill: Tower Hill is named for the site of the British fort that was the site of a battle during the Revolutionary War. The rest of the area is home to some of the city's oldest and wealthiest families, dominated by tree-shaded streets with old family estates and expensive manors.
- West End: The trendiest neighborhood with a large population of young professionals. Fancy new homes and condos mix with upscale restaurants and businesses that service both locals and the rest of the city. The West End is also home to the new Empire City Marina.
Points of Interest
- Empire City Coliseum
- Hunter's Gate Stadium
- Seaquarium
- Empire City Airport
- Empire City University
- Bayshore Nuclear Power Station
- Rift Manor
- Skara Brae Prison
- O'Brien's Pub
- Millennium Research Group