Castle Gardens

File:Castle Gardens (GTA4) (eastwards).jpg

Castle Gardens as viewed to the east. The Castle Gardens construction site is visible in the background, while portions of The Exchange's skyline is seen to the left.

Castle Gardens is a neighborhood in Algonquin, Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV. It is bordered to north by South Parkway (Fishmarket South and The Exchange); to the west and to the south by an unnamed body of water; and to the east by the Humboldt River. Castle Gardens is not to be confused with Castle Garden City, which is located just northwest from Castle Gardens.

Character and places of interest

Being situated at a seafront, Castle Gardens sports many piers jutting out into the water surrounding it on three sides.

The western half of Castle Gardens is a maritime attraction, featuring heavy vegetation, promenades along the water's edge and the "Poop Deck", a municipal pier turned minimall, serving as an escape from the high-paced nature of The Exchange to the north. Due to its location at the very tip of Algonquin, bordering the southern end of the lower Algonquin financial district, investment bankers and other financiers are common sights in the area.

The eastern half of Castle Gardens is predominantly occupied by a massive construction site linked to Yusuf Amir, an Emirati property developer who wishes to build a luxury condominium tower in the area; this suggests the project is only in the earliest stages of construction, as only the base of the structure has been erected; it is also unknown if the site rests on recently reclaimed land or was previous occupied. The project has drawn flak from local groups, which claim the project will "ruin the skyline of Castle Gardens"; following a string of events as depicted in GTA IV and The Ballad of Gay Tony, Yusuf Amir buckles to pressure and offers to build a memorial on the site to union workers killed by on-the-job accident instead.

At the northeast fringe of Castle Gardens bordering Fishmarket South is a Higgins Helitours helipad.

Influences

The neighborhood's namesake is Battery Park in Lower Manhattan, New York City, incorporating the Battery Park's City Pier A, which became the Poop Deck in the game, and the brick-built Park Pavilions fronting Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, between Battery Park and Battery Park City, significantly modified for the game.

The design of the construction yard partially mirrors that of the South Ferry terminal. Visible signs of this similarity include similar design cues of existing buildings in the yard, as well as visible dock-like openings along complete structures in the shoreline, similar to the way a ferry terminal of this design appears. Large scale construction during the 2000s to improve links between downtown Manhattan and the terminal may also explain the idea of including a construction site in Castle Garden.

The Downtown Manhattan Heliport is also the source of inspiration for the helipad in used by Higgins Helitours, although the terminal building is completely different.

Interestingly, Castle Clinton, a fortress situated in Battery Park, is also known as "Castle Garden".

Transportation

The neighborhood is served by the Liberty City Subway system. The Castle Gardens station, located at the intersection of Bismarck Avenue and South Parkway, along the Castle Gardens-The Exchange border, is served by the A/J Algonquin Outer Line at all times.

The aforementioned Higgins Helitours helipad is allows the player to take helicopter tours around the city.