Purgatory

Purgatory is a six-block neighborhood in the borough of Algonquin, located in Liberty City. It is located north of Westminster, south of Middle Park West, and west of Star Junction.

Description

At one point, Purgatory was the central place of operations for the Irish Mob, although their influence has waned considerably, possibly as the result of the gentrification of the neighbourhood. It appears to be the GTA analogue of the real-life neighbourhood of Hell's Kitchen, a place once populated primarily by working-class Irish immigrants and Irish-Americans as well as a center of the real-life Irish mob in New York City. It is one of the less affluent neighbourhoods in Algonquin.

Patrick McReary claims that the neighborhood is called Purgatory because the citizens were so afraid of the Irish Mob that people rarely left their homes, though his brothers dismiss this. Gordon Sargent makes fun of this statement by replying with, "It's called Purgatory because the McRearys' stories were so fuckin' boring. Listening to them was like being in Purgatory!"

Transport

At least one subway station is situated within Purgatory: Manganese West on the Algonquin Outer Line off the northern end of West Way and Frankfort Avenue. Another accessible station, Frankfort Avenue in neighboring Westminster, is located off the southern end of West Way and Frankfort Avenue.

West Way, a U-shaped road, runs entirely within Purgatory, is cut across by Galveston Avenue and terminates at Frankfort Avenue.

Places of interest

• Auto Limbo (Pay 'n' Spray)
• Car Wash, at Hell Gate and West Way.
• Lucky Winkles, at Hell Gate and Galveston Avenue.
• Bahama Mamas
• An unnamed multistorey carpark off the West River.

Landmarks spoofed

• Time Warner Center, in northeast Purgatory overlooking Middle Park, but depicted partially, with only one of its two towers present and its base half the size of that of the real-life building.
• Juilliard School, in northwest Purgatory, behind the Time Warner Center lookalike. Like the Juilliard School, the GTA IV rendition is linked to a large art gallery, known as the Randolf Art Center (in turn a replication of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts), in neighboring Middle Park West. Both buildings are connected via an elevated walkway over Nickel Street.