Rotterdam Tower

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File:Rotterdam Night.JPG
The Rotterdam Tower at Night

The Rotterdam Tower is a skyscraper on the island of Algonquin based off of [Manhattan]'s Empire State Building. It stands as the highest building in Liberty City.

Overview

The Rotterdam Tower is an Art-Deco skyscraper located in Downtown Algonquin, on Garnet Street between Frankfurt and Denver-Exeter Avenue. It consists of 102 floors, the 82nd exterior observatory deck being the only one accessible in-game. This is done by entering the building via a door on the eastern face of the building at ground level.

All the time, the building is lit up by floodlights in the colours Red, White and Blue, the colors of the American flag. This is best visible at night. Due to it's enormity and height, the Rotterdam Tower can be seen from near all parts of the city.

History

It is suggested that the building was built during the 1930s. It dominated the skyline just after another tall skyscraper, the Zirconium Building was built a few blocks away. The Rotterdam Tower was the tallest building in the world, but was overcome by another unnamed skyscraper in another city. The tower got it's name from "New Rotterdam", Liberty City's former name during the 1700s.

The 82nd Floor Observatory

This observatory offers fantastic views of the city. There are multiple binoculars to view the sights and ladders on the east and western faces to go down the bulding slightly to a lower setback on the building. The absence of railings on the observatory makes it a prime hot-spot for suicide jumpers. However, one helitour pilot has mentioned that his brother attempted to BASE jump from the 82nd floor, but was stopped by security guards who "were fat, but they sure could move!"

File:Rotterdam Close.JPG
The 82nd Floor Observatory. Note Alderney in the background.

Security

Due to it's importance in the city and America, the tower is guarded by police officers using machine guns. These officers can be found in all entrances of the building. As of 2008, several suicide jumpers have leaped to there fate from the observatory deck. Safety precautions have not yet been taken.

Accessibility

The nearest subway stop is Suffolk LTA on the K/C Algonquin Inner Line. The surface exits lead you right outside the southern face of the building.

As said before, the only entrance to reach the top of the tower is on the eastern side, on Denver-Exeter Avenue.