Shoreside Vale

BOROUGH
Shoreside Vale
From top left: A view of Shoreside Vale from the hills above Cedar Grove, the Shoreside Lift Bridge, Cedar Ridge Observatory, Cochrane Dam and Francis International Airport.
Appearance(s): Grand Theft Auto III
Grand Theft Auto Advance
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
City: Liberty City
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Shoreside Vale is the westernmost borough in Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto III, Grand Theft Auto Advance, and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. Shoreside Vale is primarily residential, but also features the an airport to the south, a light commercial/industrial estate on the western edge, and a dam in the northwestern area. Shoreside Vale is the only part of the city situated on the mainland and is considerably hillier than the other two boroughs, with a mountain range along the northern edge of the borough.

With steep elevation changes, a river dividing the main residential area from the industrial estate and the airport, and roads, bridges and tunnels criss-crossing each other at different elevations, Shoreside Vale is notoriously tricky to navigate. For this reason, Shoreside Vale is a very poor choice for the vehicle missions.

Overview

Shoreside Vale is mainly based of New Jersey, that resembles more to the neighborhoods in west and northwest of the island as Pike Creek, which is a clear reference to the industrial districts of Elizabeth and Bayonne, like the Cochrane Dam based on the rivers and green areas of Bayonne. While the northern part of the island resembles the upper classes in Westchester and Long Island in the residential area of Cedar Grove, as well as similarities to The Bronx in Wichita Gardens projects, with little references to Queens.

And finally in the south is the Francis International Airport that is based on the structure of Los Angeles International Airport and John F. Kennedy International Airport, as well as some similarities to Newark in the neighborhood. In general, Shoreside Vale is based in many parts of the east coast of the United States.

A computer generation of Shoreside Vale.

Neighborhoods, districts and areas

Cedar Grove

Cedar Grove is an upper-class suburban area which takes its name directly from a New Jersey suburb. It is controlled by the Colombian Cartel, and is home to some of the more wealthy residents of Liberty City. It consists of lavish mansions with swimming pools and fast sports cars on the drive-ways. Donald Love's mansion (later taken over by Catalina and the Colombian Cartel) and one of Toni Cipriani's safehouses in Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories also lie within this area.

Cochrane Dam

Cochrane Dam is a hydro-electric dam and also serves as a bridge linking eastern and northern Shoreside Vale.

Francis International Airport

Francis International Airport is Liberty City's airport situated on the southern half of Shoreside Vale, and just off the main road coming from Staunton Island. Other features in this area include a long-term parking lot, a fire station and a subway station.

Pike Creek

Pike Creek is a business district located in the western section of Shoreside Vale. It is home to the offices of several businesses, including Punk Noodles, Turtle Head Fishing Co., AmCo, and Liberty Pharmaceuticals. Services include the local police station, the hospital, Pay 'n' Spray and 8-Ball's bomb shop. Pike Creek is Yakuza turf in 1998 in GTA Liberty City Stories, but is occupied by no gang in 2001, the setting GTA III (although it does have Yakuza presence during one mission).

Wichita Gardens

Wichita Gardens is a low-wealth residential area, mainly composed of housing projects. It was formerly controlled by the Forelli Family, but it is now controlled by the Southside Hoods, thanks to Toni Cipriani's help. It is also home to one of Claude's hideout.

Points of Interest

The Cedar Ridge Observatory, a very important point of interest in Shoreside Vale

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Notable residents

Trivia

  • The tunnel that leads from one side of Cedar Grove to the other seems to have another road that leads to another part of Liberty City. The tunnel is unavailable to the player in GTA III, but in GTA Liberty City Stories the player is allowed to use it to get to points around Cedar Grove. There seems to be another road that leads to a northern part of Shoreside Vale, but is blocked off and cannot be driven on. The sign above the road reads "upstate". It is unknown if there is another part of Liberty City that wasn't exposed in GTA III or GTA Liberty City Stories or not but in GTA III the player can fly a Dodo around the "upstate" part of Liberty City and will only find more hills.

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