Golden Pier

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The Golden Pier is a recreational and retail complex in the Grand Theft Auto IV rendition of Liberty City that is based on New York City's Chelsea Piers (also known as the Chelsea Piers Sports & Entertainment Complex). Located on the west coast of Algonquin, the Golden Pier is situated within the borders of Westminster and The Meat Quarter off Union Drive West to the west.

Description

Golden Pier is essentially a series of buildings adjoined to three piers, each serving different purposes, predominantly for recreational purposes:

The northernmost pier houses a one-court Rubin Swinger Basketball Courts (sic) and a skateboard park,
The central pier houses an extension of the Golden Pier's main building, and
The southernmost pier houses the Golden Pier Swingers driving range.

The center of the complex is a large building off Union Drive West, which is intended to contain much of the complex indoor recreational facilities and retail outlets. Facilities available to the player inside the building include a Memory Lanes bowling alley (complete with an air hockey table in The Lost and Damned, and a mini Burger Shot restaurant) and a Burger Shot outlet at the northern end of the building. The Golden Pier Swingers driving range may also be available for use in The Ballad of Gay Tony.

To the north, a separate building houses "Pier 69", in which an establishment known as "Hoop City" is located but is closed for refurbishment.

Influences

The location of the complex, atop multiple piers facing the West River, suggests the complex is essentially conversions of former shipping piers, similar to the development of Chelsea Piers during the 1990s. In fact, skeletal remains of one of the Golden Pier's former entrance buildings at the Westminster side mirrors that of Chelsea Piers' Pier 54. The primary Golden Pier building apparently shares a likeness to the new Chelsea Piers building down to the choice of colors, and the design of its facade and entrances. The presence of a driving range to the south also similar to that of Chelsea Piers'.

Like most buildings in the game, the Golden Pier's size is significantly smaller than that of Chelsea Piers', being shorter and generally smaller in extent. Whereas the main Chelsea Piers complex building branches its structural form out to two piers, the Golden Pier building only branches out to one.