Westminster

Revision as of 17:17, 23 August 2009 by ZS (talk | contribs) (→‎Influences)

Westminster is a four-and-a-half block neighbourhood in Algonquin, Liberty City on the shores of the West River. Westminster borders Purgatory to the north, Star Junction by Frankfort Avenue to the east, and The Meat Quarter is on it's southern border.

Description

Westminster is primarily depicted as a mixed-use district, where residential and commercial buildings are concentrated towards Frankfort Avenue to the east and industrial buildings to Union Drive West and the West River harbor, which houses piers. However, the waterfront of Westmister has apparently underwent urban renewal. The piers are collectively referred to as Golden Pier.

Like The Meat Quarter, a stretch of abandoned elevated railway runs over the district, and cuts off in the north, just over Purgatory's Pay n' Spray in its south. Westminster is also similar to Meat Quarter in that its harbor front has been redeveloped to some degree.

Transport

Westminster is the terminating point of the Booth Tunnel in Algonquin, linking Frankfort Avenue to Asahara Road in Alderney. In addition, Westminster is designed to contain the entire Algonquin half of the Booth Tunnel, as well as the tunnel's ventilation tower in the north, offshore.

Westminster is served by only one subway station, Frankfort Avenue station on the Algonquin Inner Line, in the northwestern edge of Westminster at Frankfort Avenue, although a short segment of the Algonquin Outer Line cuts pass the entrance of the Booth Tunnel in Algonquin. As mentioned, Westminster also contains the northern half of an a disused elevated railway line, evidently based on the High Line.

Places of interest

  • An LCPD station at Kunzite Street, where Deputy Police Commissioner Francis McReary's office is situated.
  • A 60 Diner at Kunzite Street and Frankfort Avenue.
  • Engine 47, a fire station, at Frankfort Avenue. There are no Fire Trucks park in the location.
  • Pier 69 of Golden Pier. The building is indicated to house "Hoop City", which is closed for refurbishment.

Influences

Westminster's name may be based on that of Greenwich Village and Chelsea on the West Side of Manhattan. All three locations they are based on are districts in London, and both GTA IV's Westminster and the West Side's Chelsea and Greenwich Village are bound by roughly the same geographical features and streets.

The general design of the district is more alike that of The Meat Quarter, with the areas closer to the coast bearing similarities to the Gansevoort Market, also known as the Meatpacking District in Manhattan, while the areas bordering Frankfort Avenue are more alike generic, heavily developed commercial and residential areas.

Golden Pier and the coastal design of Westminster (as well as The Meat Quarter) are based on the Chelsea Piers.

Landmarks spoofed

  • Lincoln Tunnel on the Manhattan side, in the form of the Algonquin half of the Booth Tunnel. The Booth Tunnel's ventilation tower, however, is dissimilar to that of the Lincoln Tunnel, being more alike the Holland Tunnel's design, but still not an accurate reproduction.
  • The High Line.
  • Remnants of Pier 54 in Chelsea Piers, where it is represented in Algonquin, affront Pier 69, as a similarly designed skeletal remains of a pier's entrance.