Old Gotham is a large architectural scheme for Gotham City designed by Cyrus Pinkney and promoted by Judge Solomon Wayne.
History
Solomon Wayne discovered what he was convinced was Gotham's salvation when he met Cyrus Pinkney, a young architect who appeared in his court as victim of an assault. Pinkney, several years out of the university and yet to find a commission, showed Judge Wayne a portfolio of sketches and plans, and found his patron. Pinkney's vision coincided perfectly with Solomon Wayne's. A few months later, in a speech to the Property Holders Association, Wayne asked, rhetorically, "What is a city, gentlemen? A sanctuary! A stronghold! A Fortress! A bulwark against the godlessness of the wilds wherein we may nurture the gifts of Christian civilization and be protected from the savagery which lurks in untamed nature."
In Pinkney's buildings, Wayne saw his fortress. He sold most of his businesses, borrowed as much money as he could, persuaded anyone who would give him a hearing to do likewise, and commissioned the first of the so-called "Gotham Style" structures to be built in what is now the center of the financial district. Although vehemently criticized by Wayne's fellow Gothamites, the edifice pleased the judge and, in fact, was highly successful in that it attracted others to locate their ventures nearby - became, in fact, the focal point for a thriving commercial center. Together Wayne and Pinkney raised no fewer than a dozen other similar buildings. Pinkney's style was, for a time widely imitated, both in Gotham and elsewhere - this despite vilification from virtually every architectural journal in the world.
Pinkney died while still a young man, on the eve of his fortieth birthday. Solomon Wayne lived to be 104, long enough to see all his dreams realized; Gotham City became the bustling hub of industry he had imagined. But it also became a haven for crime, known more for its poverty, the squalidness of its slums, and the utter corruption of its government than for commercial and cultural achievements. On his deathbed, Solomon Wayne said, "I wished to lock evil out of men's neighborhoods and hearts. I fear that instead, I have given it the means to be locked in."[citation needed]
Points of Interest
- Finger Avenue (street)[2]
- Logerquist Avenue (street)[2]
- Strip Avenue (street)
- Gotham Clock Tower[3][4][5]
- Shrine of St. Andrew
- Crabtree Building
- Gotham Modern Museum of Art
- Wayne Tower
- GCPD Headquarters
- Old Gotham Church[6]
- Gotham Train Station[7]
- Gladiatrix (fight club)[8]
Notes
- In the Birds of Prey TV series, Old Gotham was the old part of New Gotham City that is found in the underground of the city.[8]
- In the Gotham TV series, Old Gotham was a district in Gotham City.[9]
- In the Arrowverse, Old Gotham is a neighborhood in the oldest part of Gotham City.[10]
See Also
- ↑ Batman Beyond: Neo-Gothic #1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gotham Knights
- ↑ Batman: No Man's Land
- ↑ Batman: The Ultimate Guide
- ↑ Gotham: "Rise of the Villains: Scarification"
- ↑ Gotham: "Penguin, Our Hero"
- ↑ Gotham: "Wrath of the Villains: Mad Grey Dawn"
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Birds of Prey (TV Series) Episode: Gladiatrix
- ↑ Gotham: "Selina Kyle"
- ↑ Batwoman: "Drink Me"