Nyhaven: Views From Within (Nuclear City - 5/8)

[woodb3kmaster]

Daniel (danielcote): Thanks! It certainly did take a lot of work; I can't tell you how many hours I spent in the LE and Reader getting everything just right.

Alex (KoV Liberty): Thank you, Alex, for both your kind words and that link! You'll get to see the new version of the resort district next week.

Ryan (choco): Nice to see you over here, Ryan! Thanks again for the bridge, and for your kind words here! I'm glad to hear that you've got more in store for this bridge, and the prospect of nightlighting is truly exciting. Knowing the quality of your work, I'm sure that "surprise" you're working on will be a terrific addition to the mod! Take care, my friend!

djvandrake: I'm glad you like all the work I put into this park, my friend. Thank you for your compliments!

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thanks, Jordan! I learned a lot in making this park, and I'm happy that you approve of how I've put that knowledge to use.

antimonycat: Welcome to Nyhaven, and thank you very much for your compliments! The paths were kind of an experiment, and I'm glad they turned out so well. Thanks also for your kind words about my font choices - I tried to choose fonts that fit with the theme of this MD, so it's great to read that someone as talented as you likes my selections.

i_love_lamp: Welcome to you too, and thanks for commenting!





Morning dawned on Sunday, July 19, 1970...


It was the first day after I had moved into my apartment at 661 21st Street in Midtown Nyhaven, and my last free day before starting work at City Hall. After spending 18 years growing up in the Rossmore Lake district and another four years of college in Los Angeles, I was waking up in an unfamiliar part of town. Sure, I had visited Midtown once or twice growing up, but those visits were short and limited to a small part of the neighborhood. Now that I was living here, I figured it was time to get acquainted with Midtown and its surroundings.


After a home-cooked breakfast, I set out to look at the local shops. Down on 24th Street, mere blocks from my building, I came across a row of stores facing the Port Line guideway. They were mostly small mom-and-pop stores, by then relics of small business's heyday in the 1930s and 1940s. There were furniture stores, clothing stores, bookstores and small restaurants, all useful places for a local like me to know about.


A few blocks north, I came upon the retail strip in Koreatown, on 20th Street. The Korean immigrants and their descendants had a virtual local monopoly on electronics, most of them (ironically) from Japanese corporations, but their prices were fair. They also had some nice ethnic restaurants; the locals were eating Korean barbecue long before it became popular. After having lunch in one of those restaurants, I knew I would be joining them regularly from then on.


Of course, I knew that I'd have to eat in sometimes, so I started looking for a good supermarket. Imagine my surprise when I came across a Gottfried's just a block from my apartment! Gottfried's was Nyhaven's favorite grocery store, and a new store had just recently opened at 21st Street and Seventh Avenue. How convenient!


Next on my priority list was finding the local MetroRail stations. I had a map of the system, but I needed to walk the streets to know where the stations were. The closest one turned out to be the Port Line's 20th Street station, only a couple of blocks from home.


A few blocks further along the Port Line was Midtown Junction, one of the most important MetroRail stations due to the many lines that passed through it. I knew this station would be important to my commute tomorrow, so I ventured inside and took note of how to get to the various transit line platforms.


It was also important to me to find the local churches, since I needed a place to call my spiritual home on Sunday mornings and evenings. The first one I found was a few blocks south of my building.


There was another one in Koreatown, not far from where I had just had lunch. It had a nice atmosphere, so I figured I'd try it out for a few weeks.




Since I was already in Koreatown, I took a look around the neighborhood to scope out the cultural amenities. The local residential streets had a certain charm to them, but what really impressed me were the two large towers. I figured I'd take a look inside later, so I kept moving.



What Midtown was really known for, though, was its theaters and clubs, as I well knew. Although it was still afternoon, I stopped by the local establishments and noted their hours and the theaters' current shows. I knew I'd be back this way plenty of times to come for nights on the town...


After a day spent trekking back and forth across Midtown, I was pretty beat. I felt pretty good, nonetheless, now that I had gotten familiar with the area. I knew that this little excursion would only be the beginning of my time in Midtown...

[Nanami]

Great update!

[KoV Liberty]

SC4Devotion sure has had a lull in posts. I just posted my new update as well and one guy posted on it, similar to yours, frankly, I think AIN is more active. But that's just my opinion. Anyways, great update! I'm looking foreward to seeing the new beaches!

[RickD]

I feel ashamed. This is one of my favourite MDs, I read every post but I never left a comment. 
I promise to do better from now on. 

[danielcote]

Great Update! I like the personal appeal.

[wallasey]

Good update, I am liking the mixture of buildings. They work well with the Maxis building stock.

Your decision to change the terrain and water mod(s) were wise...that image with the bridge was spectacular!

[canyonjumper]

Excellent update! The narration is superb as always, and the BAT choices are amazing!

             Your friend,
                            Jordan

[Battlecat]

Excellent update!  What a neat mix of buildings and developments you've showcased today!

Also, the parks in the previous update are fantastic! 

[woodb3kmaster]

976: Thank you!

Alex (KoV Liberty): Thanks! I guess it's just one of those times around here. The replies came in more slowly than usual this past week, but I'm still happy to have gotten them, no matter when they were posted. Please forgive me for delaying my showing of the new resort district a couple weeks; I think you'll understand when you see today's specials.

Raphael (RickD): Better late than never, Raphael! I'm glad you decided to comment, though, and I hope you'll keep coming back!

Daniel (danielcote): Thanks! I'm happy you like the new storyline.

wallasey: Welcome to Nyhaven, and thank you for your compliments! A lot of the Maxis RCIs aren't so pretty when you see a dozen of them in the same area, but I'm glad you like how I've handled the consequences of my earlier days of playing this region (before I had a lot of plugins).

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thank you, Jordan! I'm glad you liked the narration and BATs.

Battlecat: Thanks! I'm happy you enjoyed the update and preceding special so much, and I'm honored by your kind words.



First off, you may or may not have noticed the new intro poster in the original post of this thread. In case you missed it, here it is:




Now then, on to today's special! I made some changes to Midtown, so since we're going to be spending a lot of time there, I thought it best to show you all now, before the next update. Here's an overview of the neighborhood:


As you can see, there are a few new skyscrapers along Eighth Avenue, a consequence of Nyhaven's excessive CO$$ demand. In addition, a little bit of the residential zoning has been rezoned for commercial uses to further ease demand issues.


Also, I added several new theaters to Midtown, creating a true Theaterland area. There are now 11 theaters in Midtown, including a few that aren't visible on the image above.

[canyonjumper]

Looking great Zack! I like the intro poster!

          Your friend,
                         Jordan

[planetechef]

My first post here, and 2    this poster of the night view is incredible, i like your MD and will come more often around here   

[Nanami]

Great update!

[RickD]

The intro poster is spectacular. Reminds me a bit of the view from Rockefeller Center at the Manhattan skyscraper jungle.

[nedalezz]

Wow at that intro poster! That is one of the nicest shots I have ever seen. Cant wait to read more from the story - Midtown looks great

[KoV Liberty]

Awesome! I completely understand.

Alex

[marsh]

Loks great man 

marsh

[woodb3kmaster]

Jordan (canyonjumper): Thank you, Jordan! I'm glad you approve of the new poster.

planetechef: Welcome to Nyhaven, and thank you very much for your kind words!

976: Thanks!

Raphael (RickD): Thank you, Raphael! The poster does have that Manhattan kind of look, doesn't it? I'm flattered to have Nyhaven compared to the Big Apple!

nedalezz: Thanks! I'm glad you like the new poster. As for the story, wait no more - it's time for a new update!

Alex (KoV Liberty): Thank you, Alex! I can assure you, this time, the new resort district won't be delayed - you'll definitely get to see it next week!

marsh: Thanks!





As I got settled in my new job at City Hall, I began noticing one of my colleagues more and more. Jane Hempstead, another young professional who was with the Nyhaven Board of Tourism, had an office not far from mine, and we found ourselves accidentally meeting at the water cooler many times in my first couple of months on the job.


At first, our conversations were mainly professional; Jane's proposal to the mayor's Board of Advisors for a new observation tower in Nyhaven (see Update 9: Brainstorms) had caught my attention, and I wanted to hammer out the details of the new structure with her. Soon enough, though, our chats turned to smalltalk, and I was struck by just how much we had in common. I could feel the chemistry building between us, and I had to do something with it.

One day in early September, as the clock struck 5:00 and we prepared to head home, I suggested to Jane that we might like to spend an evening together in Midtown, seeing a musical in one of the theaters and enjoying some of Nyhaven's burgeoning club scene. She happily agreed, and we set a date.


When Friday had finally come later that week, I got ready for our evening together. I was so excited, but I knew I had to keep composure. I went over my plan for the evening...


...which I had figured out on a map of the area. I already had the restaurant reservations and the show tickets in hand, and I had made sure that we were on the guest lists of a couple of Midtown's best nightclubs. With everything ready, I set out for Jane's apartment building.


Jane lived in a rowhouse down on 30th Street, close to Uptown. I arrived at 7:00 sharp, just as I had intended. Thankfully, Jane was already ready to go when I got there, so we wasted little time heading back to Midtown for the first part of our date.


Dinner went great. Our conversation revealed even more similarities between the two of us, and the food was good, too. Unfortunately, there wasn't much time to enjoy it, since we had to hurry over to the theater for our show.


At the Regal Theater on 20th Street, we saw an up-and-coming musical called Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which had just started up in Nyhaven. It was a terrific show, and we both enjoyed it a lot. I could tell that this musical had a great future in store.




Now that the show was over, it was time for the last part of our evening. We headed over to the Club ATOM Blue, one of the nicest clubs in Nyhaven, to begin our night of dancing.


After a couple of fun-filled hours, we made our way to the other club where I had put us on the guest list, a place called Riddle Me This. This club took over a former power station, and the ambience was really something else.


At last, though, we had to call it a night. I walked Jane back to her place, and we bid each other good night.


When I finally returned to my apartment, I was tired, but happy. The evening had gone really well, I could tell, and I drifted off to sleep thinking of where things would go next...

[rooker1]

Spectacular night shots and I see some very interesting buildings that I don't think I have in my collection.  In the eighth picture, what is that green one?

Robin 

[canyonjumper]

Excellent update Zack! That map is great, and the downtown area looks like a.... downtown area

                  Your friend,
                                 Jordan

[Glowbal]

Very nice. I love the night shots. 

- Glow