Gotham City



Gotham City is under the protection of Batman and his proteges from the criminally insane supervillains, gangs, and mobs that litter its streets.

History
Gotham City is one of the oldest Eastern urban centers in the US. It nestles at the mouth of the turbid Gotham River upon islands once peopled by the vanished Miagani tribe of

Native Americans. A Norwegian mercenary founded Gotham City in 1635, but the British later took it over. It was also the site for a major battle in the American Revolution.

There is also a story that 17th-century Gotham Village´s first dwelling was, in fact a asylum that predated city´s infamous Arkham Asylum. A man called Hiram was first building a chapel but his partner in crime of murder insisted it to became a sanatorium.

Gotham´s 19th-century patrons envisioned their community as a concrete and steel stronghold for pious righteousness and booming industrial growth, and for many generations the wealth and business ventures of Wayne family bolstered the city´s economy, but it is best known for it´s soaring crime rate, urban legends and Gothic spires.

Geography

Gotham City’s actual location was never fully explained. The location would vary depending on the writer. A majority of writers usually put Gotham City on the eastern coast on the shores of Lake Gotham. There have been maps created for Gotham but it has also varied many times. Sometimes Gotham City is based on the actual eastern coast and sometimes it would reside around Manhattan or Vancouver.

During the No Man’s Land story arc, it showed a map of Gotham and it seems to be based on Rhode Island’s geography. Sometimes it has been shown to be a completely original eastern coast and would tie Gotham in with Metropolis. In this version, Gotham is placed on opposite sides of a large bay. It is also located right next to Bludhaven. The distance between Gotham City and Metropolis was never fully stated so therefore it would vary over the years. It has been as close as a neighboring city, to as far as several hundreds of miles away. When the Atlas of the DC universe was finally published in the 90s, it revealed that Gotham City was south of New Jersey and Metropolis. However, various references in the comic books indicate that it's somewhere in New Jersey it has other references saying that it is in New York.

According to DC legend Neal Adams, Gotham's real world counterparts are New York City and Chicago.

Important places

 * Arkham Asylum
 * Wayne Manor
 * Batcave
 * Bat-Bunker
 * Iceberg Lounge
 * Crime Alley
 * Ace Chemicals
 * Wayne Enterprises
 * Blackgate Penitentiary
 * Old Wayne Tower
 * Robinson Park

Underground Power-grid
The Gotham power-grid is located underneath the city, and has been there for ages; nearly since the city's conception and colonization. It was originally designed for a smaller load and with more antique equipment, and as a result it has trouble handling the power demands of such a large, sprawling, modern city such as Gotham. This is prevented by workers such as Harper Row who work on the electrical grid, to keep it afloat.

Over time, power-grids and power-lines have grown more sophisticated, one example of which being the liquid nitrogen lines packed with the power-lines in Gotham's subways, seen in Nightwing #9, to keep everything running at an optimal temperature. Another example of the modernization is Batman's own addition of his secret Bat-boxes, which he uses to siphon power from the city anonymously and safely, and to disable various tracking devices and security camera's throughout the city when he operates. He does this to maintain his status as legend, and to inspire fear in criminals, as well as to help keep his secret identity hidden.