Tarrytowne River Valley

[aldara6166 109]

Tarrytowne River Valley

 

In June of 1931, the FBI was hot on the trail of many of the infamous mob gangs throughout the country.  These gangs were smack in the middle of the Prohibition.  The FBI wanted these gangs mainly for smuggling moonshine up and down the East Coast.  They were also deeply involved with prostitution, gambling and of course money laundering.

 

The FBI needed someone, anyone to agree to testify.  What they never expexted was to get the head of one of the most infamous crime syndicates in the country to testify.  That is just what happened when the FBI was confronted by Salvatore Accardo, A.K.A. The Little Boss.  Accardo was the head of one of New York's largest mob family's.  Some of his relatives eventually joined with Al Capone to form a large crime syndicate in Chicago.

 

Accardo gave the FBI everything they needed to take several crime families to trial.  In return for his testimony,  he was given a new identity and placed in witness protection.  The trial lastest several years, and eventually ended after the end of Prohibition.  All of the heavy hitters were convicted, and most died in prison.

 

After the trial ended, Accardo became Artimus James.  Since Artimus felt the mob families would find him no matter what city he moved to, he felt he should move to an uninhabited region and begin anew.  Because of his wealthy testimony, the FBI moved him into the Tarrytowne River Valley.  He was given $500,000 seed money and was told to rebuild his life by building a new community.  Little did the community know that the area they were moving in to was actually founded and run by an ex-mobster.  The community never suspected a thing because of the extensive plastic surgery that the government performed on Accardo to truely make him assume his new identity and burry his old identity.  To further assist with this, the FBI published reports to the media that Accardo had been gunned down outside his Brooklyn townhouse just hours after the trials ended.

[sloppet 3]

yeah that's a really good start... whaen will you place here some pictures ?

[aldara6166 109]

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Here are a few screen shots of the area Artimus has decided to build in.  Since he has decided to try to turn over a new leaf and truely lead a fruitful life, Artimus decided to proceed in life as a shrewd businessman.  He felt that the Y in the river would make a good place to start his pursuits.  This area would be good for a commercial port, residential areas, industrial facilities, etc. 

 

This is a HUGE map, and the images start in the Upper Left corner and move clockwise.  This is a custom/freehand map and may change as time passes.

 

 

Upper Left Corner

Picture 1.1

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Upper Right Corner

Picture 1.2

 

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Lower Right Corner

Picture 1.3

 

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Lower Left Corner

Picture 1.4

 

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[aldara6166 109]

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After surveying the site, Artimus felt that the first thing that should be secured were the utilities.  He decided to use a small island just downstream from the Y in the river.  He felt that this would keep all of the utilities centrally located and away from the residential populous, which would ultimately increase property values.  He appropriately named this island Utility Island.  He connected Utility Island to the mainland using an three underwater tunnels - two rail tunnels and an roadway tunnel.

 

Picture 2.1 

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The first utility he secured was power.  Without power, nothing survives.  After looking over all of the available power plants, he located an outdated yet very powerful power generator.  He found a wind-powered plant that was capable of providing more power than any of the currently built coal power plants.  Since this plant was being built on an island, he needed to supply power across the river.  Since he was concerned with astetics and property values, he did not want a lot of unsightly high-tension power lines crossing the river.  Instead, he opted for an underwater transmission plant, which would keep the power lines on the floor of the river.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Beside the power transmission facility he located his water supply station and also his trash disposal center.

 

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 Picture 2.2

 

In addition to the utility centers, many of the construction companies that Artimus had contracted located their construction yards within close proximity to the utilities as well.

 

 

[aldara6166 109]

Next, after securing the utilities, Artimus began working on the rail connections.  To keep with the visual appeal of the surrounding area, he decided to excavate a long trench to help conceal the railways.

 

Here is a picture of one of the main turnabouts.

 

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To add to the finished look, Artimus hired Thompson's Concrete Construction to construct embankments along the trench (Marast's Embankments Set.)  Notice the service road built by the contractors to make hauling equipment in and out easier.  This is only a temporary access road to be removed later.

 

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Tomorrow...more construction pics.

[bobinator 0]

I like the slow construction! Great job!

[RadioheadFan 1]

Looks pretty cool...I like the main character's name, lol. It was mine first, though. lol.

[sloppet 3]

yep thanks for the pic's ... slow construction...realistic but sometimes it can be a bit to slow....

keep up the good work

[aldara6166 109]

Patience is a wonderful virtue!!    The speed of construction will pick up soon...hopefully the story will get there sometime today...since I work evening shift in a 911 center, daytime is when I'll do my posts...

[aldara6166 109]

As the days progressed, Thompson's carved a channel to the east to enable a connection to the neighboring region.

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To further protect the visual appearance of the entire region, Artimus decided that all railways not contained within The Great Trench as he called it should run underground, similar to a subway system.  He felt that this would give the railways functionality, while not taking up any valuable relastate or decreasing the property values in the area.  Rail connections to the south would be provided by tunneling under the river at Utility Island.  Rail connections to the west and north, as with the east, would be provided by tunneling under the land and re-emerging in a small trench at the edges of the territory.

 

Since Artimus started building at a fork in the river, he would need to span the northern branch of the river with rail and road connections.  During the excavation process to tunnel under the northern fork, an underground river was found running beneath the northern branch.  After many engineering studies, it was determined that the tunnels could be constructed, however they would have to dive far beneath the second river to ensure structural stability.  Because this would be such a costly construction project, Artimus opted to simply bridge the river at this point.  He chose steel archway-style bridges for the rail bridges.  As for the road bridges, he choose cable suspension bridges.  This style was chosen to remind him of the bridges crossing into the boroughs in his native <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />New York City.

 

 

 

Artimus also needed to span The Great Trench so that zoning and inhabitation could occur.  Due to technical difficulties spanning the railroad sections, Thompson's Concrete Construction was brought back in.  Four area's were set asside to cross over The Great Trench.  Concrete retaining walls were build and the railways were tunnelled through.  Once this was completed, a process by which several inches of fill were dumped in and compacted began.  After the fill was compacted, it must be left to sit with heavy metal plates on top for a week to promote settling.  After one week, the plates were lifted and more fill was brought in to start the process over.  This entire process lasted several months until the walls were completely filled-in and roadways could be built across.

 

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Coming next...the first residents move in.

[Superstar 69]

Wow, those are some awesome transportation networks!

[ILL Tonkso 1,238]

Strange Rail Networks, you could make a great futuristic city from this

[aldara6166 109]

If you look at the date in the intro story, I am starting many years ago and moving forward.  Who knows...maybe eventually it will be a futuristic city, however I'm not sure of this.

[aldara6166 109]

Finally, after almost two years of construction, Artimus had the basic transportation network and utilities that he desired.  He had rail connections that would enable him to connect to the outside world.  He had river crossings that would allow him access to the other half of his soon to be great city.  And he had all of his utilities located in one out of the way location.

At this point, Artimus was beginning to feel the pinch of construction costs.  He was down to only $53,000 or so and still had yet to gain any residents.  So, on April 17, 1933, he officially welcomed his first resident, Andrew and Leslie Carter.  The Carters chose a small residencial plot near the shore on which to begin their new life.  Within a few short weeks, Artimus had welcomed several hundred new residents.  It seems that the government had been slowly and cautiously marketting this new region.  It seems that many people have started flocking to this region to start anew.

 

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So, with a small cash flow beginning to come in Artimus began his new life as Mayor of Tarrytown, in the Tarrytowne River Valley.

 

More to come after work...maybe...if not, then tomorrow.

[Mikeaut1 261]

Great transportation networks! Great job!

[aldara6166 109]

As more and more inhabitants arrived in Tarrytowne, they began feeling as if their spiritual needs weren't being met.  Since the majority of the resident's were Catholic, Artimus decided to build a great cathedral, one which would serve their needs for some time.

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Pic of St. John's Cathedral

 

 

About this end of October, 1933, the population grew to about 600.  It was at this time that Artiums decided that it would be necessary for himself and all future mayors to have a residence specifically for them.  So, after much surveying and soul searching, Artimus decided to build the mayor's mansion on an river overlook.

 

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[sloppet 3]

nice update!!

[aldara6166 109]

With the population beginning to grow, Artimus needed to secure some way of providing for his people.  So, he ceased the moment one day in mid November when several migrant farm workers were passing through the area looking for work.  Artimus explained to them that there was no farm work in the area currently, but made them an offer they couldn't refuse.  He offered a few small tracts of land to the migrant workers.  With these tracts of land, they could establish several farms with the intent of providing food to th valley.  This deal also included an ownership clause, however.  For the first 7 years, Artimus would retain ownership of each of these farms and would collect 25% of all profits secured from the sale of the food to the townsfolk.  In exchange for providing the food to the community and giving of the profits to Artimus, each one of the workers would retain ownership of the individual farm after the 7 year period.

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Around this time too, his people began to beg Artimus for a way of life.  To accomodate them he zone a strip of land adjascent to the residential area as the beginnings of the first Commercial District.  He located this area close to the residential area to allow for low commute times, thereby limiting congestion.

 

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He also began to consider at what point along the river he would want to place his industrial and port areas.  Once he settled on a portion of the northern branch near the railroad bridges.  He surveyed the surrounding coastline and land beyond to determine how much of the land he wanted zoned for his industrial center.  Once he decided on this and a roadway was placed, he also zoned the first portion of his industrial zone.  To further delineate his industrial zones, he placed entry archways at each of the entrances.

 

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To aid in the collection of the farm profits, Tarrytowne's first government office was formed - The Bureau of Farm Management.  Since Artimus had plans to locate all of the government offices in one central location downtown called Government Row, this office was located on a temporary plot of land near the commercial zone he had just established.  Once Government Row is built, Artimus planned on building a better and more modern office there to house the Bureau of Farm Management.  Since this would not happen for some years, he felt that the town would get enough use from the current location to be fiscally responsible.

 

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[sloppet 3]

hmm the second update is very nice

keep up the good work !!

[aldara6166 109]

Day by day, more and more people were flocking to the region.  Artimus was proud of himself for being able to provide for his people.  It gave him the same sense of power he had when he was in control of the mob.  Now, however, it was a different sense of accomplishment that he felt.  This time, he actually felt fulfilled.

 

Now that more and more people were beginning to call Tarrytowne home though, Artimus needed to expand the available plots for housing.  He also needed to provide more jobs for his people.  With this in mind, he added areas for housing and additional industry.

 

 

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[aldara6166 109]

Suddenly, on January 4, 1934, the mayor is pulled from a high-security conference call with the government.  It seems as if the residents of Tarrytowne have become VERY restless over the state of affairs in the area.  Many residents have complaints that would like to air with the town, but there seems to be no voice, no platform upon which they can speak.

Soon, many of the resident's begin to mass on the steps of Chez Eyler, a popular downtown boutique.  Within hours, a full-scale strike has begun and many of the town's businesses come to a grinding halt.  Artimus is completely baffled and wants to do everything possible to prevent a full-scale strike from becoming an all-out riot!

 

So, with the speed of a cheetah Artimus races to Chez Eyler.  He tries for several hours to speak to his town folk without success.  Just when it looked like the all-out riot was ready to begin, Artimus had an idea.  Many of the people present thought Artimus was retreating when he ran to his limo.  This was not a retreat, however; Artimus was mearly regrouping.  With the heart of a true politician, Artimus began chucking large wads of cash from the limo windows.

 

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As with most humans, these people were quickly calmed and even forgot why they were there.  The next day, in the local newspaper, Artimus promised to erect several establishments over the course of the next several years to prevent such a situation from developing again: Schools and Public Safety establishments (police and fire.)  Most importantly though, he promised to build a city hall and create a town government so that he would no longer be viewed as a dictator or a monarch.

 

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[aldara6166 109]

deleted

[sloppet 3]

I like this story very much...Very interesting indeed... Keep up the good work!!

[sloppet 3]

I like this story very much...Very interesting indeed... Keep up the good work!!

[aldara6166 109]

January 17, 1934

 

In the weeks following the strike, Artimus was very distraught.  He thought that he was providing what he could for his people.  He wasn't used to being a failure, although none of the towns people felt that way.  He was very much over-critical of himself.  He found himself questioning many of his day-to-day decisions.  Finally, the son of his cook approached him and asked Sir, what is the wrong?  Why are you so sad?

 

My son, said Artimus, there are things in this world you just would not understand yet.  Grown-up things.  There are many times when we do something, and then we wonder if it was the right thing to do.  All of the pressures of being a grown-up are what make me so sad.

 

Do you want to know what I do when I'm sad? asked the boy.

 

What would that be young lad? asked Artimus.

 

I go have fun.  Lots and lots of fun.  Then, I forget why I was sad. replied the young boy.

 

With that, the little boy bounced a ball off the floor and bounded outside.  Artimus then walked to his office to be alone with his thoughts.  He sat at his mahogony desk and stared out his office window at the river, calmy meandering past his mansion.  After several minutes, he felt a serene calm flow over him as he dozed off into sleep.

 

As he slept, he dreamt of a news report that he had heard when he was still living in Manhattan.  A young inventor by the name of Richard Hollingshead from Camden, New Jersey had invented a new way for viewing movies.  It seems that he had mounted a 1928 Kodak projector on his car and projected a movie onto a screen that was nailed between trees in his backyard.  After much experimenting, he opened the first drive-in movie theatre on June 6 of the previous year in Camden.

 

Suddenly, something woke Artimus from his nap.  It was his secretary reminding him of his weekly call to the government that he was required to make as a part of his witness relocation agreement.  While he was reaching for the telephone, he had a sudden revelation.  Fun, I need to give my people something fun to do.  All they do right now is eat, sleep and work.

 

As he dialed his government contact's number, he wondered what he would offer to his people.  A beach he thought,  or maybe a park.  Then, while the phone was ringing he remembered his dream.  When his contact came on the line he excitedly spoke.  I need to talk to Richard Hollingshead of Camden, New Jersey.  I need him to build for me a drive-in theatre to entertain my people.  With that, he hung up the phone.

 

Within a few days, Mr. Hollingshead was knocking at the mayors door.  When Artimus answered the door, Mr. Hollingshead said Yes sir, it seems as if the federal government for some reason wants me to build one of my theatres in your town.  They have paid me handsomely and I would like to get started.

 

Artimus was so overjoyed, he cancelled his schedule for the rest of the day and took Mr. Hollingshead on a guided tour of the town so that they could agree on the best location for this theatre.  Soon, a promising tract of undeveloped land in the commercial district was found and the site plan was agreed upon.

 

On May 23, 1934 the first movie was shown at the Tarrytowne Drive-In.  The movie was Eugene O'Neils Days Without End.  Artimus was the first car to be parked, right in the front row.

 

 

 

It seems, coincidentally, that this day was the exact same day that the infamous Bonnie and Clyde were killed in a hail of gun fire by police officers in Louisianna.

 

 

*** NOTE *** This is the real history of the drive-in movie as found at http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa980121.htm .

[gundamdude 0]

This looks really cool.  i can't wait for more development to come!

 

[your_adress_here 11]

Very nice! I love the rail!

[aldara6166 109]

With the population beginning to grow, Tarrytowne was getting more and more residents there were not Catholic.  To accomodate these individuals, several residents founded the Tarrytown Brothern In Christ Church.  Since this was only the second church in Tarrytowne, the church did not discriminate against other faiths and many people of Protestant, Baptist and other faiths attended services there.  They also founded the Tarrytowne National Cemetary to accomodate the growing population as well.

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With the farms finally producing corn, beans and other produce the farmers needed a way to get their goods to the people of Tarrytowne.  To accomplish this, several produce stands were erected throughout town.  Each stand acted as a retail outlet, as well as a delivery service for the ill and elderly.

 

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[aldara6166 109]

With his people now fed, Artimus began developing more zones.  First, since his people were asking for more employment opportunities, he added some additional commercial areas.  These areas quickly filled with new businesses.  Many of these businesses were actually started by the people of Tarrytowne who wanted to reinvest in their community.

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With the added jobs and some of the citizens needs starting to be met, several wealthy businessmen from outside the area moved in to Tarrytown.  These inviduals would play a bigger part in Tarrytowne than they could have imagined when they moved to the area.

 

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[aldara6166 109]

Obsolete - deleted.