Carthage

[Jillybean86 38]

 Welcome to my new CJ, Carthage!

As some of you know, Carthage is the name of one of - if not the - first CJs ever.  Drawing on its greatness for my own, I named this city Carthage in honor of it.  My intent is to have a spectacular looking city that is pleasing to the eye, but is still anchored in realism.  You will not see a sea of skyscrapers here, or uber-complicated interchanges, or a "green" urban utopia.  There will be beautiful upscale areas, but there will also be ugly slums and endless suburbs - just like there would be in a major US city.

Many of you remember my first CJ, The Story of Mount Rose and Mount Grace, California.  While I loved building it, and writing it, I ran out of time and ideas.  It started with the founding of the town in 1849, and was supposed to finish in the modern day, but I had no idea how to take it from the 1930s to now (significant lack of BATs, no way to "age" buildings over time, etc.).  This CJ takes many of the grand ideas I had for TSOMRAMGC (for short) and brings them right into the modern day with none of that difficult in-between stuff.

I believe in the biz, they call that a spiritual sequel...

I also intend to continue my very specific brand of humor.  You know you like it...and if you're unfamiliar, there's an example later in this very update.

I use many BATs from many many different creators - far too many to list here, but mostly from PEG, NDEX, and BSC.  I use a water mod and a rock mod, both by PEG, and a CP terrain mod, but aren't sure of the name of which one I use.  Also, I'm using the Coos Bay, OR map by blade2k5.

NOW!...on to the city.

Carthage is a major metropolitan area located on the Southern shore of Lake Erie in the little part of Pennsylvania that sticks between Ohio and New York (in real life, where the city of Erie, PA is located).  It is approximately 100 miles from Cleveland, 100 miles from Pittsburgh, and 100 miles from Buffalo.  

The city is at a crossroads of many parts of American life.  It thrived off the industrial power of Pittsburgh to the south, and has always prided itself on its hard-working citizens.  Being located on Lake Erie has allowed for a rich maritime tradition.  The area is home to many large marinas, and has one of the highest rates of boat ownership per capita in the midwest.  Cleveland is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was one of the genres largest influences, but Carthage also considers itself one of the founding cities of rock.  The city prides itself on its rock and jazz festivals.  The city is also around 125 miles from Canton, Ohio - which was the birthplace of American Football.  Carthage University has one of the oldest football teams in the nation.

Waterfront Park Plaza is an amusement park and boardwalk shopping experience all in one

Both Vibrant and diverse, Carthage is truly an amazing city.  Check frequently for updates!

Jillian Island is an incredibly popular wedding and event destination

I mentioned that rock and roll has a huge tradition in Carthage, but it is currently one of the biggest music scenes in the country.  This is a poster for next weeks events at The Brass Money, one of the most popular venues.

Braaaass Monkey...that funky monkey

That's all for now.  Please try to stay calm until the next update...as you can see from the region shot, I don't have much built yet :/

[Larks2242 251]

Cool rollercoaster this looks like it will be a very cool CJ!

[(x+x 20]

i thoght that carthage is an old civilisation like rome, located in tunisia in north africa, on the medeterrenian sea

nice CJ anyway, very cool, keep it up

[newyorkrunaway1 110]

very nice!

[JakeMD 107]

Yay Jill's back!

I'll watch this CJ more, I promise.

[ironicepitome 0]

oooooooooooooooooooo

[N106 10]

This looks like it could be a good CJ. I'll keep track of it!

[Schulmanator 5,813]

Coolness! Looks great and I am eager to see more. Welcome back to the CJs.

[TmiguelT 10]

Great Start .... I'll be really looking forward to your next update

[dfnva 34]

Looks like nice stuff, looking forward to more.

-Dan

[Follarch 327]

Good Lot Editing! This looks like a promising City Journal.

[thepokemaniac 18]

Great job so far! I used to love the old Carthage, and I hope this one will be just as good. I'm sure it will!

[Vahr 343]

Awesome! Things are looking good so far! And great lotting too.

[Raysfan16 5]

Hey, Jill's back!

I was wondering what happened to your old cj. You might as well shouldve left out the big April Fools' sign and let readers think it was the worst end to a CJ of all time.

Great work, I look forward to seeing what else is in store for us. Btw what happened to Erie, PA? Isn't that right nearby?

[redrummage 9]

Very good waterfront.

[Chptrk 86]

Very nice Jill! I'll be following this!

[art128 4,622]

Excellent start !

I like the region you choose, it fit perfectly with the ambiance of the city. Nice work with the town too, I like the mosaic with the old buildings, it give a good charm to the city !

[Kryptowhite 9]

I can buy 2 1/2 domestic pitchers with the money i win from that colts-pats game hehe...[gotta love insignificant high school bets]

Nice work anyways...every little detail looks right

[Petrovar Ambassador 15]

WOW! I love Jillian Island! Definitely looking forward for more

[rawr APPLES 15]

oo nice start, i'm loving the waterfront/roller coaster

[jacqulina 162]

wonderfull work my friend

[SimNation 139]

Interesting start to a new Journal. Curious to see how your seafront will look when it is fully revealed

[Muck308 55]

Glad to see you taking another stab at CJ's, Jill. I didn't follow your last until it was finished, but I hope to stay up to date on this one! Always good to see PA getting love in the virtual world. Good luck.

[Benedict 3,119]

The Jillian Island mosaic is a fantastic start.

[Jillybean86 38]

Holy cow, that's a lot of respones!  Thank you all!

Larks2242:  Thank you so much!  You'll forever be the first comment in the CJ!  Woo!

(x+x2)2/x:  Carthage is an old city in Tunisia, but many many modern cities are named after ancient ones, especially in the USA.  I wanted a name that invoked that.

newyorkrunaway1:  Thanks!

swat-medic:  You'd better, or I'll find you

ironicepitome:  Thanks!

N106:  Thank you, I promise it will be

Schulmanator:  Thank you, I'll try not to be lazy like last time and Update more often

TmiguelT:  Thank you, here it is!

dfnva:  Thanks!

Archean:  I actually didn't edit anything; I gave up on LE awhile ago when it begame too time consuming.  Those are actually a combination of BSC Parks and Paeng's Urban Parks

thepokemaniac:  I've seen very little of the old Carthage, but I can see what it's done for the community.  There probably wouldn't even be a CJ section if it weren't for Carthage.

Blue Lightning:  I actually gave up on LE because it was so boring, so that's a mix of BSC Parks and Paeng's Urban Parks

Raysfan16:  Yeah, it's heartbreaking.  I didn't intend to leave TSOMRAMGC on such a note, but it became too much work, and I had no idea how to get it from what I had to where I wanted it.  And yeah, this CJ pretends Erie doesn't exist.  Carthage is in the exact place where Erie is in real life.

redrummage:  Thank you, I'll show it off soon

Chptrk:  Thank you

art128:  Thanks for noticing.  I agonized over which region to use for about 2 months...I picked a great one, and it's all thanks to blade2k5

Kryptowhite:  Yeah, how did that work out for you?  lol   But for real, thanks for noticing the details.  That tiny area took hours to make

Petrovar Ambassador:  Thanks!  This update is all about Jillian Island

rawr APPLES:  rawr CYCLONE

jaqulina:  Thanks, jacky

SimNation:  erm...me too...jk

Muck308:  ooh, I agonized about the best place to create a CJ, and PA was definitely the place.  Glad you like it so far, and thanks for reading TSOMRAMGC!

Benedict:  Thank you!  Hope you like the rest of it

*whew, I think that was the most replies I've ever done.  Thank you all for your support already.  It means a lot to me

This first update will show off Jillian Island.  It is by far the most picturesque and romantic island in lake Erie, and perhaps all of the Great Lakes.

Jillian Island during the day

It is an incredibly popular wedding destination, with all facilities being booked solid for years

And at night

The only way to get to the island is by boat.  No expense has been spared on a single square foot of the island - right down to the marina that serves wedding parties and VIPs as they arrive

Wedding guests often line the Walk of Eros, which leads directly from the doors of St. John's Church to the marina, where there is usually a sailboat decorated with "Just Married" signs.

Ahh, L'amour...

Many days have different wedding groups taking pictures in the many photogenic parks on the island.

The Jacobs family has owned the island since the 1880s.  They built a fortune in local banks, and built and landscaped the island in the 1910s.  They spared no expense in creating the finest experience possible for all visitors.  The walkway around the island is made of imported Italian marble.  The islands only hotel is among Pennsylvania's finest, and caters mostly to small wedding parties and people rich enough to stay (but with enough time on their hands for a boat or helicopter commute in the morning).

Of course for cost effectiveness, St. Johnathan's isn't the only venue for weddings on the island.  The Jillian Island Amphitheater can also host a wedding at the same time, despite being right next to St Johnathan's.

Also: concerts

And if that weren't enought, St. Christopher's Chapel is also next to St Johnathan's, and can also host a simultaneous event.

There are countless places for a scenic or romantic photograph.

On the north side of the island is the Basilica of St. Andrew and the Grand Walk that leads to Jillian Hall, which is the most popular reception hall on the island.

This is the north side at night - and possibly my favorite mosaic yet.

That's all for now.  I was going to show off what I have for Downtown Carthage so far, but this update is long enough.  You'll just have to come back next time

Jillian Island from the south

[Larks2242 251]

Nice to have your own little island huh Greeat update looks really good!

[Muck308 55]

Nice work! That's a very inviting island.

[TmiguelT 10]

That island is one of the best looking island i have seen around here . Awesome work !! i can't wait to see another update.

[JakeMD 107]

it's lovely!!!! Very nicely put together. I'd love to go there if I was a sim.

[Schulmanator 5,813]

Nice! That's a cool little island... my kinda style