Gotham has been called “a nightmare built out of metal and stone” and for many, the
entire city is synonymous with urban blight.
Rampant corruption and crime have tarnished Gotham’s image while its tumultuous history
has left a sour reputation that has been difficult for the city to rise above.
For those that call Gotham home however, the city possesses an indefinable allure.
Even on its darkest nights there remains a sense of hope that there are better days ahead
for Gotham, and that the city is still worth saving.
The lands that would one day become known as Gotham were first inhabited by a Native
American tribe called the Miagani.
By the time of the arrival of the first European settlers however, the Miagani in the area
had long since disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
They would not be the last to do so.
In the early 17th century, twin Dutch colonies were established in the area, one at the mouth
of the modern Gotham river, and a second further inland.
A deserted town and pools of blood was all that was ever found of these latter colonists
and tales spread across the surviving coastal settlements that their countrymen had ignored
some shamanistic warning.
The British later claimed the entire area, and by the 19th century, the colony had become
a major port city known as Gotham Town.
In 1840, Judge Solomon Wayne and architect Cyrus Pinkney spearheaded a major urban planning
initiative, bringing to Gotham Town an eclectic and sometimes overpowering architectural style.
Pinkney’s “Gotham Style” buildings were for a time widely imitated across both the
city and elsewhere, despite their divisive reception.
World War One and the Roaring Twenties further elevated Gotham City into a bustling hub of
commerce and industry.
By the 1930s however, the city had become infamous for its pervasive slums and government
corruption rather than any economic or cultural achievements.
During the Cold War, various revitalization projects were attempted, including, most notably,
an extensive underground transit system.
Budget cuts and shifting priorities left such undertakings unfinished or cancelled altogether
and there remains to this day a labyrinth of abandoned tunnels beneath the city.
Deindustrialization, failing infrastructure, and poverty decimated Gotham for the remainder
of the 20th century, and the ever-present criminal element spread completely unchecked.
Rival mobsters and criminal gangs warred with one another for control over neighborhoods,
but they too were soon threatened by the rise of a new kind of criminal.
Metahumans and criminally insane individuals seemed drawn to Gotham and they quickly overtook
the old criminal families of Gotham as the city’s greatest danger.
Worse still was the “Gotham Cataclysm” in which a magnitude 7.6 earthquake decimated
the city seemingly beyond repair.
For months the city was abandoned and then quarantined by the US government as gangs,
metahumans, and the remnants of the Gotham Police Department fought to claim the city
for themselves.
Eventually, thanks to financial and political contributions from Lex Luthor and Lexcorp,
the city was rebuilt.
Today Gotham exists much like it always has; a twisting labyrinth of skyscrapers, avenues
and alleyways.
Its enormous art deco skyscrapers, elevated walkways, and abundance of gargoyles, statues,
and monuments continue to divide its own citizens, and the world, as to whether Gotham is an
unprecedented work of art, or a sprawling example of insanity.
But the avenues are once again bustling with people who have made Gotham their home.
The Gotham Knights continue to play to enthusiastic crowds, and the roller coasters, ferris wheels,
and funhouses of Amusement Mile have sprung back to life.
Gotham’s criminal element has also returned, meeting behind closed doors at the Iceberg
Lounge & Casino.
If there is one aspect of Gotham that few were pleased to see return, it is Arkham Asylum.
A psychiatric hospital with as long and storied a history as Gotham itself, Arkham has housed
some of the most dangerous individuals on the planet.
While upgraded across the decades to keep its patients secure, names like Two Face,
Jonathan Crane, Edward Nigma, and the twisted thing known only as the Joker are enough to
keep Gotham’s residents on edge.
Yet the defining aspect of Gotham is not its legendary psychopaths, brash architecture,
or grim history, but a creature that is said to prowl across the rooftops.
A terrifying guardian that each night preys upon the criminal element of the city.
Whether such a being truly exists or is nothing but an elaborate ploy crafted by the GCPD,
every citizen of Gotham has their own opinion.
But criminals are a cowardly and superstitious lot, and when the sun goes down on Gotham,
they know with certainty that none of them are safe.
In Atlas, the Templin Institute investigates the most storied places from across alternate
worlds.
If you have a suggestion for a future episode, let us know in the comments section and if
you’d like to support us directly, a link to our Patreon can be found in the description.