A wretched hive of scum and villainy. — Gotham City.

Gotham City is on the East Seaboard of the United States, more specifically in New Jersey. Tourists are rare in Gotham, so reports of what it's like tends to vary, including with the city geography and architecture. From various news reports, Gotham's politics has often been depicted as having heavy ties to organized crime and corruption. During the latter half of the 18th century and the early half of the 19th century, Gotham was a major port city known as Gotham Town. Beginning as early as 1799, Darius Wayne began construction on a family estate that would eventually become known as Wayne Manor.

History

A Norwegian mercenary founded Gotham City in 1635 and the British later took it over. To an extent, this mirrors the history of many American cities that changed hands over the course of time. During the American Revolutionary War, Gotham City was the site of a major battle and rumors held it to be the site of various occult rites. Expanding upon Gotham's occult heritage by depicting a being who has slept for 40,000 years beneath the land upon which Gotham City was built.
Many researchers have added more events to Gotham's history, and at the same time affecting the city and its people greatly. Perhaps the greatest in impact was a long set of serial storylines, which started with a terrorist releasing a debilitating virus called the "Clench" during the "Contagion" event. As that arc wrapped the city was beginning to recover only to suffer an earthquake described as being 7.6 on the Richter Scale in "Cataclysm". This resulted in the federal government cutting Gotham off from the rest of the United States in "No Man's Land." This trio of storylines allowed writers the freedom to redefine the nature and mood of the city. The result suggested a harder city with a more resilient, resourceful, and cynical populace; a more dramatic and varied architecture; and more writing possibilities by attributing new locales to the rebuilding of the city.
By the 1930s, crime and corruption had reached a significant height in Gotham in which it became immortally characterized as a dark foreboding metropolis. However, no matter what good these forces managed to do, the city remained in the control of organized crime. During the 1950s, Gotham evolved with the changing times, particularly in light of the paranoia perpetuated by the Cold War. Various bomb shelters were erected all throughout the city. By the 1960s, Gotham City planners began an ambitious project called the Underground Highway. Beginning at Fourth Avenue, they began building an actual subterranean thoroughfare designed to link with the subway system. They only managed to complete two-hundred yards worth of tunnel before budget cuts forced them to abandon the project.
Gotham architects often base their interpretations on various real architectural periods and styles, with exaggerated characteristics, such as massively multi-tiered flying buttresses on cathedrals, or the huge Art Deco and Art Nouveau statuary seen in Tim Burton movies. According to local legend, the person cited as being influential in promoting the unique architecture of Gotham City during the pre-American Civil War era was Judge Solomon Wayne, Bruce Wayne's ancestor. His campaign to reform Gotham came to a head when he met a young architect named Cyrus Pinkney. Wayne commissioned Pinkney to design and to build the first "Gotham Style" structures in what became as the center of the city's financial district. The "Gotham Style" idea of the writers matches parts of the Gothic Revival in style and timing. In 1992, a man obsessed with Pinkney's architecture blew up several Gotham buildings in order to reveal the Pinkney structures they had hidden.
Gotham has rampant and recurring corruption within the city's civil authorities and infrastructure, most notably within the Gotham City Police Department. Earlier, Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb was depicted as having his hands in many pockets. However, James Gordon found evidence for conspiracy charges, forcing Loeb to resign his position. Later stories depicted subsequent commissioners as also being corruptible, or open to various forms of influence. In other stories, the Police has had to take on crooked cops, either acting in collusion with supervillains, working for the mob, or on their own. Later stories, featuring James Gordon as the new Commissioner, show him trying to purge corruption from the force. Gordon was the commissioner for about 9 to 10 years.

Current Affairs

Gotham has a wide variety of sports teams; like their baseball teams, the Gotham Knights and the Gotham Griffins, their basketball team, the Gotham Guardsmen, their football team the Gotham Wildcats and their ice hockey team, the Gotham Blades. The Gotham Knights baseball team colors are black and gold like the Knights football team. The Griffins team colors are dark green and white. There is an additional, basketball team called the Gotham Gators.

Locations of Note

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Map of Gotham City.

Ace Chemical Processing Plant — The factory where a costumed criminal named the Red Hood fell into a vat of chemicals.
Amusement Mile — An amusement park in Gotham, lined with ferriswheels, rollercoasters, and other attractions typical of a theme park.
Blackgate Penitentiary — The city’s main prison, located on Blackgate Isle. It was preceded by Gotham Penitentiary.
The Bowery — Described in the comics as Gotham City's worst neighborhood. Bordered by Crime Alley to the north, The Bowery is home to Crown Point, a smaller inner-district ridden with crime, homelessness, and prostitution.
Brentwood Academy — A privately run high school once attended by Tim Drake.
Burnley
The Cauldron — An area known for organized crime. The Irish Mob runs most of The Cauldron and it is home to some of the most prestigious hitmen in the city.
The Clocktower — A tower in central Gotham which at one time contained the secret headquarters of Barbara Gordon, for her activities as Oracle. The "War Games" storyline shows the destruction of the Clocktower.
Chinatown — Gotham's primary Asian district.
Crime Alley — A small side street, located in the East End, formally "Park Row." It is a dangerous, crime-infested area. This is where Joe Chill killed Thomas and Martha Wayne in front of their young son, Bruce, after the family had visited a cinema. This is also where Doctor Leslie Thompkins maintains her clinic.
Diamond District
East End — An underdeveloped part of Gotham laden with poverty, crime, prostitution, and the circulation of illegal drugs.
Falcone Penthouse — This is the home of Carmine Falcone.
Fashion District
Financial District
Finnigan's — A bar popular with uniformed police officers in Gotham.
Gotham County High School — A public high school once attended by Tim Drake.
Gotham Docks — This is the city's harbor.
Gotham Heights — An affluent area also known as "Bristol" and/or "Crest Hill", due to mutual proximity of the three neighborhoods. This is where Wayne Manor is located.
Gotham Square — A central area of the city resembling New York City's Times Square.
Gotham Village — In 1970s comics this was a bohemian area, based on New York City's Greenwich Village.
Grand Avenue — The city's main theatre district based on New York City's Broadway.
The Hill
The Iceberg Lounge — A nightclub in the city center operated by Oswald Cobblepot.
Killinger's Department Store — A large department store similar to Macy's in New York.
Monarch Playing Card Co. — The playing card factory adjacent to Ace Chemical Processing.
My Alibi — An underworld bar in the city center.
New Town
Old Gotham — The Gotham district more well known for the location of the Clock Tower and the GCPD headquarters.
Otisburg
Park Row — The place where the Solomon Wayne Courthouse is located.
Plant Factory
Robinson Park — The city’s main park.
The Stacked Deck — A seedy nightclub where the most notorious criminals in Gotham go to hide out sometimes.
The Statue of Justice — Also known as "Lady Gotham," this is a monument situated off shore of the city and modeled loosely on the Statue of Liberty in New York. It varies in that the figure has a blindfold over her eyes, and a sword and scales in her outstretched hands.
Slaughter Swamp — Just outside Gotham.
Tricorner — An island at the southwest corner of Gotham City. It is home to the Tricorner Yards.
Toxic Acres — An abandoned neighborhood of newly built houses, unsuitable for habitation due to its proximity to a toxic waste dump. To prevent illness, those entering or staying in the area need to use gas masks or take antivenin.
Wayne Manor — Also referred to as "Wayne Mansion" or "Stately Wayne Manor," this is the mansion estate of Bruce Wayne, and the location of the Batcave.
Wayne Tower — This is the headquarters of Wayne Enterprises, located at the corner of Finger and Broome Streets.

Gotham People of Note

These are the people to know in Gotham City.

High Society

Congressman Rupert Thorne	Mayor Hamilton Hill	Industrialist Bruce Wayne	Industrialist Max Schreck	Industrialist Ferris Boyle

Old Money Oswald Cobblepot	Old Money Katherine 'Kate' Kane	Heiress Silver St. Cloud	Socialite Selina Kyle	Socialite Julie Madison
File:GCOswaldCobblepot.jpg

Socialite Jaina Hudson	Socialite Jezebel Jet
	File:GCJezebelJet.jpg

Law & Order

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Gotham City Police Department

The GCPD is the municipal police force of Gotham City. The GCPD would normally deal with typical cases of murder, robbery rackets and would usually solve them under the guidance of James Gordon. The GCPD had long been steeped in corruption with numerous officers, both high-and-low ranking, involved in crimes ranging from bribery to drug-trafficking and murder. The strongest blow against police corruption came when an increasing amount of conspiracy charges against Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb forced him to resign his position. Simultaneously, the ebbing presence of corrupt police officers allowed Jim Gordon, a man determined to eradicate crime wherever it existed, to become the new commissioner.

The GCPD is one of the toughest police departments as they have to deal with highly influential criminals on a regular basis.

Gotham City Police Department

Commissioner James 'Jim' Gordon	Chief of Police Clancy O'Hara	Deputy Chief of Police Mackenzie 'Hardback' Bock	County Sheriff Steve 'Shotgun' Smith	S.W.A.T. Captain Howard Branden

Detective Arnold Flass	Detective Harvey Bullock	Detective Renee Montoya	Detective Carlos Alvarez	Detective Crispus Allen

Detective Sarah Essen	Detective Stan Kitch	Detective Nick Gage	Detective Michael Tritter	Sergeant Oliver Hammet

District Attorney's Office

District Attorney Janice Porter	Ass. District Attorney Harvey Dent	Medical Examiner Nora Fries
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Criminals

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Organizational Layout of the Falcone Crime Family.

Carmine Falcone is one of the great crime lords of Gotham City, which is run by the mafia. Nicknamed The Roman for his unflinching ruthlessness and expansionism. Falcone virtually controlled the entire city, with the Mayor, the City council, and the Police Commissioner, Gillian B. Loeb under his influence. Falcone was completely untouchable by the law.
The Falcone Crime Family, also known as "The Roman" Empire after their former leader, Carmine "The Roman" Falcone, was the major crime family of Gotham City. The crime family was also connected to the Viti family in Chicago, the Gazzo family in New York, and the Gotham-based Maronis, Sullivan Family and the Skeevers brothers, Jefferson and Eddie.

The Roman Carmine Falcone	Mario Falcone	Gigante Sofia Falcone	Alberto Falcone	The Boss Salvatore 'Sal' Maroni

Capo Jack Napier	Roman Sionis	Anthony 'Tony' Zucco	Edward Skeevers
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Arkham Asylum

A Serious House on Serious Earth. — The Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane.

The Elizabeth Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, better known as Arkham Asylum, is a psychiatric hospital north of Gotham City. According to Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, the crumbling Victorian mansion at the heart of the original Arkham Asylum was a single-family home, occupied at the beginning of the twentieth century by the Arkham family. Arkham Asylum: Living Hell elaborates on this information, disclosing that the actual structure was built long before the early 1900s as the "Gotham House of Madness and Ill Humors".
Arkham Asylum is located on the outskirts of Gotham City, and is where the legally insane are incarcerated (other criminals are incarcerated at Blackgate Penitentiary). Although it has had numerous administrators, its current head is Jeremiah Arkham. The Asylum does not have a good record, at least with regard to the high profile cases; most of the staff and guards are corrupt and escapes are frequent (on at least one occasion, an obsessive-compulsive multiple murderer was signed out of Arkham into the care of an incontinent, alcoholic vagrant, on the grounds that he "looked like a responsible citizen"), and those who are 'cured' and released tend to re-offend.

Asylum Head Doctor Jeremiah Arkham	Doctor Hugo Strange	Doctor Jonathan Crane	Doctor Harleen Quinzel	Doctor Chase Meridian
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Doctor Penelope Young	Doctor Darryl Nolan	Head of Security Aaron Cash

Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital

The hospital appears to be a non-profit entity, essentially run as a charity with no shareholders. It's a teaching hospital, which means it's affiliated with a university medical school (although it has never been revealed which one, and Princeton University has no medical school) and is responsible for training medical students, interns, residents, and fellows. The hospital's highest authority is the Board of Directors, which is primarily made up of department heads, together with important donors. Generally, the Chairman of the Board is one of the donors rather than one of the doctors. The current chairman of the board is Sanford Wells, the owner of a large corporation. The board generally does not involve itself in the day-to-day running of the hospital. Its chief duty appears to be to approve the hiring of chief administrative officers and approving contracts for major expenses, such as those with the hospital's insurers. The Board also determines which doctors are entitled to tenure in the hospital's role as a medical educator. The Board elects and dismisses its own members by majority vote of the remainder of the members.

Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital Staff

Chairman of the Board Sanford Wells	Dean of Medicine Dr. Lisa Cuddy	Head of Oncology Dr. James Wilson Board Member	Orthopedic Surgeon Dr. Ron Simpson Board Member	Head of Diagnostics Dr. Gregory House

Diagnostics Fellow Dr. Eric Foreman	Diagnostics Fellow Dr. Robert Chase	Diagnostics Fellow Dr. Christopher Taub	Diagnostics Fellow Dr. Remy Hadley	Diagnostics Fellow Dr. Chi Park

Gotham Academy

Gotham Academy is a prestigious private boarding school that many of Gotham City's elite have attended. In 1863, Millie Jane Cobblepot was secretly moved from Arkham Asylum to what would become the Girls' Dorm. She was imprisoned there by her family to silence her and keep their dirty dealings a secret. In her captivity, Millie Jane had discovered the secret tunnels inside the academy. She would remain in the dorm until the day she faked her own suicide. During the summer, the Police had dropped Tristan Grey off at the school to receive medical treatment from Professors Langstrom and Milo. He would stay at the academy year-round free of charge like the school's other special case, Olive Silverlock. Later on, Tristan saved Olive from a fire which was caused in the North Hall. He was asked by Professor MacPherson to watch over her. The fire had caused extensive damage to the North Hall and was sealed off to avoid accidents. The school play of Macbeth was being sabotaged by a mysterious figure. At first the Detective Club thought it was Calamity, Olive's mother, until they discovered mud at the scene of the crime. They soon found out that it was really Katherine Karlo who had been working for her father to get revenge against Simon Trent. The day was saved by Olive when she used a hose to destabilize him, leaving Katherine alone.

Gotham Academy Faculty

English Teacher Helena Bertinelli	Phys. Ed. Teacher Dinah Lance	Ecology Teacher Dr. Pamela Isley	Biology Teacher Dr. Kirk Langstrom	History Teacher Isla McPhearson
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Physics Teacher Dr. Victor Fries	Chemistry Teacher Prof. Achilles Milo	Shop Teacher Sterling Silversmith	Science Teacher Edgar Heed	Literature Teacher A.S. Scarlet
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Caretaker Harriet Cooper

Gotham Academy Students

Dick Grayson	Barbara Gordon	Jason Todd	Carrie Kelley	Luke Fox
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Heathcliff Ray	Alexis Kaye

Junior Class

Tim Drake	Cassandra Cain	Elizabeth 'Bette' Kane	Stephanie Brown	Suzanne King-Jones
	File:GCCassandraCain.jpg			File:GCSuzanneKingJones.jpg

Olive Silverlock	Kyle Mizoguchi	Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi	Tristan Grey	Lucy Hunt

Colton Rivera	Warren McGinnis	Pomeline Frych	Bernard Doyd

Park Row

Park Row, or Crime Alley, is the part of Gotham North where Thomas and Martha Wayne were killed in front of young Bruce by Joe Chill. The orphaned Bruce was comforted by the local resident Leslie Thompkins, but this single tragedy wouldn't be erased from his young mind and it served as motivation to start his long journey and crime-fighting crusade as Gotham's premier philanthropist and job-creator. Every year, Bruce Wayne visits the place on the anniversary of his parents' deaths as a reminder of his life purpose. He has adopted at least one Park Row resident as a ward.
Park Row was once a fancy Gotham City East End neighborhood until the murder of the Waynes. Since that event, the place became commonly known as "Crime Alley" and the reputation of the place deteriorated. Currently, Crime Alley is home to Dr. Leslie Thompkins, who also runs the free Thomas Wayne Memorial Clinic, funded by Bruce Wayne. Crime Alley became known for its derelict buildings and abandoned properties. Many criminals used these place as their hideout, who came to own several buildings of the area through illicit businesses. Park Row was also the base of operations of Lone-Eye Lincoln, a drug dealer that came across Bruce Wayne, after he lost his memory.