District Files
Uptown
Uptown
Gotham's newest and roughest island, wedged between the Sprang and Gotham rivers. Rowhouses, rail yards, and turf lines that shift depending who's running the Bowery this month.
The Bowery
Long described as Gotham's worst neighborhood. Warehouses, chop shops, and boarded storefronts, bordered by Crime Alley to the north. Wire reporters are advised to file remotely.
Crown Point
A small, crime-ridden pocket inside the Bowery, long associated with homelessness and street-level vice. One of the few places in the city smaller than its own reputation.
Burnley
Bordered by Otisburg to the west and Newtown to the north. Home turf of more than one street gang over the years, and a fixture on every mob boss's territory map.
Otisburg
A dense grid of walk-ups and family-run shops. Named for a long-forgotten city alderman, according to a plaque nobody reads anymore.
Newtown
Sitting at Burnley's northern edge. Newer construction than its Uptown neighbors, though "new" is relative when the rest of the block dates to the last century.
Midtown
Bristol
Wooded estates and private drives on the city's outskirts, also known in some circles as Gotham Heights. Wayne Manor is the district's best-known address.
Upper East Side
Old money row houses flanking Robinson Park to the east. One of the quieter addresses in the city — quiet enough that residents notice when it isn't.
Upper West Side
Robinson Park's western counterpart. Gotham University sits nearby, giving the district a slightly younger, more academic crowd than its neighbor across the green.
Coventry
Gotham's corporate core, anchored by Wayne Enterprises and a skyline of firms that would rather not be named in this paper's investigative section.
Arkham District
The mainland approach to Arkham Island, reachable by the Trigate Bridge. Mostly service roads, checkpoints, and the kind of quiet that makes reporters nervous.
Downtown
Old Gotham
The oldest surviving quarter of the city, all soot-stained brick and pre-war architecture. Home to the Gotham Clock Tower and blocks that have outlived three redevelopment plans.
Diamond District
Gotham's financial and jewelry trade core. Marble lobbies and private security, with more cameras per block than anywhere else in the city — for what that's worth.
Fashion District
Garment lofts and showroom floors, historically a contested piece of turf whenever the city's underworld carves itself up.
Financial District
Bank towers and brokerage floors packed onto Downtown's southern edge, within sight of the bridges out to the smaller river islands.
Theatre District
Gotham's answer to Broadway, centered on Grand Avenue. Marquee lights, late crowds, and a nightlife scene that keeps the beat cops busy after curtain call.
City Hall District
Gotham's seat of power, home to the mayor's office and most of the municipal bureaucracy the Wire spends its editorial page complaining about.
Gotham City Chinatown
A tight grid of markets, restaurants, and family associations tucked into Downtown, with a nightlife scene that runs long after the rest of the district shutters.
Gotham Docklands
The city's working harbor. Freight, fishing boats, and, according to more than one Wire exposé, considerably more that never gets declared to customs.
Southern Islands
Paris Island
One of the small islands south of Downtown, reached by two bridges from Old Gotham. Best known for a shuttered funfair that has a way of turning up in the wrong headlines.
Elsa Island
The smallest of the islands south of Downtown, connected to Old Gotham and the Financial District by two bridges. Rarely makes the paper, which its residents seem to prefer.
Tricorner
An island at the city's southwest corner, home to shipyards and modest domestic housing. A number of GCPD officers keep addresses out here, away from the noise.
Outlying
The Narrows
Isolated from the rest of the city and, by most accounts, from most municipal services too. Regularly cited as the poorest and most dangerous stretch of Gotham on record.
Granton District
A sparsely documented stretch of the city that rarely appears on official maps. The Wire's own files on Granton are, frankly, thinner than we'd like to admit.