Nyhaven - a member of the Alliance of Independent NationsHi again, Devotees! After a 6-month-or-so absence, I decided to return and give you all a proper introduction to my old MD,
Nyhaven: an Engineer's View, by copying over my original posts from Simtropolis. This way, everyone can experience Nyhaven as I meant it to be experienced. I wanted to revive the version of this MD I started back in January, but since it has found its way into the MD Archives, I can't do that
So, to start off, I'm going to repost the first post from the current incarnation of Nyhaven. (For those who haven't seen Nyhaven from its very beginnings, let me tell you that this isn't the very first update from my original CJ, as that was from the first version of Nyhaven that I built, way back in 2006. It was lost in a tragic accident when I reformatted my hard drive.) Coming to you from January 12, 2007, here's
Episode 1: Humble Beginnings!
Here's an overview of Hunters Island along the Columbia River:
In 1880, a group of persecuted Christians who had arrived from abroad (mostly Europe) found their way to this island and saw it as the perfect place to start their lives afresh. These few dozen settlers are known to us today as the founders of Nyhaven.
The founders chose to build their first homes and shops on this hill at the northern end of the island, centered on two intersecting avenues and a large square. The young city looked thus after about ten years' time:
The settlers wasted no time in establishing their own churches; after all, religious freedom was the very reason they and others came to the Columbia River Valley. As you can see, they built three churches across town in Nyhaven's early years, symbols of their gratitude to God for leading them to this place; today, these churches are historic landmarks, serving as a testament to the city's devout history.
Within 50 years, the city was home to almost 20,000 people. By then, many of the leading founders had passed away, so the citizens thought it fitting to erect statues in their honor on the central square. In so doing, what we now know as Founders' Square took on most of its modern form. This was also the time when the first City Hall was built in order to make the growing municipal government more efficient.
As the city grew, enterprising businessmen saw the growing need for better transportation and filled it. Isaiah Rittenberg is credited with building what he called the "Nyhaven Public Railway", now known as the Hill Line, from Tenth Street in the south to Broadway in the north, a distance of fifteen blocks. Later, as Nyhaven expanded eastward on the mainland, he added today's Eastern Line (seen here branching off from the Hill Line) to serve the new suburbs. The Eastern Line was remarkable in its day for including an underground section in the urban center.
Not to be outdone, however, rival entrepreneur Markus Chevalier built an all-underground line of his own, first running from the young University of Nyhaven northwest to the northern suburbs, passing through ten stations. Ironically, however, his Green Line's central station was on the same block as Rittenberg's junction, setting the stage for the modern City Hall Station, where most of the city's rail lines intersect.
The railroads came to Nyhaven some seven decades after its founding, stopping at the city's majestic Central Station before continuing east and west. The station was a catalyst in the city's northward growth, with Isaiah Rittenberg extending his Hill Line to it soon after its opening. Nyhaven's first zoo was built next door, and thousands of immigrants built their homes north of the railroad tracks.
Remember that university I mentioned? It is Nyhaven's oldest institution of higher learning, having been established when the city was still small. While it was originally just a cluster of buildings a couple hundred yards from Herron's Creek, it grew with the city; it is shown above when Nyhaven was home to about 90,000 people.
With growth came the challenge of making room for all the new arrivals. Many people wanted to live near the emerging business district, but the nearby neighborhoods were arleady rather crowded. Not only that, but more businesses wanted a view of the river. The city council had no other option but to fill in part of the river, thus extending Hunters Island one block further west. Fishermen found the new waterfront a useful place to tie up their boats, while more entrepreneurs opened shop to cater to the shore's new visitors.
All this growth put a lot of strain on the existing municipal facilities. More and more people needed to be served, which meant adding more staff to City Hall. Before long, the old building wasn't big enough anymore; it was consequently replaced with an even bigger structure that still houses the mayor and city council today. The Water Board, however, found it necessary to move into a nearby building.
Downtown in the early 21st century was not much to behold, unless you were a Nyhavener. Citizens took as much pride in their city as they do today, and they were proud of how far the city had come in just over a century.
This is how Nyhaven looked as the century progressed, with over 90,000 inhabitants. While the past century was certainly momentous, greater days are just around the corner...
