Nyhaven

Thank you all very much! Blakeway, I'm using rivit's Coastal Mod from last year; it includes various texture options for water of different depths, as well as beach textures.



Not long after I rang in the new year with my colleagues, I got a phone call at home from my parents. It turned out that it was time to plan the family reunion we would be hosting in April 1971, and now that I was back in town, they could really use my help.


So the next weekend, I hopped into my car and headed over to the old family home in the Rossmore Lake district. Taking the freeway would have meant an unnecessary detour in the wrong direction, so I just took 20th Street to Avenue H, which got me most of the way there.


Once I had arrived, we got down to business. "Well, Paul," my mother began, "the first thing we need to do is choose as place to hold the reunion. Why don't you take a look at some of the local parks and see which one would be best?"
"I'd be happy to, Mom," I replied. And with that, once we had made some other early plans, I was off on a trip around Nyhaven to look at city parks.


The first place I went was Rossmore Park, just west of my parents' house. It had good amenities, but I just didn't think it was the right place for our reunion.


Another candidate was Science Park, in the Melrose district. There was plenty to do there, but I was really looking for something else in a location.



I also looked at Thrillsbury Park, up in Lincoln Hills. Certainly an exciting place, but still not quite right.


Finally, as I was heading back to home base, I stopped by Ridgleand Park. It had the advantage of not being very far from home, but what I really liked about it was the open lawns. It was perfect for the reunion! I wasted no time booking its South Pavilion for the event.


Now that we had a location, it was time to get busy. There were only three months until the reunion, so I was sent over to the local stationery store to buy everything we would need to make invitations.


On the day before the event, after work, I went back to the family home to help cook all the food we would need the next day. Jane volunteered to help, too, and boy, was her help needed! We had received about 80 RSVPs by then, so we needed a lot of food.


Finally, the day came, and we all gathered at the park. The cherry blossoms really made it a beautiful place for a reunion. This was also Jane's introduction to my extended family, who were happy to meet the woman I had told them so much about over the phone.


As the day wore on, it came time for the part of the reunion I loved best, the Franconi family football game. Our family was mostly split between the states of Pacifica (where Nyhaven and Kendall are located) and Willamette (with a lot of people on my great-uncle's side living in Salem, Albany and Corvallis), so we had a Pacifica vs. Willamette game. Happily, the Pacificans won by two touchdowns. It helped having Jane cheering from the sidelines!

Great addition!

Wow a Reunion! Sounds like fun!

I want those parks! Please?

I can't see any of the images...

Great update!

Oh good, I can see it now. That was incredible, the images are amazing. Great work!

Thanks, all of you! kccl, unfortunately those parks are exclusive to Nyhaven, but I'm working on getting the off-angle path textures uploaded for others to use in making their own parks, so you might soon be able to make something similar yourself

Here's a little scene from Midtown!

Wow Zach, seriously awesome! May I know how you change the "Aurora" publicity on the building nightlights?

That is amazing!!!! :shock: No better to advertise Coke, too.

Btw, where did you get the building with the Lion King on it?

Pat, here it is: http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=18767

Sweet! (and carbonated!) nice work.

Blakeway wrote:Pat, here it is: http://www.simtropolis.com/stex/details.cfm?id=18767

Thanks!

Very great!

Thank you all very much! Julien, the Aurora Plaza download on the SC4D LEX includes five different versions of the BAT, each with either a different image on the screen (the Coca-Cola ad is one of these), or no screen at all. Unlike the STEX version of this BAT, the LEX version allows you to use all five versions of the building at once.



After the reunion, it seemed that I was spending more and more of my free time with Jane. We saw each other several evenings a week, as well as most weekends.


One of our favorite places to go was Thrillsbury Park. We never got tired of playing the games at the arcade or going on the rides, even though there weren't many of them.


It was most fun, however, to ride the rollercoasters in the evening. Watching the sun set behind the skyscrapers of downtown and into the river was always a special moment for us.


We also did our part to support Nyhaven's professional sports teams. Going over to Rittenberg Field was one of our favorite things to do after work during baseball season.


Once, we attended a particularly heated game between the Nyhaven Regals and the Astoria Pilgrims that lasted 12 innings. It was a sweet victory when the Regals finally scored the game-winning run, and we were thrilled to enjoy that triumph together.


Things changed between us at work, too. We lingered longer at the water cooler, took lunch breaks together, and Jane even moved her office closer to mine.


Midtown became an even more enjoyable place to live, as we visited the local eateries and saw shows at the theaters. There was always something good onstage at the Sullivan Theater, down at Eighth Avenue and 25th Street.


As our love grew, our dates became simpler and, if you can believe it, even more frequent. Sometimes, instead of heading straight home after work, we would enjoy a simple stroll along the downtown waterfront together.


As day turned to night, our gaze turned back toward the city, as downtown became ablaze with its thousands of lights. It felt as if the city was on fire - though the fire was really in our hearts.


Eventually, I knew the time had come to take our relationship to the next level. In April of 1974, I placed some special reservations at the restaurant on the observation levels of the South Point Observation Tower, a joint project of ours which had recently opened to the public. When evening came, I stopped by early to make sure everything would be perfect when we came for dinner. This was going to be a night to remember!


Later, as dinner was ending, I signaled to the maitre d' that it was time for my plan to be put into action. Our waiter came back with two glasses of champagne - one, with a ring in it. When Jane fished it out of her glass, I popped the question, and she accepted. How wonderful!

Geez, Nyhaven is awesome! Good job mate and thanks alot for your link and infos

I have my reservations about the "retaining wall" in the 4th last picture. But other than that, great stuff!

great storyline and awesome city pictures.

I cant wait for the wedding! lol

awwwwwwwwwww <3

Thanks, all of you! kccl, you're not my only reader to point out that retaining wall. I've since changed it to MAS71's retaining walls (and reconnected the parts of New Embankment Street with FLUPs under the bridge ramp), and now it looks much better.

Well, I seem to have let this thread languish while maintaining my CJ elsewhere. To make it up to you, I'm now going to skip Update 42 (which I posted in my Astoria thread, anyway) and post both of the most recent updates at once, to bring this thread up to speed. Here we go!



Not long after my big proposal to Jane, some of my office buddies took it upon themselves to toast me after work.


We went to one of the more upscale bars in downtown Nyhaven. It was a great night, and I was so honored to have my friends congratulate me like this.


It wasn't long before Jane and I started looking at places to hold the wedding, which we had set for sometime in May 1975. First, we looked at a local church in Midtown, not far from our respective apartments. We both agreed that there were better venues out there, so we moved on.


Next, we looked at a large church near where I grew up, and where my parents still had connections with the staff. It was a lovely place, but there were no hotels or other places nearby where we could have the reception, so we had to keep looking elsewhere.


Finally, we came to one of the oldest churches in Nyhaven, located downtown. Not only was it a beautiful and picturesque place for the ceremony, it was also close to downtown's many hotels. We knew we had found the best location, so we went ahead and booked it.


Now it was time to find a place to hold the reception. It wasn't too hard to do, since we were already downtown. We ended up choosing one of the conference rooms at the Waldorf Nyhaven Hotel, one of the older and nicer hotels in the city.


As the big day drew closer, we started getting the details ready. First, we bought the invitations at a nice stationery shop near Ridgeland Park.


A bit later, I found a tuxedo to buy at a shop near my apartment. It wasn't cheap, but it was definitely worth the cost.


Meanwhile, Jane went to a department store in Midtown to buy her wedding dress. I didn't see it until the wedding, of course, but I had heard good things about it from our mutual friends.


Finally, on May 16, 1975 the time had almost come. It was the eve of the wedding day, and so my friends once again took it upon themselves to treat me to a bachelor party in Theaterland.


The next day, I showed up at the church downtown and got ready for the ceremony. As it started, when Jane came down the aisle, I was stunned. She was beautiful, as always, but in that dress, she looked absolutely heavenly! The ceremony went on, and at the end of it all, we were pronounced husband and wife. My dreams had come true!


Soon afterwards, we led the way over to the Waldorf Nyhaven and started the reception. It was loads of fun, and we were there until after dark enjoying ourselves and receiving our guests' congratulations and well-wishes.

Today's update will be a little different from normal, as there won't be any narration. Instead, I've decided to show you all seven houses in the suburbs of Nyhaven that our newlyweds, Paul and Jane, are looking at buying. I'm opening up this big decision to all of you, which means that you all get to decide where they will live, given the seven choices below. I've done my best to give you enough information about each house and its environs so that you can make an informed decision. The poll will stay open until July 25; when I post Update 45 a few days after that, the winning house will be revealed. So then, let's see which houses we're deciding between, shall we?


This first house is located in the suburb of Mulholland Heights, not far from the major sporting venues at Sporthaven and Uptown. It's a two-bed/1-1/2 bath, two-story house that's available for ₡50,000 (₡ is the symbol for the Lower Columbian coulomb, the currency used in Nyhaven; that price is equivalent to about US$95,000). This particular house is also close to a high school, the Cathlamet train station and a hospital. However, the drawback to being so close to the rails is hearing some noise from the trains every so often.


This is a fairly recently-built house in the southern part of the city of Cathlamet, a short way to the southwest from our first house. It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, all for ₡84,000 (or $160,000). Downtown Cathlamet and the city's harbor are nearby, as are an elementary school and a clinic, but the house sits along a busy road, so traffic is an issue.


This house is located in the Rossmore Hills area of Nyhaven, only a short drive from Ridgeland Park. Other nearby amenities include both an elementary school and a high school, a bus stop and a subway station along Saint Mark's Line of the Nyhaven MetroRail, and the R-48 freeway, which reaches into the inner city of Nyhaven. There is also a railroad nearby, though, so noise from passing trains is once again an issue. This is a 2-bed/1.5 bath house with a price tag of ₡56,000 (or $106,000).


Here's a house to the north of downtown Nyhaven, in part of the Melrose district. At a price of ₡60,000/$114,000, this 2-bed/2-bath house is reasonably affordable to our couple of city employees. This house isn't far from the nearest Hill Line station (which would give them an easy commute to City Hall), as well as a hospital, a high school and a large shopping mall (you decide whether that last one is a good thing or not). However, there is moderate crime in this neighborhood, and traffic heading for the mall is an issue.


Northwest of downtown, in the city of Skamokawa, stands this lovely house. It's close to downtown Skamokawa and that city's harbor, as well as an elementary school and a hospital, but there's a railroad right behind it, so you can expect there to be a lot of noise from passing trains. This house has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and (due to its proximity to downtown Skamokawa) is one of the more expensive houses we're looking at, at ₡115,000/$218,500.


This house, here in Century Flats, has perhaps the most nearby amenities out of all these houses. First of all, it's only a few blocks from the Puget Island Athletics Park, which is currently (i.e. in 1975) being developed as Nyhaven's Simlympic Park in preparation for the arrival of the Simlympics to the city in 1980; it would be very convenient for Paul to live close to this important location. In addition, this is the only house of these seven that is only a short distance from a church. In addition, there is very low traffic in this neighborhood, so it's a quiet place, and there's a hospital and both an elementary and high school close by. With all these amenities nearby, this house is available for the bargain price of ₡72,000/$137,000. The only downside is the lack of mass transit in the area; the nearest subway station is the ParkWest station on the Island Line, on the northwestern edge of the park. Finally, this house has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.


What the previous house had in local amenities, this Barrington house has right on-site, so to speak. This is the largest of the seven houses, with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. It's also the only one of these houses that has a two-car garage and an in-ground pool in the backyard. Unfortunately, all these extra on-site amenities aren't without cost; this is the most expensive of our houses, costing ₡150,000 (or $285,000). Also, like some of the other houses we've looked at, this house is near a railroad (noise issues again) and is in an area with moderate traffic. On the plus side, though, there are a clinic and both an elementary and a high school nearby as well.

So there you have it; seven homes, each with its own pros and cons. Which one do you think our newlyweds should buy?

House 7!

House 6!

House 7! Great job like always Zach!

7!7!7!

Awesome job- I cant believe i missed the wedding! :~XC: