This week I'm going to tell you about one of the best models in the game and its real life counterpart. I am referring to the Battery Park Memorial or for those who play DX, The Eagle.

There are many nice pictures of the Memorial Eagle. Some can be found here:

http://www.wikipages.com/index.php/Battery_Park

But my shots were just for comparison to the game. First notice that the Memorial is very accurate to the game. Even relative proportions. It really feels like you are in game.

MuseumPlanet.com gives us this insight:

On the eastern side
of the plaza a monumental bronze eagle, sculpted by Albino Manca (1898-1976) and set
on a pedestal of polished black granite, grips a laurel wreath over a wave —
signifying the act of mourning at the watery grave. The monument was
commissioned by the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), a small independent
agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government, and was
dedicated by President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) on May 23,
1963.

The Monument was
designed by Gehron
and Seltzer.

I really wanted you to see the vertical shot of the Eagle. Notice how epic it looks with that amazing, hyper modern NYC skyline!

That's what JC would actually have seen when approaching the Eagle. Now you have seen it too, thanks to the madmen at Deus Ex Roadtrip!

Ken just sent this link to an awsome article about the anniversary of DX, and how Bad Ass it is even years later!

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/06/14/taking-liberties/

Assault on Castle Clinton

Castle Clinton is named in honor of Governor Dewitt Clinton of New York State. It was originally called The South West Battery, hence " Battery Park". The truth about the Castle's various uses is (as often happens) stranger than being a secret NSF hideout.

From 1812 to now the Castle has been: An island cannon battery (that never fired on an enemy ship), a theatre and opera house, an immigration processing center (Harry Houdini came through there), an aquarium (I kid you not.) and the U.S. National Monument we know it as today.

What struck me most was the size. It looks and feels almost exactly as it did in Deus Ex. There were two kiosks in it instead of one, but other than that, damn near the same. You could practically hear the machine gun fire.

There is a tiny museum inside that shows the Castle as it looked in various time periods. Ken got you all a great shot of the original "island" battery diorama.

First Mission

All right. Here is the first set of locations I want to visit in NY.

Battery Park
Castle Clinton
Liberty Island
18th St. Subway Station

Then if there is time, the New York, Lower East Side Cemetery

That still leaves Hell's Kitchen and the Brooklyn Navel Shipyards for another visit.

Bonus Question: What will we find at 5th Street and Broadway?

It Has Begun!

Ken Chapman (League Project Director) and I have business in New York on Monday the 26th. That means we will be starting the first leg of our grand tour of all the "Deus Ex" video game locations. I have never visited New York so this is going to be pretty exciting for me. We will have a couple of cameras and will get lots of pictures that I hope to compare to screenshots of from the game.
The biggest difference will be that my shots will be daytime shots and the "Deus Ex" world is exclusively night.
Our tour guide will be League VP Jason Torres, who is a native New Yorker and all around fun guy.