Dowdney Mall
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Dowdney Mall 3 zombies outside, 5 survivors inside. Barricades up, some lights on. |
| Dowdney Mall
Santlerville [75,28], [76,28], [75,29], [76,29]
Basic Info:
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Dowdney Mall is a four-block shopping mall in the suburb of Santlerville.
External Description: A large yellow-stone building with stern gargoyles along its guttering.
As Malton's second Mall Boom drew to a close along with the millennium, the suburb of Santlerville was enjoying a serious burst of prosperity. The Dot-Com era was in full swing, and Santlerville's many white-collar tech workers had never seen better wages or working conditions. Even as many prepared for the end of the world, the workers hoisted champagne to the dropping ball on the Blackmore Building, live on TV- this was their time.
But it soon came to an end. That very next year, the bubble burst, and Santlerville found itself reeling as its economy was kicked out violently from underneath it. Hundreds of tech workers suddenly found themselves on the streets, hungry and angry, desperately trying to piece together what was left of their worlds. For a while it looked like the entire suburb was to erupt in "nerd riots".
Santlerville's only saving grace came in the form of Sanders Mall, a rather imposing structure of dull yellow sandstone from the quarry outside the city to the north. Named after Bertrand Sanders (the founder of Santlerville (originally a town of its own) and a local legend) and still under construction, it had been started in mid-2000 on the stimulus of the Dot-Com prosperity, but with the sudden bubble-burst essentially the entire workforce had quit and left town, seeking work elsewhere.
In a sudden burst of character and spirit, a former systems analyst named Ian Dowdney stepped up in front of the mobs, restoring a semblance of control- Ian was well-liked, though he had never shown any serious importance while working in his old job. In an emergency meeting with the city council, Ian negotiated a deal that restored the suburb's prosperity and saved the mobs from the food lines in one fell swoop. "Your workers have abandoned their work," he told the council, "and our work has abandoned us. Rather than making things worse, let's try and pick up each others' pieces." The motion was signed that very day- the displaced techies would be trained in the art of construction and put to work on Sanders Mall.
It was a heroic effort by all accounts- the few remaining workers taught the techies the ropes in record time, and within two weeks construction had begun once more. The mall was completed just before the year went out, and immediately began pumping raw capital into the veins of the suburb. Dowdney was hailed as the hero of the day, and in a unanimous vote the mall's name was changed, from one Santlerville hero to another. A twice-life statue of the former systems analyst still stands in front of the mall's north entrance, though portions have been vandalized or bear graffiti.
Dowdney Mall did not look welcoming on first sight. The sandstone exterior had dulled during the workless slump, and in addition the more artsy of the workers had carved gargoyles in the images of several prominent members of the mobs, fixing them all around the structure to gaze down on the lot below. Inside, the mall shuns by and large the crazy schemes and colors of most early malls, preferring a spartan scheme of light gray and steel blue. Many people will go out of their way to visit other malls, but those who know better attend if only for two things. One is the thirteen-foot statue of Ian Dowdney, forever immortalized in bronze and gazing out across the suburb he saved.
The other is inside. Completely lining one wall of the food court is the massive mural A Brave New World, done in oil by six workers who were never given specific tasks. Stretching forty feet long and standing from three feet above the floor all the way to the roof (seventeen feet), this gigantic painting depicts the Dot-Com era just prior to the fall, showing a Santlerville flooded with happy, carefree workers and a night sky dotted with a star pattern that looks suspiciously like the old Arpanet diagram. Even in today's post-Outbreak Malton, survivors and zombies alike have left the massive painting untouched- a poignant, pleasant reminder of what life used to be like.
Mall Tunes: Someone has set Spandau Ballet's Through the Barricades album to play on loop. Enjoy.
Coordinates: [75, 28], [75, 29], [76, 28], [76, 29]
Nearby NecroTech Buildings
Dowdney Mall is one of the few malls to have a NecroTech Building in an immediately adjacent block. In the event that that building falls to zombies, the use of other nearby NecroTech facilities may become desirable.
The NecroTech Buildings within ten blocks of the mall, listed from nearest to farthest, are:
- The Dewes Building in Santlerville (74, 28; distance 1-2 W, 0-1 N)
- The Hall Building in Santlerville (75, 25; distance 0-1 W, 3-4 N)
- The Usher Building in Heytown (78, 36; distance 2-3 E, 7-8 S)
- The Patterson Building in Gibsonton (81, 20; distance 5-6 E, 8-9 N)
- The Vicari Building in Huntley Heights (68, 20; distance 7-8 W, 8-9 N)
- The Ducat Building in Gibsonton (85, 27; distance 9-10 E, 1-2 N)
Barricade Policy
The four mall blocks should be barricaded to maximum (EHB+++..) at all times to keep the zombies out. The Mall is amongst the most important buildings in the suburb and needs to be kept fully barricaded, lit and well staffed at all times.
Mall Entry Points
The following locations should be maintained at VSB++ for entering the mall:
- The Anthony Building [77,27] -- Santlerville
- Sixtus General Hospital [74, 30] -- Heytown please nee note below
- Club Hesse [76, 30] -- Heytown - In human (LADAL) hands. EHB - Entry point: The Syms Museum (VSB)
Note:
- The Dewes Building is an NT Facility and should be maintained at EHB to protect it from attacks
- If the mall is undergoing a large attack, then Sixtus General Hospital barricade levels will be raised to EHB and so will no longer be an entry point for the Mall
- The carpark is for patrons of Dowdney Mall only, please remember to Pay and Display
Please report any barricade policy breaches to The Dribbling Beavers Message Board -- you do not need a forum account to post.
Current Events
Place most recent news at top. News more than one month old can be found in the news archive.
August 16, 09
The Dead Bunnies left. Local survivors quickly repaired the mall. It is still under construction, and power is still out in some parts. Despite this minor inconvenience, all shoppers are welcomed. -- Kittithaj 06:44, 16 August 2009 (BST)
July 15, 09
Less than a week since its last reconstruction, the mall was completely destroyed once again. -- Kittithaj 18:12, 16 July 2009 (BST)
July 10, 09
After the Dead Bunnies zeds attack last week, the mall is recovered and in human hands, set to EHB in all corners. Heytown entry point: enter The Syms Museum to Club Hesse entry point. (Malgahara 11:54, 10 July 2009 (BST))
