Fort Staunton





Fort Staunton (formerly known as Little Italy) is an area in Liberty City that appears in Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, on Staunton Island. Surrounding the area are the districts of Rockford, Newport and Liberty Campus.

Character and places of interest
In Grand Theft Auto III, set in 2001, the area is in the process of the demolition of old buildings and large-scale redevelopment with the construction of the Staunton Plaza (which is due to be complete "next fall"); much of the district has also been dug out. Panlantic Construction Company, in charge of the area's development, is suspected by the LCPD to be one of the many fronts for the Colombian Cartel, which explains the presence of Cartel members and their custom trucks in the area. It is also evident by the gang cars of the cartel appearing within the premises until a takeover within the game.

Fort Staunton is revealed in GTA Liberty City Stories, set three years earlier in 1998, to be previously known as Staunton's Little Italy, once a vibrant and lavish district. Fort Staunton has many buildings, mostly stores and rowhouses. Notable buildings in Little Italy included an opera house, an Italian restaurant, and a museum. However the district was destroyed by Toni Cipriani in GTA Liberty City Stories, after he placed several explosives in a disused subway station, via an unfinished section of the Porter Tunnel. The Forelli Family operated in Fort Staunton's Little Italy, but are driven out after its destruction. After the explosion, the district was cordoned off; no traffic or pedestrians could enter, as firefighters (and a parked Fire Truck) and military personnel surveyed the destructed scene. Donald Love, who secretly gave Cipriani the orders, invested in the area's real estate until the Colombian Cartel (through Panlantic construction and the recently deceased Avery Carrington, who formulated the plan) demanded shares by nearly killing Love. The damage of the area is shown to have devastated the southern side the most, with the most wreckage seen around the border of the southern and northern side. However, some places in the district seem to still stand, unaffected.

It can be assumed, following events in GTA Liberty City Stories, that the Colombian Cartel-controlled Panlantic Construction Company eventually moved in to Fort Staunton's redevelopment, clearing away nearly all remnants of the district in preparation for the groundbreaking Staunton Plaza. There is still a short tunnel under the area in GTA III that may be the only remaining bit of the disused subway tunnel Toni Cipriani used to plant the explosives.

Influence
Fort Staunton is based on Manhattan's Little Italy in 1998, while in 2001 it is a typical construction site.

Gang control
As Panlantic is affiliated with the Colombian Cartel, Fort Staunton is depicted in GTA III to be under the control of the gang during early progression of the game's storyline. However, with Donald Love orchestrating the murder of Yakuza co-leader Kenji Kasen to falsely implicate the Cartel and instigate a gang war between the two factions, the Yakuza launched an offensive into Fort Staunton, leading to Yakuza members appearing on the streets, frequently engaging in firefights with the Cartel and nearby Yardies, who are walking their turfs in the borders between Fort Staunton and Newport.

Fort Staunton is the most violent neighborhood in GTA III, because members of the Cartel, from the beginning of the game, continuously attack and try to kill the player if he passes through, and after the mission Grand Theft Aero, Yakuza members are seen fighting the Colombian Cartel.

Fort Staunton in GTA Liberty City Stories was under control by the Forellis, who apparently maintained a large ammunition storage area underneath the district. The aforementioned destruction of Fort Staunton was actually planned by Donald Love with the backing of Leone don, Salvatore Leone, to kill two birds with one stone: The bombing crippled Forelli activity in the city as well as spearheading redevelopment. In the aftermath of the bombing, the entire district has been condemned, and idle soldiers armed with MP5Ks can be seen patrolling the ruins. After the explosion, local media blamed the Forellis' munitions storage as being the source of the explosion.

Businesses

 * 1998


 * Ba
 * Ballot Paper Factory
 * Bo-Bella
 * Bottiglia
 * Clamlapras
 * Deli & Market


 * Fort Staunton Museum
 * Fort Staunton Opera House
 * Hotel Forte
 * Liquor Charlies Bar 'n' Grill
 * Page 3 Bookstore
 * Ristorante Ecoli


 * Signora Grande
 * Staunton Café


 * 2001


 * Capitali
 * Pizza
 * Steps Clothing Company

Trivia

 * When the player achieves 100% Completion in GTA Liberty City Stories, a Rhino will spawn at the large crater left by the explosion near the Staunton Café.
 * Two full scale gang wars erupted in Fort Staunton, the first being in GTA Liberty City Stories between the Forellis and the Sindaccos, and with the second being in GTA III between the Colombian Cartel and the Yakuza.
 * In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, the soldiers that spawn in this area are coded as armed civilians instead of law enforcement or a standalone "gang". When the army starts chasing the player at a 6-star wanted level, they will not join the fight. This can also be observed if the "pedestrians follow" cheat is entered.

Gallery
Staunton Plaza

Staunton Plaza

Staunton Plaza

Форт-Стонтон