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 GTA III, set in 2001, the area is in the process of demolition of old buildings and large-scale redevelopment with the construction of Staunton Plaza (due to be complete "next fall"); much of 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 may explain the presence of Cartel members and gang cars in the area.

Fort Staunton is revealed in GTA Liberty City Stories, set 3 years earlier in 1998, to be previously known as Staunton's Little Italy, once a vibrant and lavish district. It is likely that many of the residents in Little Italy were Italians. Fort Staunton has many buildings, mostly stores and rowhomes. Notable buildings in Fort Staunton include an opera house, an Italian restaurant, and a museum.

Fort Staunton 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. Many buildings, including the opera house, were destroyed. Donald Love, who secretly gave Cipriani the orders, invested in the area's real estate until the Columbian Cartel (through Panlantic construction and the recently-deceased Avery Carrington, who formulated the plan) demanded shares by nearly killing Donald Love. It can be assumed, following events in GTA Liberty City Stories, that the Colombian Cartel-controlled Panlantic Construction Company eventually moved in on Fort Staunton's redevelopment, clearing away nearly all remnants of district in preparation for the groundbreaking of Staunton Plaza.

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 implicated 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.

Given the nature of Fort Staunton in GTA Liberty City Stories, the area 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 will not only condemn the entire district and spearhead redevelopment, but also cripple Forelli activity in the city. After the explosion, local media blamed the Forellis' munitions storage as being the source of the explosion.

Also, in LCS, idle soldiers armed with MP5Ks can be seen in the district, supposed patrolling the ruins. However, their script are not very complicated and can be recruited like any male pedestrian by using the "pedestrians follow you "cheat. This makes them valuable help if they are loaded into the player's vehichles and fight in missions, also provides firepower when fighting police.

Businesses

 * 1998


 * Ba
 * Bo-Bella
 * Bottiglia
 * Clamlapras
 * Clench
 * Deli & Market
 * Fort Staunton Museum


 * Fort Staunton Opera House
 * Liquor Charlies Bar 'n' Grill
 * Page 3 Bookstore
 * Ristorante ecoli
 * Signora Grande
 * Staunton Café

Trivia

 * Following the devastation of Fort Staunton in GTA Liberty City Stories, the district is cordoned off; no traffic or pedestrian will venture into the district. Instead, fire fighters (and a parked Fire Truck) and military personnel are present to survey the destruction.
 * When the player achieves 100% Completion in GTA Liberty City Stories, a Rhino will spawn at the large crater left by the explosion near Staunton Café.