Rotterdam Tower



The Rotterdam Tower is a skyscraper on the island of Algonquin based on Manhattan's Empire State Building in Grand Theft Auto IV. At 1454 feet (443.2 meters), it stands as the tallest building in Liberty City.

History
The Rotterdam Tower was built in 1930-1931. It dominated the skyline just after another tall skyscraper, the Zirconium Building was built a few blocks away. The Rotterdam Tower was the tallest building in the world, but was overcome by another unnamed skyscraper in another city. The tower got its name from "New Rotterdam", named after John Rotterdam, Liberty City's former name during the 1700s; this is a reference to "New Amsterdam", New York's name during the same period.

Overview
The Rotterdam Tower is an Art Deco skyscraper located in Midtown Algonquin, in The Triangle district south of Star Junction. It covers its entire block, bounded by Garnet Street to the south, Frankfort Avenue to the west, Hematite Street to the north and Denver-Exeter Avenue to the east. The Tower consists of 102 floors (including its pinnacle), the 82nd exterior observatory deck being originally the only one accessible in GTA IV (via the building's main entrance on Denver-Exeter Avenue).

From dusk to dawn, the building is lit by floodlights in the colors blue, white and red, (an inversion of the red, white, and blue seen on the Empire State Building during some American holidays). Due to its great height, the Rotterdam Tower can be seen from nearly all parts of the city.

In The Ballad of Gay Tony, more details are added to the Rotterdam Tower, changes that were prominently featured during "High Dive". The building features a ground lobby that the player can enter; the spire of the building may also be accessed by climbing up a series of ladders. The colored floodlights are pink now, as opposed to the blue, white, and red seen in GTA IV and The Lost and Damned.

82nd floor observatory
This observatory offers fantastic views of the city. There are multiple binoculars to view the city, and ladders on the east and western faces to descend to setbacks slightly below the observatory. The absence of railings on the observatory makes it a hot-spot for suicide jumpers; one helitour pilot mentions that his brother attempted to BASE jump from the 82nd floor, but was stopped by security guards who "were tubby, but they sure could move!" These security guards seem to be absent from the observatory, however.

In The Ballad Of Gay Tony, multiple changes have been made to the observatory. There are numerous signs directing the locations of exits. There is a large neon sign, facing north which displays "Rotterdam Tower: Top of the World", which is easily viewable from Star Junction. The addition of a stairwell on the south-western corner of the observatory allows for players to climb up to the base of the Rotterdam Tower's spire. The stairwell has been complemented by the removal of the four satellite dishes and water towers around the spire's base. Finally, the addition of two ladders on the spire allow players to climb up to the top of the 102nd floor interior observation deck, and the top of the antenna respectively, allowing for the highest BASE jump from a building in game. A parachute is located on the top of the first ladder. There has also been the removal of the two ladders on the eastern and western faces of the building, which in GTA IV allowed players to descend to the immediate setback below.

Despite the height of the building, the observatory is useless for sniping, as pedestrians and vehicles will not spawn on the ground while the player is at that height. The observatory is safe from police, as officers cannot utilize the building entrance; there are no other vectors of escape, however, so the Tower is an inadvisable destination if it lies within the Wanted search radius.

Security
Due to its importance in the city and America, the tower is guarded by police officers with Carbine Rifles. These officers can be found at the entrance of the building.

Accessibility
The nearest subway stop is Suffolk LTA on the K/C Algonquin Inner Line, in the neighbouring district of Suffolk. The surface exits emerge outside the southern face of the Tower. To access the observation deck from ground level, players can use the entrance on the Denver-Exeter Avenue side of the building. A dangerous alternative means of accessing the observation deck (or higher) is to take a helicopter and bail out at the top.

Glitch
A glitch allows players to pilot helicopters through certain areas of the building, and from there to fly under the map (see Blue Hell). A video detailing how to use this glitch can be found here. By flying under the map, the player can reach and access certain mission-only building interiors.

Trivia

 * Going by its real-life counterpart, the Rotterdam Tower is the tallest skyscraper in any GTA game.


 * There is also an Empire State Building equivalent in the GTA III and Liberty City Stories version of Manhattan, although it is not named in-game.