Lakeside

The Lakeside area was originally—in addition to being nowhere near a lake—sparsely populated, save for a few gem miners working a few smaller claims. When those finally petered out in early 20th century, there was some talk of what to make of the area, but no real action was taken until the Great Depression. Then in 1933, under the Works Progress Administration, work began on the Red River Dam Project.
When it was completed, the present Lake Vallee was formed.
Since Emerald City’s “old money” was then still firmly ensconced atop Sunset Hill, and everyone else was even more solidly stuck in the ravages of the Depression, it took some time for the Lakeside neighborhood to take shape. As it turned out, Lakeside finally began to take off after World War II, as the area became home to the city’s “new money.”
The influx of entrepreneurs who struck it rich during America’s postwar economic boom finally established the neighborhood’s unofficial boundaries, beginning to the south of the Eastern District and running along the lakeshore itself.
Today, Lakeside remains the place in Emerald City where people who’ve just gotten the means to realize their dreams congregate. Its residents tend to be outside-the-box thinkers whose lack of patience with rules and convention got them where they are, and thus refuse to conform now. It is the natural habitat for those who could put on a five-grand suit and go to a five-star bistro, but are happier donning a Hawaiian shirt and heading to a neighborhood restaurant where they can get some good ribs and the kids can play a few video games in the little arcade off the dining room.
Lakeside, therefore, is spiritually and practically the perfect spot for super-heroes to settle down in their secret identities. Its distance from the city center and ready access to both water and sparsely populated wilderness are obvious pluses. In addition, there’s much to be said for an area where any strange, super-powered, or occult happening is almost certain to written off by the neighbors as another crazy, artistic experiment or the next million-dollar idea in its early stages.

Type

Neighbourhood

Location under

Emerald City

Included Locations

• The Lost Maxey Mine