Historical Overview
Origins
In the earliest days of the Promenade, the Seaside did not yet exist, and whaling fleets were community-organized affairs, which would leave via the nascent canals of the Landside. This hodgepodge of small ships, each generally crewed by a family, were eventually organized under a prominent local luminary known as the Pike. The Pike was responsible for leading the armada of ships, and eventually this position came to be held continuously by the same family.
"When the procession arrives in First Point, and the Patriarch of House Pike throws the ceremonial harpoon into the Sieve, the people of Seaside are gathering in The Portion and Dogshead for general revelry and drinking." - Sprayspot Festival
This family, who came to acquire the largest group of small whaling vessels at the time, was eventually known as the
Pikes, their prior surname, if they had one, being forgotten. Their local dominance was codified by House Prominere, who elevated them to the status of minor house, cementing their importance to the then-formalizing whaling industry. The Pikes utilized their connections as the most prominent local family to coalesce friends, allies, and sycophants around themselves. This allowed the family a solid base within the industry from which to expand their company,
Pike & Sons Co..
"Pikes' Park was a welcome change from the squalor I had spent months in while researching the Seaside, yet gangs never escape you in The Promenade, as it seems even within The Harbor's lovely walls, clandestine business takes place" - Isobard Quickquill, Decadence of the Upper Half
The Pikes removed themselves to the more upper-class area of the Landside, leaving their Seaside business in the hands of their
Lances. While this was their ancestral home, as they entered the industry long before the Seaside was built, the family had always had a foothold in the poorer half of the city. With the Promenade being strictly divided along class lines, the Pikes gained an otherworldly reputation among the Seaside, as a distant and invisible provider of both employment and oppression.
As the Pike & Sons Company began their march towards monopoly, the income of the Pike family dramatically increased. To keep up with expectations in the decadent world of the Landside, the Pikes began construction of their ancestral seat, The Harbor, in the neighborhood of Pike's Park.
Social Rise
The Pike family had grown up with the Promenade, always the least regarded of the
original house capitals. As the Promenade's whaling industry grew, so too did the divide between rich and poor. In the Seaside, social expectations were high, and as one of the city's most prominent families, the Pikes had a reputation to upkeep. They did this in many ways through the Harbor, which was a sought-after venue for events. A ticket to the
Sprayspot Festival Ball was coveted, but so was any invitation to the Pike seat.
The Harbor's history is like that of much of the Seaside. It played host to luminaries from
Isobard Quickquill to
Galindaan IV Thewisy, saw murders and affairs, dinners and fetes. However, most importantly, the Harbor represents to many of the Promenade the problems that plague the city. As the masses sit outside of it during Sprayspot, they can gaze in on a world of wealth to which they will never have access.
Architecture
The Harbor was originally a reasonably sized mansion in one of the less populated areas of the city. Pike's Park used to be just that, a park. Until well into the Age of Rule, it was an expanse of trees and grass, dotted with the occasional manor or cottage. As the city grew however, wealthy families moved away from the decay of the Seaside and the nouveau riche class of Eastwade or Rushmall. The Pikes purchased the home in 461AR, and began the construction of a stone bastion behind the original home shortly thereafter.
The castle-like expansion was modified many times after its original construction, giving the structure a hodgepodge feel of corridors and secret passages. Eventually, as the other wealthy families followed suit and moved towards what was now called Pike's Park, the neighborhood took on a more city-like feel. No longer was the castle home of the Pikes appropriate for the architecture, and they modified the original manor façade to merge more elegantly into the structure, providing a homey feel to the building.
"The young Lady Pike was seen at the Forwins' Ball with a lovely whalebone broach of the family crest, which reliable sources say fetched a very pretty price in the Boneyards." - Podspot Herald
Within the Harbor were all the rooms associated with the elite lifestyle of the family. There they were a trendsetter for the city, constructing ball rooms and great halls to maintain their status as the premier invitations outside of the Rise. Among other exorbitant amenities, perhaps most controversially, was an
Anharan Bath, which was rumored to have been subject to one of the final investigations of
Roland Auberge.
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