Highpoint is a thriving, hip area on the south side of the Bay. Due to the decline of many neighboring areas, rents in Highpoint are much cheaper than an equally nice area in the north, which has been attracting starving artists to the area for over fifty years. Most people who move to Highpoint wind up staying in the area, as do their families, which makes many of the communities tightly knit. The smaller streets in some areas feel cozy instead of cramped. The greenery in Highpoint is in a very urban flavor -- few trees line the streets and large parks are nonexistent. Instead, many homes, especially in Luxe, have rooftop and window gardens. Occasionally, Highpoint’s residents have laid claim to empty lots and transformed them into community gardens.
Highpoint began as a collection of resort homes for the wealthy citizens in the southern Titan City area. The area remained exclusive and non-commercialized throughout the nineteenth century. Most homes were clustered around the modern Diamond Beach area and equidistant from both Clarkstown and Ironport. It wasn’t until the Fire of 1908 that Highpoint started becoming the area it is today.
The Highpoint area suffered greatly in the Fire of 1908. Nearly everything from the district’s past was lost to the flames. Most residents decided not to rebuild in Highpoint, preferring to move their secondary homes further away from the increasingly bustling Titan City. Developers, seeing an opportunity, swept in and bought as many parcels of land as they could. Low-rise apartments buildings, row houses and brownstones soon began to cover the area.
The Savoy and Luxe neighborhoods quickly attracted residents on the cutting edge of 1920s culture. Dance halls and jazz clubs lined the streets. Soon, Highpoint was known as a cultural mecca and more avant-garde citizens began to move into the area. In the 1950s, it was the home of beatniks and so on.
Current Highpoint is a thriving community. However that does not always keep the troubles of Southern Titan City at bay. Gangs and other unsavory sorts are known to lurk about Highpoint, causing trouble. There are also rumors that some pretty valuable artifacts remain buried from the Fire of 1908.
Neighborhoods
- The Savoy neighborhood is a bustling place that never sleeps. The streets are lined with bars, nightclubs, pop-up galleries and diners. Many of the buildings date to the 1910s and, while maintained, show few signs of renovation. Eight floor walk-ups are common in Savoy. Crime and shady dealings are bit more open in Savoy than other Highpoint neighborhoods.
- When Highpoint was a resort area, Diamond Beach was the heart of Highpoint. The beautiful beach area attracted the wealthiest of the wealthy. It’s said that their refusal to rebuild in Highpoint was the impetus for the area’s evolution. It has been a nice, residential area since the rebuilding. Diamond Beach is currently home to a large Latino population and many of the area’s businesses and signage is in Spanish.
- The Luxe neighborhood is the home to Highpoint’s bohomenain, nouveau riche. The buildings in Luxe are in perfect condition with window-sill and rooftop gardens. Luxe is home to more town- and row- houses than other areas in Highpoint. Some residents have decided to repaint their homes in pastels, while other prefer the warm stone exteriors. It is home to many small restaurants, boutiques and cafes.
- The Bauhaus area began to define itself from the rest of Highpoint when it became home to waves of German, Polish and Jewish immigrants in the 1920s. The area boomed with population in the years leading up to World War II. The Bauhaus area has the highest buildings in Highpoint, although nothing reaches over 12 stories.
- Named after the keepers of one of the bay’s oldest lighthouses, Turell Hill is an idyllic, if somewhat isolated, community that overlooks Highpoint’s urban sprawl. There are a few homes on the hill and it is the only place in Highpoint to find buildings that predate the fire. Although the houses on Turell Hill are fairly expensive, they tend to resemble small cottages rather than mini-mansions. It is a very popular place for retired artists to live.
- The Ashcan area is the most industrial part of Highpoint, which residents are very proud to proclaim. Some Ashcan buildings are old industrial structures that have been reclaimed as apartments buildings and art studios. Many students from the university and colleges live in the Ashcan area, known for its cheap rent. Ashcan is also known for it’s love of public art and strange, post-modern sculptures tend to appear in Ashcan periodically.
- Lowbrow is a semi-commercial neighborhood next to Ashcan. It is the home of construction and lumber yards intermixed with apartment buildings. Large-scale sculpture studios and foundries can also be found in Lowbrow. The few residential buildings in the area are more modern constructions of drab gray and metal.