Baker Building

OVERVIEW

The Baker Building is a 35-story building located at 42nd Street and Madison Avenue, Manhattan, New York City in the U.S.A. just a few blocks from the League of United Nations Headquarters.

It has been home to many individuals and organizations. The most famous being the Fabulous Four.

EARLY HISTORY

The building was originally constructed in 1949 by the Leland Baker Paper Company. The building's steel frame construction utilized the first application of "K bracing" in the world and is one of the strongest structures of its kind. Originally designed to accommodate pulp recycling machinery to serve the mid-Manhattan area, each floor was given a ceiling height of 24 feet. Leland Baker and his brother Neil jointly owned the building and Neil had been one of its key designers.

World War II: Society of Heroes (The Golden Age)

It first became a headquarters to superheroes in the late 1940s. In September of 1946, when the original headquarters of the Society of Heroes (Captain Victory, Speed King, Plastico, Angelica, and Strong Man) was destroyed in a battle against Miss Mort (Mary Tovey), their leader Captain Victory set his eyes on relocating the groups base of operations to the future site of the Baker Building. The group finally moved into the partially completed building in April of 1948. They remained tenants of the building until the group disbanded later in February of 1950.

1950's: Protectors (The Tarnished Age)

At some point, the Baker brothers sold the Baker Building to a corporation. The building then passed through various corporate hands until it was eventually bought by opportunistic entrepreneur Walter Collins. In the mid 20th century, the super-villain known as Dr. Atic attempted to unleash an Alchemtechno virus upon New York City, using the Baker Building as ground zero for his attack. This attempt was opposed by the Super heroic group known as the Protectors (Akagi, Britannia, Force Majeure, Jetstream, and Vandal.) However, disaster struck New York City when the Protectors failed to stop Dr. Atic's psychopathic plan and the Super Villain released the virus across the city. During the ensuing fight, the top seven floors of the Baker Building were utterly destroyed and needed to be rebuilt. After the death toll was released the Protectors disbanded in shame and infamy

MODERN ERA

1960's: Fabulous Four (The Silver Age)

The year after Dr. Atic's attack the Baker Building became world famous as home to the super-heroes known as the Fabulous Four (Blaze, Gale, Gem, and Tear.) When the Fabulous Four's military liaison suggested the building as their new headquarters, team leader Tear (John Ryker) agreed that it fit the needs of his group. John tapped his former professor Edmund Baker, a former part owner of the building, to assist him in reconstructing the top five floors of the Baker Building to suit their needs. The other two floors destroyed in the attack were reconstructed as office space. Much of the equipment originally installed in the Fabulous Four's headquarters was a collaborative project between the two men. The group moved in shortly after reconstruction began.

Initially, John bought that section of the building outright, though the Fabulous Four continued to pay monthly service fees. When the they were in a tight financial situation a year later, John sold the Fabulous Four's floors back to the Baker Paper Company. As tenants, the Fabulous Four had many problems with Walter Collins, the building manager. Whereas Mr. Collins had originally been delighted that a real superhero team was moving into his building, he soon began to see the problems in such a situation.

When Sister Ruin (Jessica Crowley) lifted the entire building into deep space, relations cooled between the manager and his tenants. Other tenants worried that their offices might become battlegrounds and, as their leases ended, many of the building's original tenants did not renew. Nor did new tenants appear to fill the vacancies. In desperation, Mr. Collins offered all tenants ironclad, 99-year leases with significant discounts in their rents.

1970's: (The Bronze Age)

Still, problems continued. Occasionally either Gem or a foe would be driven downward through the building, tearing a shaft through floor after floor. Battles occurred on the outer walls of the building. Explosions were a common occurrence. No insurance company would write a policy on any organization maintaining offices in the Baker Building.

Collins also discovered that losing the Fabulous Four as tenants would not solve his problems. During a period when the Fabulous Four had split up and vacated their headquarters, Collins discovered that no one would rent their former headquarters. There was too great a fear that super villains would attack those floors regardless of who now lived there. When the Fabulous Four later reunited, Collins was forced to accept them back as tenants, and grudgingly agreed to charging them a lower rent as well.

FLOORS

The Lobby

The ground floor contains Abe Shoenstein’s snack shop, an optometrist’s shop, a visitors’ centre, the elevator bank, and the freight loading dock. The visitors’ centre is as close as most people can get to the Fabulous Four; a multimedia show on the Fabulous Four’s history is shown hourly from 9 to 4. The floor directory lists building tenants such as Pierre Picolino (a famous abstract sculptor), the Ladies’ Canasta, Mah Jongg Society, and Fabulous Four Inc.

Elevators

Three elevators service floors floors 1 through 30. The fourth elevator is marked by the Fabulous Four’s insignia. This is the express elevator to floors 31 through 35, the Fabulous Four’s headquarters. The elevator can only be summoned by a solenoid activator such as is embedded in the Fabulous Four’s belt buckles. Normally this elevator stays on these floors and only descends to street level when summoned. On the way up, hidden scanners identify the passengers and check them for hidden weapons or devices. If questionable material is found, the elevator stops in midshaft until the Fabulous Four are prepared to deal with the intruder. All elevators double as freight elevators.

30th Floor

If a visitor chooses to take one of the regular elevators, they are taken to the 30th floor. The bulk of the floor is occupied by the building’s mechanical systems (plumbing, ventilation, and elevator winches). Acoustic insulation keeps the noise from affecting the Fabulous Four’s reception area. This floor also acts as a buffer zone to absorb damage from battles in the upper floors. It also contains the magnetic repulsion system. This system is designed to lift the upper floors away from the rest of the Baker Building; the theory being that this way the rest of the building can be protected from a particularly damaging battle. The system is designed as a compromise to placate Collins, the building manager. It is controlled from the Computer Centre on the 33rd floor.

Reception Area

All the typical visitor sees on the 30th floor is the Fabulous Four’s reception area. The visitor is greeted by Roberta, a robotic receptionist. Her visible half (above the waist) appears to be an attractive woman in her 20s. Below the waist she is a pivoting arm attached directly to her desk. Roberta is tied directly to the Fabulous Four’s computer system and can monitor the entire building. The reception room is also filled with hidden scanners to probe visitors. If the visitor is hostile, the floor is rigged to deliver a stunning electrical shock. Once the visitor has been cleared, a panel opens to reveal a lift to the 31st floor.

31st Floor

The 31st floor contains the Fabulous Four’s living quarters. There are suites for John and Sara and their children; Andrew and Valerie, Grant, and Alex; originally Sara and Alex commuted, using their suites when convenient, while John and Grant were permanent residents. There are several guest rooms for other Fabulous Four members including Smoulder (Erin Shaw), the extended family, and the dining and living areas.

1. John's Elevator
2. Public Access Elevator
3. Service Elevator
4. Heavy Duty Elevator
5. Emergency Elevator
6. Public Reception Area
7. Formal Dining Hall
8. Food Preparation Area
9. Grant James' Apartment, Bath, and Storage
10. Alexander Steen's Apartment, Bath, and Storage
11. John Ryker and Sara Steen's Apartment, Bath, Storage, and Dressing Room
12. Nursery
13. ICBM Exhaust Ducting Network and Blast Suppression System
14. Kitchen
15. Larder
16. Informal Dining Area, Lounge, TV Area, and Breakfast Corner
17. Guest Bedrooms
18. John's Computer-Assisted Biology R&D Laboratory
19. John's Office

32nd Floor

The 32nd floor contains more living areas, Wendy Torrance’s studio (when she is resident), the medical lab, the library, and reference room.

1. John's Elevator
2. Public Access Elevator
3. Service Elevator
4. Heavy Duty Elevator
5. Emergency Elevator
6. Visitor's Gallery
7. Recreation Room
8. Regulation Hand Ball Court
9. Locker Rooms, Showers, Bathrooms
10. Tear's Reinforced Weightlifting Area
11. Japanese Garden/Meditation Room
12. Sauna
13. Hot Tub
14. Showers
15. 40 ft. Swimming Pool
16. Children's Play Room
17. ICBM Base Support/Exhaust Shunt
18. Multi-level Gymnasium

33rd Floor

The 33rd floor contains John’s laboratory. The floor plan has changed constantly as John adds, removes, or converts additional experiments and devices. In the Computer Centre is a lever for activating the magnetic repellers on the 30th floor.

1. John's Elevator
2. Public Access Elevator
3. Service Elevator
4. Heavy Duty Elevator
5. Emergency Elevator
6. Detoxification Station
7. Biology Complex
8. Storage/Pathology
9. Chemistry/Organic Chemistry/Physics Multiplex
10. Electro-Mechanical Workshop
11. Machine Shop, Robotics, Large Assembly
12. Physics Research and Development (Variable configuration walls throughout; 9. 10. 11. 12.)
13. Computer Centre, Support for Laboratories
14. Sister Ruin (Jessica Crowley's) Time Machine
15. Time Machine Monitor Room
16. Medical Centre, Recombinant DNA Specification Quarantine Equipped

34th Floor

The 34th floor can be considered the actual headquarters. The computer banks, monitor banks, communications centre, and briefing room are all there, as well as the overflow from John’s laboratory below. The Astro-sciences section is tied in to Covert Alpha and Project: Starnet's systems.

1. John's Elevator
2. Public Access Elevator
3. Service Elevator
4. Heavy Duty Elevator
5. Emergency Elevator
6. Back Up Computers, Crime Files
7. Conference Room
8. De-Briefing, Strategic Operation Room
9. Negative Zone Watch Station
10. Negative Zone Portal
11. Radar/World Watch, Satellite Communications Down-Links, Public Communications Band Monitors
12. ICBM Support Gantry

35th Floor

The 35th floor contains the hangars for the Fabulous Four’s various vehicles, storage space, and a machine shop capable of building or repairing vehicles. A reinforced door in the corner leads to the launching silo for the Fabulous Four’s rocketship. This passenger ICBM is launched from, and stored in a heavily muffled silo with vibration-absorbing walls and exhaust pipes leading all the way to the Hudson River. The other vehicles are on platforms that carries them around the floor and over to the launching hatch.

1. John's Elevator
2. Public Access Elevator
3. Service Elevator
4. Heavy Duty Elevator
5. Emergency Elevator
6. Hangar
7. 30 x 40 Launch/Staging Hydraulic Lift Platform
8. Mechanical Room, Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning, Water Tanks, Chemical Tanks, Fuel Storage
9. Observatory Support/Access
10. Vehicle Maintenance
11. Parts Storage Area
12. Rocket Maintenance Area
13. ICBM Component Repair Level

The Roof

The roof is flat and featureless. A large Fabulous Four insignia marks the retractable hatch for launching and landing vehicles. If a Fabulous Four vehicle approaches, the hatch will open automatically. There are a series of observatory domes located at various spots on the roof. A permanent dome is located on the corner opposite the rocket silo. The last dome is closer to the silo but retractable. The entire dome can be lowered through the floor to the 35th-floor hangar. This leaves the roof completely clear for action and eliminates the only hiding place for a trespasser. The observatory equipment includes a computer-linked telescope and twin telescopic cameras.

1. Hangar Doors
2. Observatory
3. H.E.R.B.I.E.
4. Elevator Shaft
5. ..
6. ..
7. ..
8. ..
9. ..
10. Rocket Silo

Sub-Basement

The Sub-basement houses Short Stay Detainment Cells, Restrooms, Research Labs, Computers, and the entrance to the Vault which is out of phase with Earth 530 and contains Items and Lore of Cosmic Level power.

4. Elevator Shaft

5. Restroom

6. Detainment Cells

7. H.E.R.B.I.E. Docks

8. Research Lab

9. Vault Door