Monument Island

Monument Island is a major area in BioShock Infinite. It is the primary location sought by Booker DeWitt as he begins his adventure in Columbia.
The Monument Island attraction consists of several parts: the Monument Island Gateway which featured the gondola to ferry citizens to and from the Monument and Monument Tower itself which serves as the home to Elizabeth, who has been held there her entire life. The Tower is divided into the public demonstration area and the private observation rooms.
==History==
Monument Island was the main landmark of Columbia and a popular tourist attraction. Monument Island was also the location where immigrants passed through when arriving at the city,Based on the following exchange at the New Eden Square in the Town Center:Male Civilian 1: "Look at her, ain't she some kind of beauty. You know, that's where all the immigrants used to pass through."Male Civilian 2: "Wish they still allowed average janes and joes to enter, you know you gotta be somebody now." until it was changed to the Welcome Center. Citizens could board the gondola at the Monument Island Gateway to visit the home of the Miracle Child. Docking stations to the Gateway were prominent in the Town Center with locations at Raffle Square and Shady Lane.
However, the popular tourist destination was suddenly closed by Zachary Hale Comstock. Citizens speculated on the reason for the closure ranging from bad weather, disease, or supernatural haunting, ultimately putting their trust in the Prophet's judgment.Constance Field's Voxophone: Pen Pal They could take comfort in viewing the Tower peeking out from the clouds in the distance.
Workers were still able to take the Sky-Line to perform maintenance at Monument Island, but after several strange incidents, the entire site was deemed unsafe to enter.Ty Bradley's Voxophone: To: R. Thompson Re: Fuses By the time of Booker's arrival in 1912, the place is overgrown with vines and the interior hastily abandoned.
==BioShock Infinite==
===Monument Island Gateway===
Having just come from the darkened Fraternal Order of the Raven in the Comstock Center Rooftops, Booker enters the sunlight and heads towards the Monument Island Gateway. However, the gondola has long since been closed to the public and he finds the area heavily fortified by the Columbia Police warned about his arrival.
Taking the workman's route over the Sky-Line, he narrowly avoids constant enemy fire. Suddenly Zachary Hale Comstock orders his forces to stand down over a PA system and they kneel to pray. Booker enters the tower and rides a lift to the top unopposed. As he does, Comstock addresses him from a giant monitor attached to a Security Zeppelin, revealing that he knows who Booker is and his mission before warning him to leave. Booker heads towards the rooftop access to the Sky-Line, but the zeppelin sideswipes the building. He boards the vessel, wipes out the armed guards, and enters the bridge to steer the airship to Monument Island. The control room is empty, save for a female pilgrim in white robes and a habit praying at a candle-lit shrine. Booker calms her, stating he won't hurt her and takes the helm. Comstock suddenly appears aboard a fast-moving gondola, says a brief prayer, and flies off at which point the woman sets fire to herself and the dirigible, forcing Booker to jump ship.
As the zeppelin explodes, Booker reaches the Sky-Line and lands at the Monument Island Station as the ship falls out of the sky. He then ascends to enter Monument Island itself.
===Monument Tower===
Booker crosses the courtyard, hops the fence via a Freight Hook, and enters the facility. Placards warn visitors not to touch or approach the specimen and indicate that the site is under the control of the Columbia Science Authority, but the area seems abandoned and has an uneasy quietness about it.
====Lobby====
As Booker passes through the check-in rotunda and arrives in a research area, the signs indicate longer and longer quarantine periods from 12 to 72 to 168 hours. An abandoned locker features a Voxophone, a gas mask, and two pinups belonging to Ty Bradley, an employee uneasy about the dangers of the area. The lobby is littered with unused posters advertising Monument Island and a hastily painted quarantine line.
At the end of the hall is a diagram charting the "Specimen's" growth while, further along, a large piece of high-voltage equipment marked "Siphon" demonstrates on three objects or "Transposes": Age 4 - Companion - Teddy Bear; Age 11 - Poetry Book; Age 13 - Menarche.
Further along are a series of rooms. A projection room and photo lab reveal that the scientists have been spying on the girl for years. The dark room displays photos taken of the girl (even in instances where she is dressing up). The projector in the screening room shows clips of certain activities, such as painting, dancing, singing, lockpicking, and cracking the Vox Cipher. In an adjoining operating room, Booker finds collections of blood, hair, and nail clippings. The gramophone cheerily plays "After You've Gone".
Booker continues into a room with a massive Siphon that seems to be drawing in and materializing an immense amount of energy while emitting distorted sounds of Elizabeth humming "Everybody Wants to Rule the World". The blackboard in the room indicates that the facility is too hazardous for research to continue. Ignoring the warning signs, Booker boards an elevator and heads up.
====Specimen Observation====
Booker passes through a series of observation rooms where the scientists at the center secretly spied on Elizabeth through one-way mirrors in her bedroom, conservatory, bathroom, dressing room, dining room, and library. Through these mirrors, Booker finally spots his target and gets a troubling demonstration of her powers.
====Library====
Booker finds Elizabeth in the Library, the only way forward is the exit on the very side of the statue and climb towards the head. Booker re-enters, only to come crashing into the library. Elizabeth is understandably terrified at the presence of this unknown intruder but then intrigued. The Whistler in a statue announces that the two have company and Elizabeth insists that Booker leave. He offers her the key to the tower and they both flee.
====Statue Exterior====
While running, Elizabeth is horrified as she sees the observation rooms and realizes that she's been secretly watched. Before explanations can be given, Booker has his first encounter with Songbird as the creature tears the structure apart trying to get at the pair. The two escape to the top of the statue before being flung off. An intense ride on the Sky-Line ensues as Songbird darts through the air. Suddenly the monument collapses and a large part of it breaks the Sky-Line apart. Booker and Elizabeth tumble through the air before landing in the waters of Battleship Bay. Songbird tries to follow Booker underwater, but cannot take the water pressure, suffering a crack in his glass-covered eye.
==New Discoveries==
===Voxophones===
#Zachary Hale Comstock - Another Ark for Another Time
#Ty Bradley - Tiger by the Tail
#Ty Bradley - To: R. Thompson Re: Fuses
#Zachary Hale Comstock - A Reward, Deferred
#Rosalind Lutece - The Source of Her Power
===Kinetoscopes===
#Uncanny Mystery in Columbia - Monument Island Gateway lobby entrance.
== Infusions ==
# An Infusion can be found behind the desk on the right in the Siphon Room.
==Gallery==
===Concept Art and Models===
Observation concept.jpg|Early concept art for a room showing Elizabeth as a child and tracking her development by Ben Lo.
MonumentTowerKeyConcept.jpg|Concept art for the Tower key.
TowerDoorConcept.jpg|Concept art for Elizabeth's door.
TowerDoorModel.jpg|In-game model for Elizabeth's door.
TowerProtectsBillBoard.png|Propaganda poster for the tower.
Yttjdyjdy.jpg|A photograph of Elizabeth and her Songbird doll.
BillBoard Monument Tower DIFF.png|Best View in All of Columbia! - Behold! Her Glory.
Monument Island Card.png|Souvenir from Monument Island.
This Way To Monument Island Closed Poster 2.png|"Closed by order of the Prophet."
Chalkboard LG SPECIMEN DIFF.png|Specimen: Morphology - Ages 1-17.
Chalkboard LG Equations DIFF.png|Diagram showing the construction of the Siphon.
Chalkboard POWER READINGS DIFF.png|Siphon installed during Menarche - Facility Unsafe.
Clothesline pictures2 DIF.png|Clandestine photographs taken of Elizabeth.
Caution! - Closed! Off Limits! Sign.png|Sign seen on the courtyard gate.
DANGER CSA Billboard.png|Sign seen on the courtyard gate.
Specimen Is Dangerous Please Follow Quarantine Protocols Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Danger - Do Not Approach The Specimen Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Danger - Do Not Speak To The Specimen Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Caution - To Prevent Risk Of Exposure Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Caution - Specimen Is Dangerous Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Do Not Touch The Specimen Under Any Circumstances Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Specimen Is Dangerous Please Follow Quarantine Protocols Sign.png|Warning sign in the lobby.
Siphon Passive Sign.png|"Siphon Passive" sign.
Siphon Active Sign.png|"Siphon Active" sign.
Past This Point 12 Hour Quarantine Sign.png|The first quarantine checkpoint sign in the lobby.
Past This Point 72 Hour Quarantine Sign.png|The second quarantine checkpoint sign in the lobby.
Past This Point 168 Hour Quarantine Sign.png|The third quarantine checkpoint sign in the lobby.
Warning - Do Not Approach Siphon While Specimen Is Awake Sign.png|Warning sign by the Siphon.
Warning - Siphon Is Dangerous While Leeching Specimen Sign.png|Warning sign by the Siphon.
Specimen Present Sign.png|Sign above the one-way viewing mirrors at the specimen observation area.
Research Area - Doors Are Locked While Specimen Is Present Sign.png|Sign in the specimen observation area.
Caution - Proceed Only If Specimen Is Properly Sedated Sign.png|Sign outside the Elizabeth's library door.
===In-Game Images===
BioI TC New Eden Square Monument Tower View.jpg|A view of the angel among the clouds in the Town Center.
BioI Monument Tower Lobby Darkroom.jpg|The photography room.
BioI Monument Tower Lobby Screening Room.jpg|The screening room.
Gasmask.png|An abandoned gas mask.
Monu Island-03.png|Elizabeth's handiwork.
Bioshock cipher and lockpicks.jpg|Elizabeth's room for cracking ciphers.
BioI Monument Tower Specimen Observation Bedroom Music Posters.jpg|Music posters in Elizabeth's bedroom.
BI Monument LizParis.png|Elizabeth viewing Paris in the 1980s through a Tear.
BioI Monument Tower Side of Statue Face.jpg|The side of Monument Tower.
BioI Monument Tower Specimen Observation Booker Falls into Library.jpg|Booker falls into the Library.
BioI Monument Tower Specimen Observation Library Elizabeth Attacks Booker with The Principles of Quantum Mechanics.jpg|An improvised weapon.
BioI Monument Island Elizabeth Are You Real?.jpg|"Are you real?"
Keybirdcage.jpg|Booker shows the key to set her free.
BI Songbird Event1.png|Songbird tears apart the tower trying to get to the intruder.
BI Songbird Event3.png|Songbird breaks open the Monument Tower elevator.
BI Songbird Event4.png|Songbird zips past as Booker ascends to the very top of the statue.
BioI Monument Tower Top of Statue Head.jpg|A dead-end at the top.
statue destruction.jpg|The tower comes apart.
Skylinebreak.jpg|Booker is at the mercy of the Sky-Lines as they are dismantled.
==Bugs/Glitches==
* Occasionally, if you jump on the hovercraft from the platform outside the Monument Island Gateway, you will lose all of your shields and half of your health.
* When Comstock orders the soldiers to stand down, very rarely their guns will still continue to fire even after they have set them on the ground and begun to kneel.
* When Booker enters the Specimen Observation Room, if he steps forward just enough when both of the automatic doors to the airlock close, the animation will not finish and the doors will be left open, though unusable. This works for both the doors but when the second one gets stuck the rest of the tower behind the glitched door will disappear, showing the sky background around the level (the only remaining part of the tower will be a hovering lamp). However, once the player pulls the lever and the Tear sequence starts, the lighting will return first and then the rest of the tower once the sequence concludes.
==Behind the Scenes==
*When the enemies stop to pray in the Monument Island Gateway, they become totally vulnerable. They will not react to being attacked nor yield any loot.
*When crossing the Monument Island courtyard, although the player is technically at the Tower's base, it still appears to be a fair distance away.
*A sign in the operating room requires a soporific (sedative) to be applied to the subject to avoid exposure. It could be assumed that Elizabeth was occasionally taken down here so the scientists and researchers could take samples without her knowledge. The candid photos in the darkroom support this.
*One of the secret photos taken of Elizabeth is adapted from a Eadweard Muybridge series of photographs published in 1887 known as plate 497, captioned "Miscellaneous phases of the toilet". He was a pioneer in using the newly invented camera to study motion. His most well-known work is The Horse in Motion which proved that all four of a horse's hooves leave the ground during a gallop.
*A poster in Elizabeth's bedroom features a French singer named Yvette Guilbert.
*The door in the Library and the Tower key were designed by Mauricio Tejerina.Mauricio Tejerina Portfolio
*When Elizabeth opens the Tear to 1980s Paris, the song "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears can be heard playing in the background.
**Elizabeth can be heard humming the song in the Siphon rooms.
**A period-sounding, but anachronistic version of the song can be heard on a phonograph in Albert Fink's Magical Melodies studio in Downtown Emporia.
*The film La Revanche du Jedi or the "Revenge of the Jedi" can be seen playing in the Parisian movie theater.
**Revenge of the Jedi was the working title of Return of the Jedi during production in 1983, but was changed since Jedi aren't vengeful. However in 2005, Revenge of the Sith was released.
*When climbing the stairs to the Library observation room, Elizabeth can be heard humming "Will the Circle Be Unbroken".
**After falling into the water, Booker will awake in his office. Elizabeth will be there leaning against the desk humming the same song.
**She later sings the song in full in the Graveyard Shift in Shantytown as an Easter Egg.
*The sign in the lobby reading "Do Not Approach The Specimen", originally read "Do Not Approach The The Specimen". This was fixed on PC and further releases, but still exists on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and can be seen in episode two of Fact From Myth.
*Ty Bradley's locker features a gas mask and two pinups.
**The Sally pinup can later be found in The Salty Oyster in Emporia as part of an optional mission.
**The other is a remnant of BioShock Infinite's early development as a "dark, European Art Nouveau style" before transitioning to the current game's Neoclassical.Jorge Lacera's portfolio Concept Art 01
Voxophone Sally.png
BSI Pinup Girl 1 HD.jpg
==References==
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Category:BioShock Infinite Locations
Category:Monument Island