| Port Charles, New York | |
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Skyline as seen in the General Hospital: Night Shift opening. Notable in the skyline are General Hospital, ELQ, and the Metro Court Hotel |
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| General Hospital The Young Marrieds Port Charles General Hospital: Night Shift location |
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| Creator | Frank and Doris Hursley |
| Genre | Soap opera |
| Type | City |
| Notable locations | General Hospital The Metro Court Hotel The Haunted Star Wyndemere Castle Kelly's Diner Jake's |
| Notable characters | The Quartermaines The Cassadines The Corinthos family The Spencers The Scorpios The Hardys |
Port Charles, New York is the fictional setting of the ABC Daytime soap operas General Hospital and its spin-offs Port Charles and General Hospital: Night Shift. It was later retroactively revealed as the setting of The Young Marrieds, a short-lived series which ran between 1964 and 1966. Locations within the town are described, below, using in-universe tone.
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Port Charles is portrayed as a fictional midsize city approximately the size of Buffalo, located in Western New York somewhere on the shores of Lake Ontario between the Buffalo–Niagara Falls and Syracuse areas. In 1993, the producers of General Hospital filmed several exterior locations in and around the Western New York area, including Letchworth State Park and the village of Perry. The skyline of downtown Rochester stands in for aerial shots of Port Charles.
Within the fictional universe of General Hospital, the city of Port Charles coexists closely with the real cities of Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and Rochester. Events in the series in which characters travel to nearby cities indicate that Port Charles is located relatively close to all of these locations. Port Charles is depicted as a separate metropolitan area; its description and location relative to Buffalo and Syracuse suggest a thinly disguised version of Rochester itself. Separate from but proximate to both Rochester and Buffalo, and located on a body of water (as "Port" would indicate), the most likely location for Port Charles would be on Lake Ontario north of Batavia. The city's ZIP code is 16543.[1][2]
When the series first began, General Hospital was set in an unnamed city or town somewhere in the United States of America. Between 1964 and 1966, Queen's Point, the setting of the short-lived soap opera, The Young Marrieds, was considered to be a suburb of that same unnamed city, part of a plan to feature regular crossovers between the two shows which never materialized due to the cancellation of Marrieds. It was not until 1977 that the General Hospital setting was finally established as the fictional city of Port Charles, New York.
The early history of Port Charles is not extensively covered onscreen. Character dialogue indicates that the city once had an extensive milling industry, for which catacombs were built to divert water. The catacombs have played a role in numerous storylines; in a 1985 plot, they were extended under the city's Asian Quarter.
During the Prohibition era, Port Charles was known to have some ties to the Mafia, which, as recounted in a 2002 episode of General Hospital, operated at least one speakeasy in the city.
A storyline broadcast in 1985 revealed that, at some time in Port Charles' history, a large ghetto area known as the Asian Quarter was built to house the city's Asian population. Racial discrimination in the city has been a point of tension many times; minority residents were reportedly denied housing and bank loans in the mid-20th century, and one of Port Charles' first African-American council members, the character Bradley Ward II, faced racist opposition from his white counterparts in the 1970s (he was later murdered). More recently, plots have dealt with issues such as the planned construction of a polluting incinerator near the city's ethnic neighborhoods.
In more recent times (the broadcast years of Port Charles' associated shows generally correspond to the same years within the plot), the city, befitting its role as an epicenter of soap opera drama, has been beset with disaster both natural and man-made. Hurricanes struck in 1977 and 2005, epidemics in 1979 (Lassa fever) and 2006 (encephalitis), an earthquake in 1991, horrific vehicle crashes in 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2010, and a hotel fire in 2004. A 1991 plotline saw the residents of Port Charles wrestle with an environmental catastrophe caused when a ship laden with toxic materials (and owned by a prominent local family) sank in the city harbor.
Organized crime has been a persistent presence in the plots of Port Charles since 1979; both the gangsters' infighting and their waxing and waning threat to the citizenry have proven fruitful sources for story conflict. Individual criminal acts are also very common in Port Charles: extortion rings, police corruption, money laundering, kidnapping, financial fraud (involving the bankruptcy of the titular General Hospital) and murder have all played many significant parts in the city's ongoing saga. Port Charles has been host to at least one serial killer ("Franco"), as well as four hostage crises (1983, 1987, 2007, 2001) and three bombings (1988, 2008, 2008). In two of the Port Charles world's rare departures into science fiction, megalomaniac Mikkos Cassadine threatened the city with a weather–altering snowstorm machine (1981), and the villainous Cesar Faison caused a blackout by manipulating alien crystals from the planet Lumina (1990).
The Asian Quarter is a ghetto district, historically home to a large Asian population. It has been a frequent target of organized crime operations.
The Point is a high vantage point in the woods of Port Charles. It has been the site of romantic outings, a place for quiet introspection, and the scene of several accidents involving cars falling (or nearly falling) into the lake below. Also referred to as Lookout Point and Vista Point, it is located on the same road as Shadybrook Sanitarium, and meets Harbor View Road and Old Bluff Road at a three-way intersection. It may correspond to Rochester's real-life Pinnacle Hill (a high point at the southern end of that city) or Cobbs Hill.
The Port Charles Park is a popular hangout spot, though very dangerous at times; characters have fallen victim to assaults, rapes, kidnappings, and murders here.
Queen's Point was the setting of The Young Marrieds, retroactively revealed to be a suburb of Port Charles. Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio currently make their home there, as do Elizabeth Webber and her sons.
Spoon Island is the location of Wyndemere Castle, the clifftop Cassadine family home. The castle contains many secret passages and underground tunnels, making it an easy target for intruders. The mansion and surrounding island have been the location of the murders of Katherine Bell, Summer Holloway, and Emily Quartermaine. Though the Cassadines own the castle, Jasper Jacks was able to buy significant portions of the island out from under them.
As its name suggests, Port Charles is a major port; its waterfront area is a favorite meeting place for city residents and is the transportation link to Spoon Island. The waterfront district has been under the control of Sonny Corinthos for over a decade, though rival gangs have tried to move in on his territory. Ownership and transfer of Waterfront property, such as the money-laundering front Fisherman Village, has been featured several times in show storylines. The Elm Street Pier (Luke Spencer's childhood home) and Kelly's Diner, a local eatery, are located here, and Bobbie Spencer owns a restored brownstone on the Waterfront where several characters have lived.
ELQ (Edward Louis Quartermaine Industries) is a multinational conglomerate headquartered in Port Charles. Formerly owned by the wealthy Quartermaine family, it is one of the largest businesses in the region.
This ship was a wedding gift to Luke Spencer and Laura Spencer, which Luke now lives in and runs as a floating casino.
The Metro Court Hotel was built by businessman Jasper Jacks on 1420 Courts Lane, the former site of the destroyed Port Charles Hotel. The Hotel was named after Courtney Matthews, who was engaged to Jacks at the time. The Metro Court is home to many businesses and people, including Crimson, the fashion magazine co-owned by Kate Howard and Jacks. It was the site of a hostage crisis perpetrated by Jerry Jacks. The hotel is currently owned by Jasper Jacks and his wife Carly Corinthos Jacks.
Wyndham's is the local department store, most notable as the location of an impromptu romantic rendezvous between Luke Spencer and Laura Baldwin in 1980.
The Port Charles Courthouse is located in the heart of downtown, close to the police department. In addition to its courtrooms, it and the offices of former district attorneys Alexis Davis, Scott Baldwin, and Ric Lansing.
The local police department has long been an ineffectual tool against the growing mafia presence in Port Charles. Headed by commissioner Mac Scorpio, it also employs Lucky Spencer, Cruz Rodriguez, Dante Falconeri and Ronnie Dimestico.
The famous General Hospital is a major city employer and the workplace of many resident characters, including Monica Quartermaine, Patrick Drake, Robin Scorpio, Elizabeth Webber, and many others past and present. Privately funded projects include the Dominique Baldwin Pediatric AIDS wing, the Stone Cates Memorial AIDS wing, and the Michael Corinthos III Pediatric Head Trauma Wing.
Exterior shots of the hospital are images of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, located just miles from the show's Los Angeles studio.
Shadybrook is a psychiatric facility located just outside of Port Charles. Lainey Winters has an office in the building, and it was home to Laura Spencer after her 2002 breakdown. Shadybrook is on the same road as Lookout Point.
Greystone Manor is a large estate at 124 Harbor View Road, owned and inhabited by Sonny Corinthos. Not visible from the road, it is guarded by Sonny's men. Since 2007, Kate Howard has lived next door.
Harborview, at 122 Harbor View Drive, is a high-end apartment complex in downtown Port Charles that has been home to Jason Morgan penthouse, Damian Spinelli, Carly Jacks, Samantha McCall, and mob boss Sonny Corinthos. The Towers are located directly across from the Metro Court Hotel (former Port Charles Hotel).
The home of the wealthy Quartermaine family, located at 66 Harbor View Road and currently owned by Monica Quartermaine. The mansion also features a boathouse and guesthouse.[3]
Founded by Mary Mae Ward, this orphanage was destroyed by Damian Smith in a plot to take over the land for an incinerator.
Luke Spencer ran the Campus Disco from 1979–80; it is notorious as the place where he raped his future wife Laura.
Jake's is a popular bar owned and operated by Coleman, though it was originally operated by a woman named Jake (played by Stella Stevens). Carly Corinthos Jacks first met her best friend Jason Morgan here, and the bar is the preferred night time hangout for both hospital staff and local criminals.
This waterfront diner and boarding house was originally owned and operated by Rose Kelly, whose late husband Paddy had been killed by the Mob. Many residents have worked and lived here over the years. The Diner is presently owned by Mike Corbin.
The No Name is an Italian restaurant located on the west end of Port Charles. It was first frequented by members of the mafia in the 1990s. After the former owner died in 2009, Sonny Corinthos purchased the building and opened an office there.
Sonny Corinthos' first business in Port Charles, the Paradise Lounge strip club was closed after some of its dancers were found to be underage.
This is a local strip club in downtown Port Charles. Abby Haver formerly worked there as an exotic dancer, and Johnny Zacchara is a principal silent partner in the club.
From 1994 to 2001, the Nurses' Ball at the Port Charles Hotel was the social event of the year in the Port Charles calendar. It was most notable for being a charity event dedicated to raising funds for various HIV/AIDS organizations, both on the show and in reality. From 1997 until the last ball in 2001, the Ball served as a major crossover where characters from both Port Charles and General Hospital interacted. A train/bus collision interrupted the last Ball in 2001. No onscreen reasons were given for the event's discontinuation, but rising expenses and budget cuts for both shows, along with the revamp of Port Charles in 2001, were the reasons why the producers of both General Hospital and Port Charles decided to end the annual Ball.
For many years, the Pediatric Ward Christmas party has been the focus of General Hospital episodes airing just before Christmas. It is traditional for the current chief of staff to read the Christmas story to the ward's young patients during the party. The chief is also accompanied by the General Hospital volunteers dressed up as Santa Claus, Mrs. Claus, and elves. Children of General Hospital cast members are often featured as the sick children on the ward.
Tropiano, Stephen (2000). TV Towns. New York, NY: TV Books L.L.C.. ISBN 1-57500-127-6.
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