01. Grand Junction

Nobody takes the buses anymore. Nobody good, that is. Only the dregs come or leave by bus, and the Grand Junction neighborhood looks it. Even the one-way streets and highway on-ramps are pitted with decay, just like the people forced to live here and the people who ride the dilapidated cattle cars into and out of Newcastle. The whole place smells like diesel and bum piss, and the oil in the lingering smoke makes sure both of those smells travel with a person into other parts of town, in his nose and on his clothes.

Background

Grand Junction was the waypoint for all visitors coming to or leaving Newcastle 50 years ago. The buses used to stream into Grand Junction from all points of the compass, full of bright-eyed tourists and hopeful businessmen with the Next Big Idea. Now, not so much, since rail and air travel is more dependable and less desperate. A handful of The brownstones in the neighborhood still have some of their Jazz Age grandeur about them, but most of the neighborhood has slid into apathetic neglect.

Alternative Name(s)

Bus Terminal

Type

District

Location under

New Castle