Hopelessly faddish it may be - not to mention riddled with stylistic anachronisms - but there can be no denying that the Galleria is the grandest, most audacious work of its kind, taking the recent mania for neo-Piranesian ruins to spectacular new heights.

Tattered outer walls of corroded metal and crumbling concrete, some fifteen meters high, surround a central canyon over half a kilometer in length, covered in places by the remains of a vaulted glass ceiling, now a bent and rusted skeleton. The canyon itself goes down another ten meters in places, lined with the shelf-like projections and angular caverns of former floors, now overgrown with a riot of foliage and brilliant blooms.

Cracked, stained terazzo is faintly visible in a few places through the dirt and undergrowth. Here and there bits of shattered tile and glass glitter, mingled with shards of metal and brittle, discoloured plastic, ephemeral remnants of a consumer culture from centuries past. Paths wind through the bushes, descending into the heart of the canyon along a system of grand staircases, once automated but now still.

The songs of birds and insects echo along the length of the monstrous complex. Toward the north end, they are drowned out by the rushing of water, gushing from a cracked overhead pipe half a meter wide and running down in a series of glorious falls. At the bottommost level the water forms a pool filled with tall rushes and delicate lilies, before flowing in a lazy stream along the valley floor. By the time it reaches the opposite end of the complex, it is no more than a trickle, vanishing into the muddy earth inside a yawning subterranean cavern.

As the light from above becomes fainter, the plants become fewer, revealing clammy, cracked walls of cinderblock and cement, some retaining ancient, faded tiles and signs written in some forgotten alphabet. A row of six doors, most no more than tarnished aluminum frames, lead to a set of twisting underground passages. All of these are blocked by rubble except for one narrow corridor - the entrance to the Night Gardens.

The Galleria sits atop [Mount Vinge]?, near the heart of Topwarp.

The rumors of a possible route of access from the Galleria to Upwarp Zeta Sector remain unconfirmed.

Directions

From the Nexus: go to Top, take a boat across the river, go up the mountain, then into the Galleria. (There is a map available by typing 'map'.)

OOC Notes

Influences: Piranesi and his [etchings of Roman ruins] and the craze for fake ruins that he inspired among the upper class of his day... Also the [Cloud Gardens parkette] in downtown Toronto, which is fashioned in part as a sort of [modernistic ruin].

The basic visual reference I had in mind while writing the descriptions was the [Toronto Eaton Centre].

Attractions | Topwarp