Arkham Asylum

Arkham Asylum is located on Arkham Island in the shadow of the Tri-Gate bridge. The Asylum was once the home of the Arkham family, who after tragic circumstances moved on and converted the home and a portion of the island that bears their name into an asylum for the criminally insane in the early part of the 20th century. Since then the facility has undergone a number of renovations and improvements but none of them seemed to have helped it's poor record escapes are frequent and those who are 'cured' and released tend to re-offend. Furthermore, several staff members, including Dr. Jeremiah Arkham, Dr. Harleen Quinzel, Dr. Jonathan Crane and Dr. Hugo Strange have all become inmates.

Still Gotham criminals deemed "not guilty by reason of insanity" or "mentally unfit to stand trial" by a court of law are sent to Arkham after being at Williams Medical Center before being deemed dangerous enough to be comitted to Arkham. Additionally prisoners with unusual medical conditions that prevent them from staying in a regular prison are housed there. For example, Mr. Freeze is not technically insane, but he requires a strongly refrigerated environment to stay alive, which only Arkham can provide.

Public Description
Passing through the outer wire where the Asylum is surrounded by modern watch towers and a modern glassed in security booth to check in visitors, one comes to a wrought iron gate declaring the gothic manor beyond 'Arkham Asylum'. Despite the modern touches the Asylum retains an decrepit and unhealthy feeling to it, that bears down like the collective weight of nearly a century of madness housed here. A relic of Gotham's past The Asylum was once the Arkham family home and bears the mark the gothic style brought to the city by Judge Solomon Wayne in it's earliest years.

Above the main doors, a tall tower stands like a gnarled finger pointed at the sky. The clock it housed has stopped at midnight and the top of the tower plays host to a pair of armed guards with high-powered rifles ready to shoot any inmates who try to escape. The rest of the building fits with the gothic style, but with modern touches like steel bars over windows made of bullet proof glass, a ventilation system for the lower levels and the security cameras perched like raves throughout the building scanning for escapees.

Inside past the reinforced front door is the reception area which like the outside is a mix of old and modern with it's faded wooden walls and modern security door made of steel and glass that keeps the guests and the inmates separate. Entry is only possible with a swipe card or by being buzzed in by the white coated orderly behind the glass of the security office.