Fontaine's Department Store (Business)

Welcome to Fontaine's.

“How many people do you suppose Ryan's got locked up in that place?"
"Enough. Fontaine had amassed something near an army. Now they're down there, spliced up and wild.”

― Elizabeth and Booker as they approach the department store

Fontaine's Department Store is a business run and owned by Frank Fontaine and is one of the largest known retail establishments in Rapture. The business' location serves as the primary levels for BioShock Infinite's downloadable contents, Burial at Sea - Episode 1 and Episode 2. The department store consists of a set of three floating buildings, now turned into a prison and isolated from the city.

History

The three department stores.

While Frank Fontaine is most well-known for his role in the development and commercialization of the Plasmid industry, he had ownership of a diverse range of businesses which increased his growing wealth. Fontaine Futuristics oversaw the creation of a variety of different products including pharmaceuticals, Bathyspheres, electronics, household appliances, and many more. Rather than selling his products through other distributors, he cut out the middleman and set up Fontaine's to showcase and sell items from his various businesses.

In addition to the department stores, Fontaine's featured a home delivery service for purchases through the use of Pneumo Lines throughout the premises. It also housed several recreational businesses and eateries, for example Jack Frost's Village and its ice rink in the main building and the Bistro or the Manta Ray Lounge in the second building.

After Frank Fontaine's battle with Rapture's security forces ended in defeat September 12, 1958, his businesses and various assets were seized and taken over by Ryan Industries. Fontaine's was closed in the following months, and the Rapture Central Council ordered the store to be converted into a prison. Fontaine's remaining followers were to be imprisoned within, and the building's access from the city disconnected. With no guards and the ocean slowly flooding the facility, conditions inside the store quickly deteriorated. Even though the city continued to provide rations to the establishment, the prisoners, mainly Splicers, were forced to fight amongst each other for resources.

Burial at Sea - Episode 1 and Episode 2

The buildings adrift.

Fontaine's features three department buildings:

• Fontaine's Department Store
• Housewares
• An unknown third building

Only two parts of Fontaine's can be visited during the downloadable content episodes: the central building and its pavilion, which acts as a hub, which specialized in retail clothing, and the Houseware Department which sold a vast array of small and large appliances, as well as electronics and services.

Known Directory

Fontaine's Department Store

• Bottom Floor
  • Fontaine's Station
  • Returns
• First Floor
  • Fragrances
  • Menswear
    • The Daily Bread
    • Hats
    • Workman's Wear
    • Haberdashery
    • Eyewear
  • Prêt-à-Porter
  • Pavilion Station
• Second Floor
  • Home Delivery
  • Ladieswear
    • Jewelry
    • Shoes
• Third Floor
  • Jack Frost's Village
  • Fontaine Plasmids

Housewares

• First Floor
  • Tram station
  • Electronics
  • The Bistro at Fontaine's
  • Customer Service
  • Bookstore
  • Appliances
  • Bridal
  • Toys
• Bottom Floor
  • Ryan the Lion Preparatory Academy
  • Cupid's Arrow
• Middle Floor
  • Bathyspheres DeLuxe
    • Silver Fin Restaurant
    • Manta Ray Lounge
    • Test-Drive
    • Service Bay
• Top Floor
  • Executive Suite

Gallery

Housewares.png

The Housewares building adrift in the Atlantic.

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The main building floats eerily in the ocean trench.

Behind the Scenes

• Fontaine's is decorated with several depictions of Poseidon, the Greek "God of the Sea," the most prominent of which is the bust of the deity atop the main building's crown. The surrounding two towers and submersible trams linking the buildings together are shaped like seahorses, a reminder that Poseidon is also known as the "Tamer of Horses." The use here of the marine fish is more a play on the words "sea horses."
• A Public Address Announcement states that magnetic mines were installed around the prison to prevent anyone escaping. These mines are seen from the Executive Suite at the top of Housewares and outside the Bathysphere Deluxe service bay, but none can be seen when Booker and Elizabeth first approach the prison via bathysphere, or from any of the complex's many other windows.
  • With this safety precaution in mind, it should have been impossible for Booker and Elizabeth to enter the Department Store without their Bathysphere attracting one of the mines. Unless the mines are capable of being deactivated from a distance (i.e. By Sander Cohen or Ryan's security when delivering supplies).
• The broken rotating sign over the third building actually reads Ladieswear and Menswear, but this is likely just used as a place holder as both of these departments are located in the main building.