The Corleone mall in Long Beach, Long Island, was built by Vito Corleone in the 1930s.
It was his base of operations, and where the Don entertained guests. It was also the place where many attacks and murders were planned, including those of Virgil Sollozzo, Mark McCluskey and the heads of the Five Families.
In 1945, the compound held Connie Corleone's wedding to Carlo Rizzi. After Vito's death in 1955, his son Michael sold the compound to a development and construction company. It was later taken over by Peter Clemenza, and after his death, Frank Pentangeli.
Appearance[]
The compound consisted of a residential street that ended in a cul-de-sac, providing only one means of entry, surrounded by high hedges, and lined with eight large two-story houses all owned by Vito Corleone.
Three of the houses were rented at low price to several neighbors who had relatives in another part of Long Island, and lived under an agreement to vacate the premises, no question asked, if the need arose. This was done as a camouflage measure during peacetime, and as a way to provide a garrison for soldiers in a crisis. Three of the other houses were used by Vito Corleone, Genco Abbandando and Sonny Corleone's families. The last two houses were owned by good friends of the Don who later vacated these houses to allow Michael Corleone and Kay to move into one and Connie and Carlo Rizzi took the other house.
The Mall was equipped with several floodlights, making it impossible to move unseen at night. After the death of Sonny Corleone, Vito Corleone further reinforced the Mall by building an eleven-foot stone wall around the perimeter, installing an iron gate at the entrance and buying the property around the Mall and populating them with Corleone soldiers and their families.
In the video games[]
The Corleone mall in the video game.
In The Godfather: The Game and its sequel a Corleone compound appears. In the first game, the compound is somewhat different from the movie. Instead of eight houses hosting different Corleone associates, there are only three houses, two of which are explorable with multiple bedrooms in them. Also, the compound is located in Little Italy, Manhattan, not Long Island. Towards the end of the game, protagonist Aldo Trapani is given a room in the second house. When the player drives towards the compound, the first few bars of the Godfather Waltz will play.
In the second game, a completely different compound is featured and shares no resemblance to the movie compound, nor the one in the first game. Another large difference is that in the first video game, the compound is located in Little Italy, while in the second game the compound is located in Queens.[1]
"This is your starting compound. Before getting access to your first safehouse, you can stop here to stock up on ammo, recruit new soldiers, or pick up missions from Don Michael Corleone."
History[]
The base of Corleone operations, it's very central to most of the city and accessible via the Manhattan bridge. The Little Italy Heights location has allowed members to come and go with impunity. Late in your campaign, you are invited to one of the adjoining buildings to stay.
Behind the scenes[]
The filming location of the Corleone compound was on Longfellow Road in Staten Island. The film crew had constructed an eight-foot-high faux stone wall to isolate the area.[2]
In Mario Puzo's novel the compound is built in 1939. In The Family Corleone however the compound starts being built in the mid 1930s.
Notes and references[]
- ↑ http://godfather2.ea.com/features.action
- ↑ Jones, Jenny M. (2007). The Annotated Godfather. Black Dog & Leventhal, p. 30. ISBN 1579128114.