The Velvet Cape Lounge

August 1917

• Foundation: Thirty-year-old Elliott Orr inherits a small pub in Kings Row from his father, a former police officer who secretly operated as a vigilante called The Scarlet Avenger. Inspired by his father's tales of danger and intrigue, Elliott names the bar 'The Velvet Cape', after his father's signature red cloak.
• Prosperity: The Velvet Cape enjoys a modicum of success due to it's friendly atmosphere and it's family-owned feel.

January 1920

• The Prohibition Era: The Eighteenth Amendment goes into effect. Prohibition sweeps across the nation.
• Rum-Running: Bootlegging (the illegal business of transporting (smuggling) alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law) becomes rampant.

April 1925

• Expansion: To compensate for their lack of alcohol, Elliott purchases the adjacent property and erects a stage, in the hopes lounge singers might attract business.
• Morality Issuess: Pressured by the competition, dwindling sales, and organized crime, Elliott relents and illegally purchases rum from local mobsters.

June 1929

• Hard Times: The stock market crashes in 1929; heralding the Great Depression. Organized crime comes to Paragon City.
• Threatened: Intimidated by gangsters, Elliott is forced to pay protection money and hand over a cut of the Velvet Cape's profits every month.
• Enforcement: Thorough investigations by Federal Prohibition agents reveal bootlegging within The Velvet Cape.
• Take Over: Elliott eventually gives in and confesses to smuggling. Before he can reveal his mob connections, Elliott Orr is killed in prison. Clayton Fowler, a powerful mobster, "purchases" the Velvet Cape.

September 1931

• Heroes: Marcus Cole returns from the Far East and becomes the superhero Statesman, taking crime head on, going after mob bosses corrupt politicians. Fowler is eventually jailed. Cliff Holman, a struggling mechanic, sells his garage and purchases The Velvet Cape, adding 'Lounge' to the name.

• End of an Era: The Twenty-first Amendment is ratified, legalizing alcohol once again.

• The Comeback: The Velvet Cape Lounge flourishes again thanks to Cliff Holman's savvy business tactics. The Lounge begins booking popular singers and bands. The Velvet Cape becomes much more popular thanks to an endorsement by Johnny "The Face" Dotson, a then famous movie star.

January 1936

• Big Business: With the number of superheroes on the rise, Cliff Holman purchases property in Steel Canyon, in a plan to open a chain of lounges around the city.
• Tragedy: Johnny Dotson is gunned down outside the Velvet Cape Lounge.
• Downhill: The lounge's business slows in response to Dotson's murder. With the sudden loss of income, Holman's loans fall through, forcing him to sell the Velvet Cape Lounge.

December 1937

• A New Age: The Citizen Crime Fighting Act legalizes super powered vigilantism in Paragon City. This law made it legal for vigilantes to bring criminals to justice as long as they followed the same restrictions police officers use.
• What A Bargain: Irwin McGuire, a mysterious Irish immigrant purchases the Velvet Cape Lounge out of nowhere. Soon after, Johnny Dotson's murderer is brought to justice.
• Rebellion: Unregistered vigilantes crop up, refusing to trust the government with their secret identities.
• The Eye: A darkly-costumed individual called 'The Eye' begins frequenting the lounge, frightening many regular patrons.

October 1942

• Shadowy: Irwin McGuire passes away. His son Jack inherits the Velvet Cape Lounge. The Eye protects the lounge from encroaching mobsters.
• Dogma: The Grim Shadow, another unregistered vigilante begins investigating the death of a local police officer, questioning many frequenters of the Lounge.
• Lamentation: When The Eye turns up dead behind the Velvet Cape Lounge, fellow vigilantes mourn their fallen comrade by attending a candlelight vigil in his honor.

January 1943

• Vengeance: Unregistered vigilantes infiltrate the Velvet Cape Lounge, spying in an attempt to discover The Eye's murderer.
• Family Matters: Jack McGuire is arrested for public drunkenness and assault. His brother Tom manages the lounge in his absence.

March 1947

• Making Waves: The Grim Shadow beats Tom McGuire mercilessly and delivers him to the police, with evidence tying him to The Eye's murder. The Grim Shadow illegally takes over the Velvet Cape Lounge. The authorities attempt to oust him, but other vigilantes operating within the area come to his defense.
• The police abandon their attempts to take back the lounge.

1952-1966

• The Grim Shadow passes ownership of the Velvet Cape Lounge to many other costumed vigilantes who in turn, do the same.

February 1967

• The once popular and well known Velvet Cape Lounge fades into obscurity.
• The Supreme Court declares Might For Right unconstitutional. Kings Row sees a surge of minority superheroes who begin operating in the area.

April 1975

• The Paragon City Times publishes an article detailing the Velvet Cape Lounge's history. It receives slight interest, but most people aren't sure where it's located or if it's still even operating under the same name if it's operating at all.

May 1975

• A letter is sent to the editor of the Paragon City Times containing various newspaper cutouts claiming that the lounge has re-opened for business. The letter doesn't reveal where, however.

1975-1984

• Superadine hits the streets in Kings Row.
• The Velvet Cape Lounge re-emerges across town in The Gish. Now owned by a man named Leddy Frazier, the lounge caters almost exclusively to a wide-range of criminal patrons, ranging from low-level hoods and street thugs to mob bosses.

June 1990

• Both The Eye and The Grim Shadow reappear, wiping out all criminal activity within the Velvet Cape Lounge, which is moved back to it's original location.
• With The Eye and The Grim Shadow's return, legitimate business slowly picks up again.
• Sam McGuire, Jack McGuire's son and a rumored vigilante, purchases the Velvet Cape Lounge. Over the passing months, the lounge becomes something of a haven for those who operate outside the law.

May 2002

• The Rikti invade Paragon City. Due to it's location, the Velvet Cape Lounge remains largely untouched throughout the war.
• Statesman, the Freedom Phalanx and the rest of Paragon City's heroes eventually fight back the Rikti. Kings Row recovers, albeit slowly.