Housewares

"You'll find your little bird in the Housewares department"

- Sander Cohen

Housewares is one of three buildings that make up Fontaine's Department Store.

Burial at Sea - Episode 1
Booker DeWitt and Elizabeth travel to this building to find Sally, who was sent here by Cohen after Fontaine's was converted into a prison. Booker seeks to save her from the dangers of the store and Elizabeth has a vested interest in seeing the detective and the orphan reunited.

Tram Station
The conveyance tram arrives at the Housewares Department tram station. Here, there is the first of the Little Sister Vents Booker and Elizabeth need to find, and is found with a Splicer attempting to access it. He will soon turn and charge Booker as the detective exits the tram.

Beyond the vent, the room contains four small exhibits for products; A living room (with television), a Fontaine Vac, a nursery setting, and Arcadia White Oats, where someone was chained to the table with his face in the cereal bowl. A Shotgun can be found beside the doors to the Electronics Lobby. There's two telephone booth areas, one of which shows a somewhat dramatic scene.

Electronics
The Electronics department served as a central hub for the Housewares Department, and lead to the many other departments in the building. Since Fontaine's conversion, only a few sections are still easily accessible. The department is split over two levels, the main room and a surrounding upper balcony. The upper balcony features a Gene Bank, a Circus of Values and an El Ammo Bandito vending machine. There are doors to the Bistro and the Appliances & Toys departments.

The main room consists of a large central elevator shaft surrounded by exhibits of televisions and another of the Little Sister Vents which must be closed. The vent is initially surrounded by Splicers, trying to coax Sally out with a teddy bear.

To the right of the room, a neon sign has fallen, electrifying a large pool of water. It can be frozen using the Old Man Winter Plasmid and crossed to find a lootable corpse and Bucking Bronco.

There is a fallen lift carriage at the bottom of the lift shaft. In it can be found the Oven of the Future audio diary by Bert Unger, which gives the key-code to access the Radar Range.

For tactical advantage, several ornamental lighting sconces are positioned around the room.

The Bistro at Fontaine's
The split level Bistro is just off the upper area of the main Electronics lobby. The duo enter on the upper level. It has a self-service buffet/salad bar, and booth seating looking out into the deep waters and rocky walls of the trench where the building now lies. A deranged Splicer waitress can be found wandering from booth to booth making friendly chit-chat with the numerous corpses slumped at the tables.

The lower level consists of some additional seating, a larger open area, and the Bistro's kitchen. Here is another of the vents Booker must close, a Tear for a crate of med-kits, and a Tear for a Columbia Gun Automaton that overlooks the kitchen area. In the kitchenis the locked freezer containing the Radar Range, and, on the counter, the audio diary The Kiss by Shirley Womack.

Customer Service
Taking the door marked 'Appliances & Toys' from the Electronics lobby will lead Booker and Elizabeth down a small hall and then through an air lock to a large lobby. Directly ahead is the Customer Service area, which consists of a front desk, and small back room where you can find a safe, another vent, and Yi Suchong's audio diary Observation 17.

To the left and right can be found the Appliances and Toys departments respectively, as well as the book and bridal stores. The room has Tears that can bring in med-kits or a Decoy and an ornamental lighting sconces to help Booker fight enemies.

Bridal
The Bridal shop once provided all the services needed for weddings including formal attire. Since the sinking, it now houses a Splicer hallucinating "the first dance" at her wedding. She has moved some of the mannequins around her to represent the guests while she has a conversation with "the groom." On the counter, one can find the Gear Surprise Element, and under it the audio diary A Little Help.

Bookstore
In better times, the two story bookstore sold all sorts of books to customers. Subjects ranged from the light-hearted topics such as art, music, and cooking to more serious themes of self-optimization, empiricism, and even parasitism. One of the most notable pieces of literature is Fontaine's book Don't Let the Bastards See You Sweat. Now, the prime focus is the store's Little Sister Vent.

Appliances
This sector of the store features a variety of electrical appliances. The security gate to the department is closed, so Booker and Elizabeth have to cut through the Bookstore. Afterwards, they reach the Little Sister Vent. The showcase contains a large number of Splicers.

As Elizabeth picks to lock to the Staff Only section of the store, the place is assaulted by a wave of angry Splicers. Fortunately, a number of Tears and a set of Pneumo Lines are set up to aid Booker in fighting the rabble.

Toys
Toys is a department containing toys manufactured by Fontaine. The entrance has been barricaded by the Splicers. The area contains the exhaust venting for the floor's central heating system. This is where Booker corners Sally and has to face her monstrous protector.

New Weaponry

 * Radar Range

New Plasmids and Gears (Found)

 * Bucking Bronco - Electronics
 * Surprise Element - Bridal
 * Roar to Life - Appliances

Audio Diaries

 * 1) Bert Unger - Oven of the Future
 * 2) Shirley Womack - The Kiss
 * 3) Yi Suchong - Observation #17
 * 4) Edith Crenshaw - A Little Help
 * 5) Yi Suchong - Observation #22

Burial at Sea - Episode 2
The majority of Burial at Sea - Episode 2 takes place within the Housewares building. Elizabeth works out a way to raise the building if she ever hopes to rescue Sally.

Ryan the Lion Preparatory Academy
The Ryan the Lion Preparatory Academy was a preschool and daycare which taught Rapture's children the virtues of Andrew Ryan's philosophy. It also taught them about "Parasitism", and how to deal with it. The children watched educational videos showing Ryan the Lion going up against his opponent Peter the Parasite.

Cupid's Arrow
Located across from Ryan the Lion Preparatory Academy, Cupid's Arrow was an erotic film and bookstore. Here, Rapture's citizens would indulge their sexual fantasies by purusing the erotic material or watching a live performance at the peep show. Cupid's is the location of the Peeping Tom Plasmid.

Exit Plaza
Like the Electronics atrium, this was a another hub that connected several businesses together. The plaza itself spanned five floors, but Elizabeth can only access the bottom floor. The bottom floor itself was split into two areas, one housed the entrance to Ryan the Lion Preparatory Academy and Cupids Arrow, while the second area featured a large window for family photos, a help desk, and an elevator to the other floors of the plaza. When Elizabeth uses the elevator, it will take her straight up to the Bathysphere DeLuxe above the plaza.

Bathyspheres DeLuxe
Bathyspheres DeLuxe was a large department within the Housewares tower. It was a massive showroom for the Austen Bathysphere Company and contained several different businesses and sub-stores within the vicinity. At the time of the depatment store's conversion, the new 1959 models of Bathyspheres were on display. The Deluxe has become a major center for Atlas and his legion of followers.

Silver Fin Restaurant
The Silver Fin is a restaurant within Fontaine's that catered to its customers. At some point, it was taken over by Dr. Yi Suchong, when Ryan had him investigate a Tear. When Elizabeth arrives, the restaurant is abandoned, and a Lutece Device-type machine has been set up on the restaurant floor.

Test-Drive
An area in Bathyspheres DeLuxe that allowed customers to test drive the new bathysphere models before making a purchase. There is a small display devoted to Old Man Winter, as the new bathyspheres were known to overheat. By the time Elizabeth arrives, the area is being used as a stronghold for Atlas and his men.

Service Bay
The service bay is where all of the bathyspheres in Fontaine's go for maintenance. Additionally, Rapturians could bring their personal bathyspheres in for checkups and customization. Elizabeth travels here for the CO₂ Scrubber.

Manta Ray Lounge
The Manta Ray Lounge is a large dance club and bar. It contains Frank Fontaine's secret panic room, and the elevator to the Executive Suite. The lounge was used as a food and supply storage area by Atlas and his supporters untill it was attacked by Splicers.

Executive Suite
Located at the very top of Housewares, the large office space was used by Fontaine whenever he visited the department store. The building's four load-bearing columns meet directly above this room, and the Lutece Particle must be placed here to make the building float back up to the city.

New Weaponry

 * Crossbow
 * Hand Cannon
 * Shotgun
 * Radar Range

New Plasmids and Mods (Found)

 * Peeping Tom - Cupid's Arrow
 * Peeping Vision Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Service Bay
 * Peeping Cloak Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Manta Ray Lounge
 * Possession
 * Possess KO Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Bathysphere Sales Office
 * Possess Turret Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Service Bay
 * Old Man Winter - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Test-Drive
 * Winter Forget Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Information Kiosk
 * Winter Mod - Bathyspheres DeLuxe, Silver Fin Restaurant

Audio Diaries

 * 1) Antonio Rodriguez - Laissez-Faire
 * 2) Carol Lynn - The Blue Dress
 * 3) Samantha Kemp - This Atlas Guy
 * 4) Morris Lauderman - Pennies on the Dollar
 * 5) Yi Suchong - Imprinting Roadblocks
 * 6) Felix Molloy - For All Occasions
 * 7) Kay Flannigan - Old Man Winter Giveaway
 * 8) Emmett Wyman - Prison Intel, Dispatch
 * 9) Florence Baxter - Hooligans
 * 10) Sal Cantone - So Long, Suckers!
 * 11) Andrew Ryan - Building the Impossible!
 * 12) Johnny Demarco - C'est La Vie
 * 13) Samantha Kemp - Atlas Provides
 * 14) Frank Fontaine - You Stupid Bastard