Rivet City

Rivet City is the largest human community in the Washington, DC area. It is housed in an aircraft carrier that was docked at the Washington Navy Yard at the time of the Great War, and left stranded when the water level in the Anacostia and Potomac rivers dropped. The community was founded by members of the pre-War Naval Research Center, who moved to the vessel to make use of its onboard facilities and comparatively defensible position.

By 2277, Rivet City was the sole supplier of edible, non-irradiated food in the Capital Wasteland, trading it for essential raw materials with other communities.

Inside the enclosed "city", there was a clear separation of social classes, with those living on the lower decks of the ship treated as dregs and undesirables by the "upper-deckers".

Rivet City contained a large and thriving marketplace, as well as other institutions, such as:
 * Saint Monica's Church - a Christian religious community,
 * the Capitol Preservation Society with a museum of pre-War historical artifacts and knowledge,
 * a hotel,
 * a well-stocked and well-guarded armory,
 * the Muddy Rudder bar.

The broken bow of the ship was separated from the main carrier superstructure and half-flooded. The lower levels are inhabited by mirelurks while the upper levels contain Pinkerton's laboratory and home.

For the player exploring the vessel, when checking out the bridge tower, it is worth going through all the exterior doors. These lead to catwalks on the outside of the tower, most of which have an ammunition box or something similar worth looting.

To access Rivet City climb to the 3rd story of the tower near the Rivet City map marker. There is an intercom near the guy asking for water. When selected a bridge will extend from the ship.

Appearances
Rivet City appeared only in Fallout 3.

NPCs

 * Abraham Washington
 * Angela Staley
 * Anna Holt
 * Armitage
 * Bannon
 * Belle Bonny
 * Brock
 * C.J. Young
 * Carlos (outside)
 * Cherry
 * Christie Young
 * Cindy Cantelli
 * Diego
 * Dr. Madison Li
 * Dr. Preston
 * Dr. Zimmer
 * Father Clifford
 * Flak
 * Gary Staley
 * Harkness
 * Henry Young
 * James Hargrave
 * Janice Kaplinski
 * Lana Danvers
 * Mei Wong
 * Mister Lopez
 * Paulie Cantelli
 * Pinkerton
 * Seagrave Holmes
 * Shrapnel
 * Sister
 * Tammy Hargrave
 * Ted Strayer
 * Trinnie
 * Vera Weatherly
 * Victoria Watts

Related Quests

 * The Replicated Man
 * Stealing Independence
 * The Wasteland Survival Guide
 * Those!
 * Scientific Pursuits
 * Marriage

Behind the scenes
The Craig Mullins concept art published on May 15, 2007 shows a city with ruined skyscrapers and an aircraft carrier which has run ashore and is connected to one of them by a rudimentary bridge. The aircraft carrier appears to be the USS Oriskany although the image is mirrored thus placing the island on the wrong side of the ship. The picture that was used for reference is located on a website devoted to naval vessels.

Given the vessel's location (at the Washington Navy Yard), it is tempting to assume the carrier must have been a museum piece. This would appear to be contradicted by the large number of (defunct) aircraft left on the flight deck. Curiously, the aircraft seem to be Lockheed P-80s.

The USS Oriskany was an Essex-class aircraft carrier, of which only four others remain and are open as museums: the USS Hornet in Alameda, California; the USS Lexington, in Corpus Christi, Texas; the USS Yorktown, in Charleston, South Carolina; and the USS Intrepid, in New York City.