Fallout 3 Towns

- 5 main areas
- More than 50 sub-areas
- Based loosely on Washington, D.C.
- The Capitol Building
- The Pentagon
- Jefferson Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- The White HouseGameSpy: Planet Fallout Fallout 3 Wiki

There are five major areas or towns in the game, Fallout 3, each of which contains a number of smaller areas or specific locations. The entire game setting is loosely based on the landmarks of Washington, D.C. and its surrounding area.GameSpy: Planet Fallout Fallout 3 Wiki
Real Architecture

The development team on Fallout 3 did a lot of research about the 1950s while they were designing the game, which takes place after a nuclear war in an alternate version of the 50s that we know. Technology had advanced to a Jetson's like state, but other elements were pulled directly from history. One of these elements was the architecture of the buildings. Special attention was paid to what each building's prior use was, be it an office building or a hotel.IGN: Bethesda Blog: Conceptual Design
Visualizing Dreams from the 50s

Buildings are only one element that makes up the setting of Fallout 3. Items placed in the environment, such as old machines and vehicles can be just as telling about the world that was destroyed as the locations themselves. In designing these items, the concept team looked at real ads from the 50s and tried to capture the enthusiasm for technology and futurism that was present during that time. For that reason, they purposely designed their technology to look quite different from what we know in our world today. The team used lots of vacuum tubes, vents and big chrome fins to accentuate the differences in the Fallout 3 world from our own.IGN: Bethesda Blog: Conceptual Design