10 Historically Accurate Details About The Architecture In 'The Legend Of Korra'

Many of Republic City's signature buildings are based on pretty well-known architectural marvels. Some may not know that Republic City's City Hall is actually based on the Reichstag Building, which is the building that holds Germany's parliament. The building has a stately edifice with Roman influences and plenty of columns, but it also features a dome at the center of its ceiling that is mirrored by the one featured on Republic City's City Hall. 

Kwong's Cuisine is considered one of the finest eateries in Republic City, and it's also one of the locations we see in flashbacks during the first season of TLOK. Although the building houses a restaurant on the show, its exterior is almost totally based off of Tianyu Department Store in Shanghai. Both buildings were built on street corners, and feature a series of balconies that climb up several floors above the ground, as well as similar color schemes. 

In season 4, we see that even though Prince Wu is in Republic City, he wants to feel like he's in the Earth Kingdom capital. He goes to Little Ba Sing Se, a neighborhood in Republic City that is designed to echo Ba Sing Se. This neighborhood has many real-life antecedents in cities around the world - two of the most obvious are Little Italy and Chinatown in New York - which provide miniaturized versions of foreign cultures. 

Zaofu's architectural achievements are almost totally unique. The city folds and unfolds like a series of enormous, metal flowers blooming each morning with the sun, but one of the inspirations for Zaofu's look, and its combination of natural beauty with man-made wonder, comes from the myths about the city of Shangri-La. Zaofu is a secluded enclave where its citizens can live in peace, untouched by the rest of the world, and the architecture reinforces that sense of isolation, encouraging comparisons to mythical paradise. 

The Republic City Four Elements is one of the swankiest hotels in Republic City, and while its name is paying obvious homage to the Four Seasons, the building itself actually looks like another landmark of New York City. The square, stately building resembles the real-world Plaza Hotel, which makes sense. After all, it's one of the most famous hotels in the world, and therefore a great template for designing a lush hotel worth drooling over. 

As is the case with many buildings throughout Republic City, Harmony Tower has a pretty clear antecedent in the real world. The building is quite obviously based on the Eiffel Tower, although it's curved outward while the actual Eiffel Tower curves inward. The tower is named after the Harmony Restoration Movement, which was responsible for starting the United Republic and was instrumental in creating Republic City.