diff --git a/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/LocationDecoder.as b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/LocationDecoder.as
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5fce22e3d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/LocationDecoder.as
@@ -0,0 +1,70 @@
+//
+// $Id: LocationDecoder.java 3914 2006-03-06 21:51:59Z mdb $
+//
+// Narya library - tools for developing networked games
+// Copyright (C) 2002-2006 Three Rings Design, Inc., All Rights Reserved
+// http://www.threerings.net/code/narya/
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+
+package com.threerings.crowd.client {
+
+import com.threerings.crowd.client.LocationReceiver;
+import com.threerings.presents.client.InvocationDecoder;
+
+/**
+ * Dispatches calls to a {@link LocationReceiver} instance.
+ */
+public class LocationDecoder extends InvocationDecoder
+{
+    /** The generated hash code used to identify this receiver class. */
+    public static const RECEIVER_CODE :String = "58f2830e027f4f3377e100ef12332497";
+
+    /** The method id used to dispatch {@link LocationReceiver#forcedMove}
+     * notifications. */
+    public static const FORCED_MOVE :int = 1;
+
+    /**
+     * Creates a decoder that may be registered to dispatch invocation
+     * service notifications to the specified receiver.
+     */
+    public function LocationDecoder (receiver :LocationReceiver)
+    {
+        this.receiver = receiver;
+    }
+
+    // documentation inherited
+    public override function getReceiverCode () :String
+    {
+        return RECEIVER_CODE;
+    }
+
+    // documentation inherited
+    public override function dispatchNotification (
+            methodId :int, args :Array) :void
+    {
+        switch (methodId) {
+        case FORCED_MOVE:
+            (receiver as LocationReceiver).forcedMove(
+                (args[0] as int)
+            );
+            return;
+
+        default:
+            super.dispatchNotification(methodId, args);
+        }
+    }
+}
+}
diff --git a/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceController.as b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceController.as
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..827f8d09d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceController.as
@@ -0,0 +1,267 @@
+//
+// $Id: PlaceController.java 3440 2005-03-30 01:09:30Z mdb $
+//
+// Narya library - tools for developing networked games
+// Copyright (C) 2002-2004 Three Rings Design, Inc., All Rights Reserved
+// http://www.threerings.net/code/narya/
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+
+package com.threerings.crowd.client  {
+
+import com.threerings.crowd.data.PlaceConfig;
+import com.threerings.crowd.data.PlaceObject;
+import com.threerings.crowd.util.CrowdContext;
+
+/**
+ * Controls the user interface that is used to display a place. When the
+ * client moves to a new place, the appropriate place controller is
+ * constructed and requested to create and display the appopriate user
+ * interface for that place.
+ */
+public /*abstract*/ class PlaceController /*extends Controller*/
+{
+    /**
+     * Initializes this place controller with a reference to the context
+     * that they can use to access client services and to the
+     * configuration record for this place. The controller should create
+     * as much of its user interface that it can without having access to
+     * the place object because this will be invoked in parallel with the
+     * fetching of the place object. When the place object is obtained,
+     * the controller will be notified and it can then finish the user
+     * interface configuration and put the user interface into operation.
+     *
+     * @param ctx the client context.
+     * @param config the place configuration for this place.
+     */
+    public function init (ctx :CrowdContext, config :PlaceConfig) :void
+    {
+        // keep these around
+        _ctx = ctx;
+        _config = config;
+
+        // create our user interface
+        _view = createPlaceView(_ctx);
+
+//        // initialize our delegates
+//        applyToDelegates(new DelegateOp() {
+//            public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate) {
+//                delegate.init(_ctx, _config);
+//            }
+//        });
+
+        // let the derived classes do any initialization stuff
+        didInit();
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Derived classes can override this and perform any
+     * post-initialization processing they might need. They should of
+     * course be sure to call <code>super.didInit()</code>.
+     */
+    protected function didInit () :void
+    {
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns a reference to the place view associated with this
+     * controller. This is only valid after a call has been made to {@link
+     * #init}.
+     */
+    public function getPlaceView () :PlaceView
+    {
+        return _view;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Returns the {@link PlaceConfig} associated with this place.
+     */
+    public function getPlaceConfig () :PlaceConfig
+    {
+        return _config;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Creates the user interface that will be used to display this place.
+     * The view instance returned will later be configured with the place
+     * object, once it becomes available.
+     *
+     * @param ctx a reference to the {@link CrowdContext} associated with
+     * this controller.
+     */
+    protected function createPlaceView (ctx :CrowdContext) :PlaceView
+    {
+        return null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * This is called by the location director once the place object has
+     * been fetched. The place controller will dispatch the place object
+     * to the user interface hierarchy via {@link
+     * PlaceViewUtil#dispatchWillEnterPlace}. Derived classes can override
+     * this and perform any other starting up that they need to do
+     */
+    public function willEnterPlace (plobj :PlaceObject) :void
+    {
+        // keep a handle on our place object
+        _plobj = plobj;
+
+        if (_view != null ) {
+            // let the UI hierarchy know that we've got our place
+            PlaceViewUtil.dispatchWillEnterPlace(_view, plobj);
+            // and display the user interface
+            _ctx.setPlaceView(_view);
+        }
+
+//        // let our delegates know what's up 
+//        applyToDelegates(new DelegateOp() {
+//            public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate) {
+//                delegate.willEnterPlace(plobj);
+//            }
+//        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Called before a request is submitted to the server to leave the
+     * current place. As such, this method may be called multiple times
+     * before {@link #didLeavePlace} is finally called. The request to
+     * leave may be rejected, but if a place controller needs to flush any
+     * information to the place manager before it leaves, it should so do
+     * here. This is the only place in which the controller is guaranteed
+     * to be able to communicate to the place manager, as by the time
+     * {@link #didLeavePlace} is called, the place manager may have
+     * already been destroyed.
+     */
+    public function mayLeavePlace (plobj :PlaceObject) :void
+    {
+//        // let our delegates know what's up 
+//        applyToDelegates(new DelegateOp() {
+//            public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate) {
+//                delegate.mayLeavePlace(plobj);
+//            }
+//        });
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * This is called by the location director when we are leaving this
+     * place and need to clean up after ourselves and shutdown. Derived
+     * classes should override this method (being sure to call
+     * <code>super.didLeavePlace</code>) and perform any necessary
+     * cleanup.
+     */
+    public function didLeavePlace (plobj :PlaceObject) :void
+    {
+//        // let our delegates know what's up 
+//        applyToDelegates(new DelegateOp() {
+//            public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate) {
+//                delegate.didLeavePlace(plobj);
+//            }
+//        });
+
+        // let the UI hierarchy know that we're outta here
+        if (_view != null ) {
+            PlaceViewUtil.dispatchDidLeavePlace(_view, plobj);
+            _ctx.clearPlaceView(_view);
+            _view = null;
+        }
+
+        _plobj = null;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Handles basic place controller action events. Derived classes
+     * should be sure to call <code>super.handleAction</code> for events
+     * they don't specifically handle.
+     */
+//    public boolean handleAction (final ActionEvent action)
+//    {
+//        final boolean[] handled = new boolean[1];
+//
+//        // let our delegates have a crack at the action
+//        applyToDelegates(new DelegateOp() {
+//            public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate) {
+//                // we take advantage of short-circuiting here
+//                handled[0] = handled[0] || delegate.handleAction(action);
+//            }
+//        });
+//
+//        // if they didn't handly it, pass it off to the super class
+//        return handled[0] ? true : super.handleAction(action);
+//    }
+
+    /**
+     * Adds the supplied delegate to the list for this controller.
+     */
+//    protected void addDelegate (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate)
+//    {
+//        if (_delegates == null) {
+//            _delegates = new ArrayList();
+//        }
+//        _delegates.add(delegate);
+//    }
+
+    /**
+     * Used to call methods in delegates.
+     */
+//    protected static interface DelegateOp
+//    {
+//        public void apply (PlaceControllerDelegate delegate);
+//    }
+
+    /**
+     * Applies the supplied operation to the registered delegates.
+     */
+//    protected void applyToDelegates (DelegateOp op)
+//    {
+//        if (_delegates != null) {
+//            int dcount = _delegates.size();
+//            for (int i = 0; i < dcount; i++) {
+//                op.apply((PlaceControllerDelegate)_delegates.get(i));
+//            }
+//        }
+//    }
+
+    /**
+     * Applies the supplied operation to the registered delegates that
+     * derive from the specified class.
+     */
+//    protected void applyToDelegates (Class dclass, DelegateOp op)
+//    {
+//        if (_delegates != null) {
+//            int dcount = _delegates.size();
+//            for (int i = 0; i < dcount; i++) {
+//                PlaceControllerDelegate delegate =
+//                    (PlaceControllerDelegate)_delegates.get(i);
+//                if (dclass.isAssignableFrom(delegate.getClass())) {
+//                    op.apply(delegate);
+//                }
+//            }
+//        }
+//    }
+
+    /** A reference to the active client context. */
+    protected var _ctx :CrowdContext;
+
+    /** A reference to our place configuration. */
+    protected var _config :PlaceConfig;
+
+    /** A reference to the place object for which we're controlling a user
+     * interface. */
+    protected var _plobj :PlaceObject;
+
+    /** A reference to the root user interface component. */
+    protected var _view :PlaceView;
+}
+}
diff --git a/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceViewUtil.as b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceViewUtil.as
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1e7bde7c9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/as/com/threerings/crowd/client/PlaceViewUtil.as
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+//
+// $Id: PlaceViewUtil.java 3098 2004-08-27 02:12:55Z mdb $
+//
+// Narya library - tools for developing networked games
+// Copyright (C) 2002-2004 Three Rings Design, Inc., All Rights Reserved
+// http://www.threerings.net/code/narya/
+//
+// This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+// under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License as published
+// by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2.1 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+// Lesser General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
+// License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
+// Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA
+
+package com.threerings.crowd.client {
+
+import flash.display.DisplayObjectContainer;
+
+import com.threerings.crowd.Log;
+import com.threerings.crowd.data.PlaceObject;
+
+/**
+ * Provides a mechanism for dispatching notifications to all user
+ * interface elements in a hierarchy that implement the {@link PlaceView}
+ * interface. Look at the documentation for {@link PlaceView} for more
+ * explanation.
+ */
+public class PlaceViewUtil
+{
+    /**
+     * Dispatches a call to {@link PlaceView#willEnterPlace} to all UI
+     * elements in the hierarchy rooted at the component provided via the
+     * <code>root</code> parameter.
+     *
+     * @param root the component at which to start traversing the UI
+     * hierarchy.
+     * @param plobj the place object that is about to be entered.
+     */
+    public static function dispatchWillEnterPlace (
+            root :Object, plobj :PlaceObject) :void
+    {
+        dispatch(root, plobj, "willEnterPlace");
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Dispatches a call to {@link PlaceView#didLeavePlace} to all UI
+     * elements in the hierarchy rooted at the component provided via the
+     * <code>root</code> parameter.
+     *
+     * @param root the component at which to start traversing the UI
+     * hierarchy.
+     * @param plobj the place object that is about to be entered.
+     */
+    public static function dispatchDidLeavePlace (
+            root :Object, plobj :PlaceObject) :void
+    {
+        dispatch(root, plobj, "didLeavePlace");
+    }
+
+    private static function dispatch (
+            root :Object, plobj :PlaceObject, funct :String) :void
+    {
+        // dispatch the call on this component if it implements PlaceView
+        if (root is PlaceView) {
+            try {
+                (root as PlaceView)[funct](plobj);
+            } catch (e :Error) {
+                Log.warning("Component choked on " + funct + "() " +
+                            "[component=" + root + ", plobj=" + plobj + "].");
+                Log.logStackTrace(e);
+            }
+        }
+
+        // now traverse all of this component's children
+        if (root is DisplayObjectContainer) {
+            var cont :DisplayObjectContainer = (root as DisplayObjectContainer);
+            for (var ii :int = 0; ii < cont.numChildren; ii++) {
+                dispatch(cont.getChildAt(ii), plobj, funct);
+            }
+        }
+    }
+}
+}
diff --git a/src/as/com/threerings/util/ClassUtil.as b/src/as/com/threerings/util/ClassUtil.as
index 8568055a2..a64a78b14 100644
--- a/src/as/com/threerings/util/ClassUtil.as
+++ b/src/as/com/threerings/util/ClassUtil.as
@@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
 package com.threerings.util {
 
-import flash.util.describeType;
-
 public class ClassUtil
 {
     public static function getClassName (obj :Object) :String
@@ -37,7 +35,7 @@ public class ClassUtil
         }
 
         // TODO: there's currently no way to determine final from the class
-        //var attrs :XMLList = describeType(type).elements("type");
+        //var attrs :XMLList = flash.util.describeType(type).elements("type");
         return false;
     }
 }