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Sometimes, our nation’s cities have more to them than what initially meets the eye. From old prohibition hideouts to abandoned city streets razed by fire, there’s surprisingly no shortage of US places with secret undergrounds.
And if you stop to think about it, in most travel destinations, what you see is what you get, right? Well, not every city’s most captivating attractions are quite so obvious.
In places like these, there’s much more than meets the eye. And in order to find it, you’ll have to go somewhere unexpected: belowground!
The rush of discovering these hidden treasures, forgotten cities, secret ruins, and landmarks beneath modern-day cities is an adventure. So, on that note, here are 9 cities with secret forgotten ruins you’ll want to explore!
The Great Seattle Fire happened in June 1889. On this day, in the afternoon, a glue pot was toppled over inside a carpentry store. This minor accident sparked a tremendous fire that ravished the entire city of Seattle.
Even to this day, the Great Seattle Fire is believed to be the most destructive fire ever in the city’s history. As you can guess, after the fire was extinguished, rebuilding was required. Other issues, like flooding, also plagued Seattle before this rebuilding period.
Two ideas emerged to solve many of these problems: the city should be regraded at a higher level, and all buildings should be made of masonry.
As a result, when the city was rebuilt, much of the remains of the former city fell into disuse and remains a forgotten ruin many outside of the city aren’t aware of. Before the rebuilding of this city, the Seattle Underground was the ground level for the city.
But nowadays, these rooms and passages have been underground beneath the city since it was reassessed.
Unlike other cities with forgotten ruins where much of the area can be toured, only small areas of the Seattle Underground have been restored. So much of isn’t safe for visitors.
We’re not surprised about this one, but this historic city has abandoned subway tunnels, and they’re the oldest in the nation.
Many passageways are sealed off, often leading to forgotten ruins like the Scollay Under station and the one-time underground rapid transit yard at Harvard.
Other interesting treasures in the depths include ancient tracks, mosaic-tiled station signs, and an old connection linking Boylston Street to the South End.
When you imagine expansive catacombs stretching out beneath a city, you probably think of Paris. But, did you know you can find historic catacombs in the US as well? In fact, you can even tour these forgotten ruins in Indiana today!
Unlike the ones in Paris, the Indianapolis Catacombs aren’t actually used to store human remains. The Indianapolis Catacombs are just a series of underground spaces and tunnels often used for more convenient transportation.
They comprise 20,000 square feet of different passageways and are located underneath the northeast corner of Delaware and Market, near the Indianapolis City Market.
Historically speaking, these passageways were once used to transport goods to and from the marketplace faster. And due to period tours organized by the Indiana Landmarks, this underground forgotten ruin doesn’t have to be a secret. It can easily be visited by tourists!
The Dallas Pedway might not be a huge secret to its residents. In fact, when it comes to the Texan heat in the middle of summer, this underground city can be one of the best ways to stay cool!
So what’s it all about? The Dallas Pedestrian Network is a series of underground walkways underneath Downtown Dallas. Yet, these aren’t ancient tunnels that are full of history to explore.
Instead, you’ll find that these forgotten ruins offer different businesses and restaurants to explore. Vincent Ponte is behind this fascinating underground city. Born in Montreal, Canada, he even helped create the underground city in his hometown!
Detroit loves its spirits, so it makes perfect sense that many of Motor City’s speakeasies had escape tunnels during that time when alcohol was illegal. One prominent example is the forgotten ruin: Tommy’s on 3rd street.
Their secret passageway takes you to Fort Street Presbyterian Church, which is across the street and was also likely a big part of the Underground Railroad.
Of course, it served Tommy well during prohibition as the Purple Gang kept the neighborhood well-stocked with all that bathtub gin.
A huge business complex etched into an artificial cave beneath the Earth’s surface might sound like something from a science fiction novel. But you won’t need to turn to a book or movie for this curiosity in Kansas City.
The SubTropolis is a business complex that goes underground for about 160 feet. It was constructed inside the Bethany Falls limestone mine, specifically inside a 1,100-acre manmade cave.
The complex has the brand “World’s Largest Underground Business Complex.” Most of this forgotten ruin is carved from limestone, a naturally occurring material. And the limestone deposit itself is assumed to be 270 million years old!
Chicago has Boston beat with a whopping SIX different sets of “left behind” holes in the ground: the Pedway, cable car tunnels, water tunnels, CTA tunnels, freight tunnels, and “The Deep Tunnel” that make up this forgotten ruin.
The cable car tunnels are from before the “L,” are 60 feet below the ground, and went abandoned after the city switched to elevated trains to get over drawbridges around 1906.
The so-called “Deep Tunnel,” or Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, goes down 350 feet and is basically there to accommodate excess rainwater runoff.
The freight tunnels, which are unique to The Windy City, were designed for small trains and were used to transport freight and coal between prominent buildings within the Loop, including City Hall and Merchandise Mart.
You might not have known this, but there are 11 miles of old tunnels under Tinsel Town! And they should probably be honored for supporting the City of Angels for as long as they have.
They were first used as service tunnels, then the Prohibition era hit, and they were used to transfer alcohol to speakeasies such as King Eddy Saloon. Fun Fact: The mayor’s office ran the supply chain!
Nowadays, though, we hear that if you wander behind the Hall of Records on Temple Street, you’ll find an elevator that can take you down there. So be sure to pack a comfortable pair of shoes for this adventure!
Los Angeles also has abandoned equestrian and subway tunnels, but most of these underground forgotten ruins have been sealed due to being unsafe.
Okay… Cue the ominous music for this last one, folks! Salt Lake City’s tunnel system lacks the seediness and filth of other subterranean webs, but they’re still full of intrigue and mystery. Kind of.
On a basic level, the tunnels begin in Temple Square and meet in downtown LDS church buildings so members can avoid the weather… and the public when crossing.
Here’s where the plot thickens, though: Conspiracy theorists believe that these forgotten ruins now head over to the city-county building and the Salt Palace Convention Center. When asked about the subject, church officials remain mum on the issue.
Have YOU heard about these forgotten ruins? If you’ve ever been to any of them, be sure to tell us all about it in the comments section below.
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