I’ve always been interested in secret things: secret rooms, hidden passageways, and revolving doors. I like the shady nooks and crannies, places you might not see with the unexperienced eye. As a tourist, you often don’t get to see these things because you are there to see the sights: the Eiffel Tower, the Sears Building, the beach. It usually takes living somewhere (and a sense of exploration) to start to notice the intricacies of the hidden life around you.
As a kid, I liked to play Indiana Jones, trying to find abandoned places in and around a town called La Canada (the foothills of Los Angeles). Sometimes I would walk home from school along what I liked to call “a hidden river” (but it was really a storm wash). I looked for tunnels and derelict sheds (in the neighbors yards no less!) I checked out books from the library about sunken treasures and explorations. I never found anything really, but I had a great time looking.
Now that I’m older, I still have that inquisitive urge to find the unseen. And now that I live in New York City, I always feel like I am standing over something hidden, literally. For example, did you know that down under the Waldorf-Astoria hotel sits an abandoned train platform that was once used as a private entrance to the hotel by presidents and generals? Or, that under Riverside Park there is a train tunnel from approximately 123rd St. to 72 St. that has been around since the 1850s? And there is more, much more, all over the world. From the secret catacombs in Paris, to the tunnels underneath many college campuses on the East Coast, the world is a much richer place than we know. Here’s a few links to get you started:
Lost in Place: A Mini-Tour of Hidden New York Spaces
NewYorkology: Exploring New York from Top to Extreme Underground
Undercity: A Guerilla Historian to Gotham
National Geographic: New York Underground
Abandoned Stations in NYC
The Parisian Catacombs
Infiltration.org
Urban Explorers: Underground School Tunnel Maps
Wikipedia: Urban Exploration
Webring: Urban Exploration
The Explorers Club
(Photo from Undercity.org)
April 3rd, 2006 at 10:37 am
You can also add the “Secret Itineraries tour” at the Doges Palace in Venice, Italy to your list. Tickets are a little tricky to get but worth it. You walk narrow, hidden staircases that take you to torture chambers and jail cells, entering via secret doorways and rooms.
http://www.tickitaly.com/galleries/doges-palace-venice-tour.php
April 3rd, 2006 at 11:33 am
I love this kind of stuff too. There are a lot of urban legends associated with the Amtrak tunnels under Riverside Drive. Check out “The Mole People” by Jennifer Toth; makes a good read even though it’s not entirely accurate.
The closest you can get to (legal) urban exploration around here is to keep watch for tours offered by different organizations throughout the year. I believe there’s an upcoming one for the abandoned hospital on Roosevelt Island. Otherwise, you can wait until the fall and take part in the annual Openhousenewyork weekend.
Most interesting place I’ve been in around the city is the abandoned Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel, during an art exhibition. You enter through a manhole at a busy intersection and then walk in a very narrow and short tunnel before you reach the main entrance.
April 3rd, 2006 at 1:56 pm
Jee, Karen - Thank you for the excellent tips. It’s been my dream to go to Italy, in which case I am interested to see the Doges Palace. Until then, I have to take part in the Open House New York weekend!
April 8th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
Seattle has an underground city. Google “seattle underground” for a list of tours (I didn’t want to promote a specific one), and catch a glimpse of Seattle’s seedy past. Tours begin in Pioneer Square.
April 8th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Holy smokes Clarice! I had no idea. You can read more about Seattle’s Underground on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Underground_Tour