The Secret Tunnels Beneath New York - IT'S HISTORY

surprisingly it's not exactly difficult to lose  track of a tunnel and believe me new york city has   forgotten about several of their own be it from  the city's expansion to the events of world war   ii or just plain old falling out of use the fact  is there are cavernous mazes of man-made spaces   under the city that have literally been lost and  forgotten today i will present you a few stories   of the forgotten tunnels of new york city i'm your  host ryan socash and you're watching it's history   most of us know the surface level history of new  york such as the fact that it was founded as a   dutch trading post under the name new amsterdam in  1626 or became a city in 1653 these are the types   of facts that are rather easy to follow as they  recall events that affected people in obvious ways   however within the near four centuries of the  city's history there are countless underground   elements that enable life to unfold be it out  of sight and with out of sight being out of mind   documentation becomes obscure and easy to forget  elements of underground urban infrastructure   here fall into this category especially when it  comes to the train tunnels of the 19th century   in 1844 before brooklyn was a part of new york  city and was simply the city of brooklyn there was   a strong desire for the population to gain fast  and reliable methods of traveling to their pier   to better catch a ferry to manhattan however  the trains serving the city at that time the   long island railroad did not have brakes powerful  enough to safely operate at road level as a result   the atlantic avenue tunnel also known as the kabul  hill tunnel was constructed in merely seven months   first by cutting open the earth and digging  out what was essentially a large valley and   then covering it with a tunnel roof this amazing  tunnel was a half mile long and had space for   two railway tracks eliminating risk to pedestrian  traffic and helping travelers avoid delays making   the tunnel a very swift method of travel and a  novel concept by the time it was finished in 1845   in many circles this tunnel was considered to be  the world's first subway performing very well and   serving until 1861 when the city of brooklyn  banned steam locomotives within city limits   entirely long story short brooklyn just sealed  it off and it was mostly forgotten about however   not long after rumors and conspiracies would  kick the tunnel back into public eye in 1916   the federal bureau of investigation then known  as the bureau of investigation had a hunch that   the tunnel was being used as a base for german  terrorism while nothing came of this theory the   suspicions returned again in the 1940s when the  fbi supposedly believed that the tunnel was being   used to house spies for the third reich though  there also does not appear to be any supporting   evidence of this claim so again by 1950 everyone  had basically forgotten about the tunnel however   a minor mythical status lingered after all the  world's first subway tunnel later was suspected   by the us government to be the layer of spies  legends were simply inevitable people became so   mystified by the topic that a pair of historians  actually attempted to locate the forgotten tunnel   but to no avail it would seem almost as if the  cobble hill tunnel did not physically exist so   let's fast forward to 1980 when it was discovered  in 1980 when robert diamond set out on a journey   to the cobble hill tunnel his search consisted  of crawling around into sealed portions of   underground brooklyn when one day he happened upon  a concrete wall with protruding bricks and stones   so with the help of a crowbar and some elbow  grease he was able to break open and unseal   the atlantic avenue tunnel he was so excited by  his discovery that he began conducting taurus to   other curious minds though this was short-lived  the new york city fire department shut down his   tour service after they heard he was prying  open a manhole cover in broad daylight in the   middle of the street you see this was necessary so  that he could allow guests to access the tunnels   via a ramshackle ladder citing some very obvious  safety concerns all the same bob diamond is still   very well remembered for being the man that  rediscovered the world's first subway tunnel   moving on we have the story of new york's lost  mail tunnel let's start the journey at the james   a farley building which is new york city's  primary post office and once operated 24   7. until the recession forced it to begin closing  at 10 pm back in 2009 built in 1914 in the bose   art style just like grand central terminal and  michigan central station which we've talked   about in previous videos it has been a very busy  building throughout its history and over the years   mystery has widely surrounded this building you  see locals have observed much of it to be empty an   observation that would raise important questions  for example if this postal office is so busy and   so important yet mostly empty where does all the  mail actually get processed the answer comes from   a set of buildings just down the block on 9th  avenue where you will find the morgan processing   and distribution center the usps's largest sorting  facility it is a massive complex of buildings   taking up two entire city blocks processing all  the mail going in and out of the postal office   previously the morgan center and the farley post  office were connected by a freight railway which   crossed a viaduct but when it fell out of use  another route of travel was needed and considering   how close these two facilities are together the  natural response would probably be simple like   take the mail down the road but with the hustle  and bustle of city life and roads clogged with   traffic that's much easier said than done so  a tunnel was dug between the two facilities   generally following 9th avenue and that is where  the mail flowed this mail tunnel served its   purpose well until at which point the hauling of  mail ceased as the new york state government began   talks to purchase the farley building and  transform it into a train hall naturally after   the tunnel's closure they fell into abandonment  and despair the stairs and elevators leading   below ground were sealed shut and rats began  to infest the vacant space finally the farley   building also contains an entrance to tracks from  penn station which is yet again another building   that we've talked about on previous episodes  though it was never used for passenger service   this forgotten tunnel was swept and secured by the  secret service with the intention of it being used   during the pope's 2015 visit but that's about  all we know this tunnel has met a very similar   fate to the farley morgan mail tunnel as all of  its entrances have been sealed the city even went   as far as welding shut manholes to make sure that  absolutely nobody could get inside now let's head   back over to brooklyn where we will discover the  tunnels that once supported a swimming pool that   accommodated thousands and thousands of people  at a time from 1903 to 1905 the city of new york   acquired four plots of land in brooklyn surrounded  by all sorts of industrial works chemical plants   iron works and more these plots of land would be  developed into a park first known as greenpoint   park being renamed to mccarran park in 1909 after  patrick henry mccarron a popular politician who   passed away in that same year initially being a  collection of playgrounds and athletic facilities   the park gradually expanded adding more facilities  and gardens as the 20th century rolled forward   by 1936 as part of president roosevelt's new  deal the wpa or works progress administration   built 11 state-of-the-art pools in new york city  one of which was the mccarran park pool the pool   was quite nice even by today's standard this pool  offered a gigantic capacity of 6 800 swimmers with   filtration and heating systems all controlled  by an enormous boiler room this boiler room was   connected to an even more enormous tunnel system  all the way around the perimeter to keep systems   in check this pool was so modern that it even had  underwater lighting which was unheard of for the   time well the pool was a hit and a major social  hub for the community by 1984 it had fallen into   a poor state and hence was closed but the tunnel  system remained circling directly beneath the pool   deck and with an entrance to both the boiler and  filtration room the tunnel is almost as impressive   as the pool itself lying abandoned for 20 years  until the pool came to be used as a concert and   entertainment venue amazingly by 2012 the pool had  been refurbished and was reopened this time with a   capacity of 1 500 swimmers it isn't as large as  it once was the diving pool has been filled in   and converted into a volleyball court and some of  the 100 year old tunnel system is still utilized   but much of it sits untouched and abandoned right  under the park now let's discuss a tunnel for the   academic elitist with the story leading up to  its existence and ultimate abandonment being   simply unbelievable bull hall is an oddity  among the buildings of columbia university   and many feel it does not fit in with the rest of  the buildings at the college indeed it has a very   unusual past in 1769 a student of the columbia  university by the name of dr samuel bard gave a   speech that inspired the creation of a hospital  thanks to fundraising efforts by henry moore the   province of new york's royal governor the hospital  was fully established in 1771. this hospital had   a wing for mental illness which was thought to  be sufficient in capacity but by the turn of   the century the amount of cases had risen to the  point that expansion was required thus the lunatic   asylum was constructed in 1808 with the absence  of hospital in the name being no mistake it was   designed as an 80 bed refuge from the rest of the  complex while asylum would have been considered   to be even worse than the name hospital by today's  standards the new york lunatic asylum was actually   one of the first mental institutions to rein in  the restraining equipment commonly associated   with mental health treatment of the time such as  straight jackets in 1820 a lack of space forced   yet another expansion this time to a 26 acre farm  next to bloomingdale road which is now known as   broadway so in a year the bloomingdale asylum  opened with a separate building for women   open six years later these asylums continued the  practices of their predecessors focusing on what   they called quote unquote moral treatment rather  than medical treatment in some cases granting   greater freedom to their patients at a time when  the standard of mental health treatment was often   locking the patient up and throwing away the key  though that's not to say they were a moral bastion   by any means from today's standard for example  their primary form of restraint was a long-sleeve   shirt with leather hand shackles formally they  prohibited the use of straight jackets but they   did make frequent use of the quote-unquote  tranquilizer chair in which an overactive   patient would be seated in a heavy wooden  chair strapped down at the chest abdomen knees   ankles and wrists then a wooden box would be  placed over their head this was all done to   allow for easier bloodletting which was a common  treatment at the time and although it's probably   rather obvious it's been proven to be medically  pointless today by 1839 financial difficulties   forced the asylum to focus on profit and the  treatment quality suffered greatly in 1872   julius chambers wrote a number of pieces for the  new york times revealing that the asylum had lost   their commitment to moral treatment he documented  closed cells uncomfortable beds and chairs foul   food filthy baths all run by rude and vulgar  attendants while the controversies did put a dent   in the activities of the institution the financial  issues were inevitably what put the asylum under   the nearby neighborhood began putting pressure  on the undesirable asylum in their backyard   and cost of living began to rise so the asylum  had to shut its doors and sell off its land   this is when colombia took possession of the land  between 116th and 120th street looking to expand   the campus to new areas the university had most  of the buildings torn down so next to none of   bloomingdale asylum was left and as far as most  people are concerned the only remnant left is   buell hall but what they fail to realize is that  there were also plenty of tunnels from the asylum   left behind almost no one realizes it but beneath  the asylum was a system of tunnels connecting   all the buildings in the complex together after  the university purchased the grounds these tunnels   remained the tunnels were used during world war  ii for wartime research and were said to have   assisted in the united states manhattan project  aiding in the creation of the most powerful weapon   humanity has ever seen there was also a short  period before 1957 that the tunnels were used   as a pedestrian walkway but after the college  walk was constructed they fell out of use   again in that regard as well one more major  point in history that these tunnels were used   was around the time of the vietnam war you see the  military draft began to greatly increase in scale   putting in 2.2 million people between 1965 and  1970 and in that time students became enraged as   some claimed that the university had sent out the  class rankings to draft boards with the intention   of removing underperforming students from the  campus and sending them overseas while this   practice concluded in 1967 the next year would  see the assassination of dr martin luther king jr   and cities across america went mad this anger  combined with other strong social tensions on   campus detonated into a series of protests in late  march of 1968 these protests climaxed with the   occupation of many of the university's buildings  which happened multiple times throughout the year   of 1968 throughout these protests students  would use the tunnels to communicate with   other buildings making sure that no sudden  development was unknown and that no group   was left out of the loop ironically the tunnels  would also play a key role in the administration   reclaiming their buildings the tunnels beneath  columbia university remain there to this day   and while more and more passages are being blocked  as time goes on people continue to explore while   the tunnel's origins remain a mystery some  explorers have found markings on i-beams in   the tunnel dating back as far as july of 1885.  sometimes history remains half-written i suppose   last up is probably the most interesting forgotten  tunnel as it has seen the likes of world leaders   track number 61. this platform was once part of  grand central terminal and was not constructed for   pedestrian use within the new york city subway  rather it was a powerhouse and a place to put   unused trains in the 1910s back then it was known  as new york central railroad now known as metro   north its powerhouse was connected to grand  central terminal and other buildings in the   area but which were knocked down when the waldorf  hotel purchased the air rights above the tracks   and by technicality gained ownership of those  tracks the hotel adapted track number 61 to   be used as a private railway sighting by which  guests with their own rail cars could immediately   be connected to the hotel the first major  name to use this service was general john j   pershing in 1938 who entered the hotel via the  service and while some believe that there is   still a rail car remaining on track number 61 that  belonged to president franklin d roosevelt who   appears to like popping up in today's stories the  only real connection that could be found between   fdr and track number 61 was a secret service  schedule during the campaign season of 1944   where on october the 21st he  entered and exited the building   using this railway sighting track 61 would end  up concealing the comings and goings of several   presidents throughout history and was prepared  for use as recently as 2003 when it was laid   out as an escape route for president george w bush  during a un general assembly meeting in the hotel   tunnels are fascinating as they are not widely  appreciated when in use and mostly forgotten the   moment they go out of use and yet as we have  learned today the elements that have graced   these abandoned places range from trains to world  leaders asylums the world's brightest students   and plumbing equipment and as absurd of a range as  that list might be every item has one commonality   the need for concealment perhaps this is why on  a deeper level we are enchanted by tunnels and   the mysterious places of america that have been  forgotten and with that this is ryan signing off

Channel: IT'S HISTORY

Views: 441,602

Keywords: tales of urban decay, urban history, American history, urban exploring, Ryan Socash, tunnels under new york, new york city tunnels, NYC tunnels, forgotten tunnels, abandoned tunnels, undercity, urban exploring new york, Inside New York City's Most Secret Basement, abandoned city hall station, The lost neighborhood under New York's Central Park, Secrets of the New York City subway system, lost train tracks, lost train tunnel, Brooklyn's abandoned pool tunnels, track 61

Id: P0TAMXMeeqE

Length: 17min 47sec (1067 seconds)

Published: Thu Nov 04 2021