Monday, October 29, 2007

Another Shadow City Discovered!





This is the most exciting thing I've read about in months! Thanks so much to Chris for sending me the link.

Fresno, California has its own secret, underground city. Beneath the neighborhood that was once Fresno's Chinatown lies a series of brick-walled tunnels that can only be accessed through trapdoors in the basements of old buildings. (Sound familiar? It gets even better.)

Today the subterranean world is populated solely by bats, rats, and alley cats. But according to some residents, the tunnels were still hopping with activity as recently as the 1950s. Rick Lew, who claims to have visited Fresno's Shadow City as a child, recalls seeing gamblers, bootleggers, and other shady types mingling with townsfolk who had come looking for a thrill.

After more than 100 years of use, the tunnels were abandoned shortly after Rick Lew's visit. By the end of the 20th century, most people believed the tunnels under Chinatown were little more than an urban myth. Now archaeologists are investigating, and they're using radar to locate long forgotten passages. Some believe that the network of tunnels may be far larger than anyone imagined.

Read more here and here.


17 comments:

annemarie said...

I have to drive up to Fresno andexplore them!

That is so cool! It's a real Shadow City!

International Mastermind said...

Oh, wow! Another Shadow City! You know that you are going to have to explore the tunnels for us, Ananka!

Willamina said...

This is so exciting!

And I just remembered that the History Channel is airing its Bucharest episode of Cities of the Underworld tonight in honor of Dracula/Halloween :)

Spring said...

I have a friend who lives in Fresno! I wonder if they know about this...

Ariana said...

If I'm ever in California I have to see that!

CosimaCat said...

Do the Irregulars ever use radar?


Shame, though, that California's a couple thousand miles north of me...

Anonymous said...

Annemarie: A 'real' Shadow City? What about Ananka's Shadow City isn't very, very real??

Ananka said...

Thanks for pointing that out, Anonymous. And as for radar . . . more on that later.

chris. said...

This is just SO cool! I visit family in California nearly every year, and some day i would LOVE to get to Fresno to see this Shadow City.

infamous said...

THE IRREGULARS SHOULD NEVER USE RADAR!!!! It would destroy every thing!!!!

CosimaCat said...

Don't be rude, Infamous. It was just a thought.

Ananka said...

I thought it was a very interesting suggestion. Infamous is obviously a fan of doing things the old-fashioned way. I respect that! But I'm afraid Luz is already working on a little something . . .

CosimaCat said...

I respect that as well, but it's rude to shout.

I was only thinking that radar could help you see if there were tunnels you hadn't explored yet, i.e. beyond blockages that made the tunnels look like dead ends, sort of what you did with the Underground Railroad station 'under the temple' (,the solution to your dilemma lies).

Anonymous said...

you can't tell if someone is shouting when they're typing! see, i wasn't shouting, i just used an exclamation point for dramatic emphasis.

CosimaCat said...

My apologies in that case.

MinnieMouseLoverxoxo said...

That is soooo cool!What are radars??On second thought, nevermind.

Nico said...

i agree w/ infamous radar would ruin it!