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Thursday, January 1, 2015

Two New Underground Cities to Report





(Awesome picture from agentsofurbanism.com.)

It seems that some states are luckier than others when it comes to secret underground cities. I recently discovered that Kansas has not one but TWO!

The first can be found under the sleepy town of Leavenworth. The article I read doesn't offer much information, but from what I gather, a stretch of underground storefronts can be accessed through the basement of a tile company. Though the tunnels are clearly old, no one can agree on why they were built--or who might have built them. Some say they were created to hide fugitive slaves, others think they were used to run liquor during prohibition. In either case, I wish I could find some better pictures!

The second underground city is beneath Ellinwood, Kansas. Actually, it's more of an underground village, since it now consists of two long tunnels and three rooms built sometime in the 1850s. (Apparently it was once much bigger.) You can find an interesting guide with pictures here.

So our list of American Shadow Cities grows! Here are the ones I've discovered so far . . .

Portland
Seattle
Pendelton, OR
Fresno
Chicago
Leavenworth, KS
Ellinwood, KS
Tacoma, WA
New York (of course!)

Am I missing any? (Of course the list of international Shadow Cities is much longer. I just found out that Beijing has one, too! More on that later.)

20 comments:

  1. Cool! Toledo had better find some underground cities soon. Or maybe I could find one! lol

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  2. Cool, except i don't think Fresno's counts. Can an interesting place in a boring town/city really be exciting. and the other thing in fresno is just a garden. you can visit it.

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  3. Anonymous: Ah, but you CAN count Fresno. Check out the new link on the post.

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  4. DURN! New Jersey really dosen't have anything! [tho maybe I could dig around the millions of historical sights near my house to find a underground tunnel... *D]

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  5. Im not sure if Athens Ohio would count, you cant find it anywhere on line but beneath most old shops uptown there is a basement that is linked to all the other basements Down town. More like secret pasageways, but there are rats.

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  6. Annapolis, Maryland has underground tunnels. YAY GO ANNAPOLIS!

    ~Lady of the Dance

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  7. This is insane! I've said it before and I'll say it again, NOTHING exciting ever happens in Colorado! Well, there was Colombine and Sand Creek and Camp Amache, but those are bad exciting.

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  8. where in chicago is there an underground city
    i live in the suburbs
    but my cuz's live in the city
    mk

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  9. oh Ananka do you know if there are any underground tunnels of cities anywhere in Canada?I would LOVE to know!

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  10. AWESOME!!! I think there is also one under a college in asheville, north carolina. ;) I want to convince my mom to go explore it, then i will give a report!

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  11. Psh of course nothing near me.

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  12. Anonymous #3: I just linked to the Chicago information. Check out the post!

    MinnieMouseLover: There are, indeed. Here's just one Canadian Shadow City: http://www.tunnelsofmoosejaw.com/tours.asp

    Liltomboyblue: Under UNCA? I think I've heard about that. I need to check it out!

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  13. Try Havre, Montana

    http://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/4349

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  14. ya know what kirsten? i think that next summer (while i'm there of course) or i guessa it would have to be around haloween, (=( that means i wont see you!) but you should go to portland and get a tour of the shanghai tunnels. they apparently give them around halloween cause they are reported to be haunted! my stepmom really wants to go on one of the tours. i bet it would be fun.

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  15. Yep, Havre, MT has one as well. I have toured it in the past. Here's another link:

    http://www.havremt.com/attractions/beneath_the_streets.htm

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  16. Hi.Kiki Strike are you real? Because if you are then I would really love to meet you. You see I have read your books and I would like to do the same thing. Please answer back! Hope to meet you soon!

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  17. Hello I am very intrested in looking for underground tunnels. Maybe we could swap email.

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  18. KitKat: Excellent. You can reach me at kikistrike@gmail.com

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  19. awesome I would love to be you!

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  20. Me again. hey check your email kiki!

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