Seattle Underground

Did you know that lurking below the streets of downtown Seattle is another city?

No, this isn’t the plot of the latest horror story or thriller. This is real. Though I think it is appropriate to note that Ghost Hunters thought the underground tunnels would be the perfect location to uncover some unexplained paranormal activity. People have been murdered in the tunnels, but Ghost Hunters probably didn’t find any conclusive evidence to prove that ghosts haunt the tunnels.

The tunnels, Seattle Underground, are a part of a seemingly forgotten history.

Long ago, before Seattle was the Starbucks capital, the city was nothing more than a tree covered coastline. When people decided to settle along the untamed coast, they ended up picking a tidal plain. Long story short, every 12 hours or so, the tides would rise flooding the area and causing problems.

The solution they came up with was to raise the area ten feet. That would solve the flooding issue, but where would they come up with the money?

This is the part where the tour was kept very PG. In one of the tunnels, Eric, the guide, was telling us how the city decided to tax the women in the “sewing circles” in order to fund the raising of the city. They weren’t really sewing circles, in case you are confused. Maybe you can put two and two together, a logging town full of men… and young women in “sewing circles…” Anyway, I’m sure you would get more out of the whole “sewing circle” reference if you went on the tour 😉

Seattle Underground | Chasing Departures

Once the city was raised, the blocked off sidewalks were paved over. The tunnels resulting below were supported at the top with Roman arches that have survived many earthquakes of varying strength. For light, they put small glass tiles in various locations in the sidewalks. The amount of light coming through the now purple-hued tiles was incredible. It is easy to see that people would have no trouble navigating the subterranean tunnels during the day.