This Abandoned Tunnel In Manhattan Conceals A Startling, Dark Origin

New York’s unquestionably one of the most famous cities on Earth, known everywhere for its towering skyscrapers and striking landmarks. But that’s just what we see from the surface. Beneath the streets, too, the metropolis has a life of its own. Its extensive network of subway lines, for one, is itself an iconic feature of the city.

While everyone’s aware of the subways speeding through the active subterranean tunnels of New York, they aren’t the only things down there. There are a bunch of empty tunnels that no longer serve a purpose, in fact — the city has a whole forgotten history down there waiting to be explored.

There’s a surprisingly large number of abandoned subway stations sitting underneath New York City, and each of them has their own fascinating tale. Arguably none of them is quite as intriguing, though, as the tunnel that passes beneath Bryant Park. This passageway’s in a league of its own.

But what’s the story behind this strange tunnel? Who built it, and what purpose did it once serve? Thankfully, we have the answers to these questions, but they hark back to a often forgotten period of New York’s history. Back to a time when life in this city was unimaginably different.

The subterranean world of New York really is a fascinating place. You could argue, in fact, that it’s as much a part of the city’s heritage than anything you might see at ground level. But the labyrinthine network of tunnels and chambers down there can still be pretty wild to explore.

One interesting underground space lies beneath the McCarren Park pool area in Greenpoint. This place was originally constructed under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s program to get people working through public schemes. The resulting park is impressive on its own terms, but the intricate network of tunnels under it are arguably even more notable.

One remarkable underground chamber in New York has actually been repurposed into something else entirely. In Brooklyn, there’s a space beneath the surface that was once used by a brewing company. This business needed an icehouse, so they built one and joined it to the main building with a passageway.

This structure still exists today, though it’s no longer used by a brewing company. Nowadays, a cheese-making business called Crown Finish Caves has access to the chamber and the tunnel. They’re used to store and age cheese products, which must presumably give the place an intense stench.

One thing we can be certain of is that there are plenty of abandoned subway stations underneath New York. In the past these places were visited by multitudes of people every day, but now they’re just left to rot. Yet for anyone brave enough to go down there and explore them, they can be enrapturing places.

One notably grandiose example of a disused subway stop is Old City Hall, which is adorned with fancy chandeliers and architectural flourishes. Such is its elaborate design that some people have suggested it looks like a cathedral beneath the ground. Having said that, it was actually the station’s grandeur that led it to fall into disuse. That’s because newer, bigger trains wouldn’t fit through it.

Another disused underground space with a flourish is Track 61, which is situated below the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. This place was once a storage area, with rail cars being left there. Eventually, though, it was employed to get celebrities in and out of the Waldorf without being seen. Nowadays, it’s just a creepy underground ruin.

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, meanwhile, has the distinction of being the oldest subway shaft on Earth. It dates back to 1844, but at that time it wasn’t covered. It was later modified with a roof and became a tunnel, serving Cobble Hill and Downtown Brooklyn.

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel eventually fell into disuse and was sealed shut to prevent people from getting inside. Then in 1981 a local guy named Bob Diamond came across the shaft and started arranging tours there. This stopped sometime around 2010, and now it’s inaccessible once again.

Another of the abandoned tunnels in New York has found a new life since it was shut down. Freedom Tunnel was once active with trains, but operations ceased there in 1980. After that, street artists in the city started going there and turned it into a sort of makeshift gallery.

As we can see, then, the underground world of New York is a rich and fascinating place. The spaces down in those depths range from the beautiful and elegant to the down and dingy. These subterranean areas all tell a story of the city’s past, and arguably the most absorbing tale relates to the tunnel beneath Byrant Park.

To tell this story, we need to go back to the Manhattan of the early 19th century. Plans were being drawn up for a structure that could bring clean water into New York. This 41-mile-long aqueduct would be a huge project, which maybe explains why it took so long to get off the ground. By 1837, though, works had begun.

Thousands of laborers were employed to complete this arduous task, many of whom were immigrants from Ireland. These people toiled for five long years, creating tunnels and huge reservoirs. The most impressive of these reservoirs, perhaps, was the one at the site of modern-day Byrant Park, and it resembled a sort of ancient temple.

The aqueduct itself was a wonder of engineering, purposely modeled on the ancient aqueducts of the Roman Empire. It was built to be a little sloped, which meant water could flow down it with ease. This was undoubtedly difficult for the people constructing it, but they got the job done.

Fayette Bartholomew “F.B.” Tower was an engineer who worked closely on the aqueduct project. Recording his thoughts in 1843, young F.B. wrote: “We contemplate with mingled emotions of wonder and admiration... those works of art which were achieved by ancient Rome in her palmy days of wealth and power, and among them we find that her aqueducts hold a prominent system.”

New York’s aqueduct system began in the Croton River, where water could begin to flow onto it. The liquid then traveled along the aqueduct, which bore into the landscapes of the region and at times went underground. For any history or architectural enthusiasts out there, much of this structure can be seen to this very day.

The aqueduct ultimately extended into Manhattan itself, which was probably the most impressive section of the whole system. To make it into the borough, the water had to travel along the marvelously grand High Bridge. This attractive structure has survived to the present day, though it’s since been repurposed into a footbridge.

Back when the High Bridge was still in its conceptual phase, F.B. Tower speculated about its future. He wrote: “Its appearance will rival the grandeur of the ancient Romans... With proper care in preparing the foundations of the bridge at Harlem River, there is no good reason to fear that it will be less durable than the Aqueduct of Spoleto... standing about eleven hundred years and is still in a perfect state of preservation.”

When the project was eventually finished during the year 1842, the people of New York were understandably ecstatic. After years, they now had access to clean and healthy water for drinking. Some appropriately extravagant public galas were called for, and the streets were filled with enormous crowds.

A newspaper from the time captured the sense of elation throughout Manhattan at this point. The report read: “Oh, who that has not been shut up in the great prison-cell of a city, and made to drink of its brackish springs, can estimate the blessings of the Croton Aqueduct? Clean, sweet, abundant, water!”

The whole project had required millions of dollars, but it was thought to be worth it. After all, the aqueduct’s planners meant for the structure to bring water to the people for hundreds of years to come. There was an issue, though, that they hadn’t anticipated: New York was developing at a remarkable pace.

As the second half of the 19th century wore on, it became clear that the aqueduct couldn’t supply enough water for all of New York’s new inhabitants. That meant another aqueduct needed to be raised, which was completed by 1890. The older structure remained operational for a while, but water stopped flowing over it in 1965.

The old aqueduct was acquired by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation in the late 1960s. Pleasingly, the structure has since become a site of tremendous interest for people interested in the city’s history. It’s even possible to walk along a path over it, which takes you through some great places.

Walking along this route is worth doing, especially as it serves to remind us of the complexity of water systems. These things aren’t simple to create and manage, which should encourage us to appreciate them. A visit to the Old Croton Aqueduct might just make that crystal clear.

Thomas Tarnowsky has spent a lot of time researching the aqueduct, so he’s more than aware of its ingenuity. “On the surface, things look simple,” he told the Messy Nessy website. “You turn on your faucet and water comes out. No one understands what it takes to make it work, and in 1842 New York, it was nothing short of a miracle.”

Given that he was working on the Croton Aqueduct project, the engineer F.B. Tower most certainly appreciated the importance of what he was involved in. And he was clearly proud of it, as we can see from his call to out-of-towners. Tower wrote: “It is unnecessary to speak further of the objects which are calculated to interest the visitor to this part of the country: we would only invite the stranger who visits the city of New York to go forth and visit her noble aqueduct!”