Underground Places
- Plzen (Pilsen), Czech Republic
- London, England
- Coober Pedy, Australia
- Annapolis, VA
- Lima, Peru
- Seattle, WA
The Podzemi
Though locals don’t care to discuss them with strangers, deep below this 700-year-old city are the podzemi—12 miles of subterranean passages that were first used as storerooms and hiding places in the 13th century.
Under London’s streets are countless crypts, chambers, bunkers, and tunnels. Some date back to Roman times, and a few, (including the mysterious Bronze-Age tunnels underneath Greenwich Park), are even older. But much of London’s underground world is relatively modern. Both the Bank of England and Harrods department store have secret underground railway and transportation systems. It’s also rumored that a network of bombproof tunnels have been built under Westminster for the safety of government officials.
In order to stay cool in one of the hottest places on Earth, the residents of this tiny Australian opal-mining town have built their homes, churches, and public buildings in underground caves. (In fact the town’s name is derived from the Aboriginal phrase kupa piti, which means, "white man in a hole.")
The Historic District
Homes in the Annapolis historic district often come with an unusual feature—unexplained subterranean rooms. Some residents even speculate that hidden tunnels may link many of the buildings. In recent years, "experts" have dismissed the rooms as forgotten wine cellars and cold storage rooms, but no one has been able to sufficiently explain why they were built or how they were used.
San Francisco Catacombs
Under the San Francisco Church in Lima is a famous system of catacombs. Inside, the skulls and bones of up to seventy thousand people have been arranged in beautiful but bizarre patterns. These burial chambers were closed in the early 1800’s and were forgotten until well into the 20th century.
The Seattle Underground
In 1889, Seattle was faced with rebuilding its business district after it was destroyed in a devastating fire. Since the town had previously been prone to flooding, the city elders decided to raise the level of the streets. When the work was done, the district’s original sidewalks and storefronts were more than 30 feet below the surface. They were soon covered over, and the resulting network of tunnels became known as the Seattle Underground. In 1907, fear of the plague led city authorities to shut down the Underground. However, many of its hidden rooms remained open for business as gambling parlors, saloons, and opium dens.