Tacoma’s Forgotten Tunnels Are Still Down There

There’s More Beneath Tacoma’s Sidewalks Than You Think

Downtown Tacoma has a history you can see in its old brick buildings, steep streets and surviving storefronts. It also has a history you can walk directly over without noticing. Beneath portions of the sidewalk, underground spaces remain from an earlier version of the city.

The News Tribune recently took a look below street level, including inside a space beneath a downtown business. It’s an unusual view of a familiar place: the sidewalk becomes the ceiling, and the city above feels surprisingly close. The spaces aren’t all part of one accessible underground route, but they offer glimpses of what lies beneath today’s streets.

Some of Tacoma’s underground history is decidedly practical. In the early 20th century, the Central Steam Company sent heat to downtown buildings through a system beneath sidewalks. These were working spaces that helped serve the businesses above them, even if most people on the street never gave them a thought.

Other spaces sit beneath what are known as vaulted sidewalks. If you’ve spotted thick glass blocks set into a downtown sidewalk, you may have seen one clue: they allowed daylight into the space below. It’s easy to pass them without realizing there could be a room or passage on the other side.

Of course, Tacoma’s tunnels have attracted more dramatic stories, too. Tales of secret routes and illicit activity have circulated for years, though the legends shouldn’t be confused with documented history. The verified spaces are intriguing enough on their own, without asking them to prove every tale told about the city’s past.

The next time you walk downtown, it may be worth looking down as well as up. The News Tribune photographed surviving spaces and spoke with people connected to them, giving readers a view that’s difficult to get from the sidewalk. See the pictures and explore more of Tacoma’s underground story in The News Tribune here.