The Old Portland Underground, better known locally as the Shanghai tunnels, is a group of passages in Portland, Oregon, United States, mainly underneath the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood and connecting to the main business section.
What were the Portland tunnels used for?
The tunnels allowed for easy transportation of goods (and according to local legends, people) to and from the river to businesses in downtown Portland, allowing the avoidance of streetcars, traffic and mud.
Who built the Shanghai tunnels?
Chinese workers
Lying beneath the ground is a series of 150-year-old tunnels that connect the basements of the city’s oldest buildings to the Willamette River, as well as Portland’s Chinatown. The tunnels were built by Chinese workers during the time when Chinatown was the center for trade business.
Is Seattle built on top of another city?
Seattle, Washington, has a secret underground city that burned down in 1889. The city was then rebuilt on top of the old ruins, which are still open to tours today.
Why are they called Shanghai Tunnels?
The tunnels are said to have been constructed to support the illegal practice of forcibly supplying crews to outbound sailing ships in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The practice was known as shanghaiing, and the alleged tunnels are known today as Shanghai tunnels.
Can you shanghai someone?
To shanghai someone is to kidnap or trick them into working for you. The traditional way to shanghai someone is to drug him and put him on a ship. When the person wakes up, he better get to work. The shanghaied person would wake up and find himself at sea, often on a long trip like to Shanghai, China.
What do you call someone from shanghai?
Shanghainese people (Chinese: 上海人; pinyin: Shànghǎirén; Shanghainese: Zaanhe-nyin [zɑ̃̀hɛ́. ɲɪ̀ɲ]) are people of Shanghai Hukou or people who have ancestral roots from Shanghai.
Is there a tunnel under San Francisco Bay?
The Transbay Tube is an underwater rail tunnel that carries Bay Area Rapid Transit’s four transbay lines under San Francisco Bay between the cities of San Francisco and Oakland in California. The tube is 3.6 miles (5.8 km) long, and attaches to twin bored tunnels.
Is there a tunnel in the basement of the White House?
The passageway at the bottom of the stairs leads to a closet near the President’s private elevator in the basement of the Residence. There is also a known tunnel leading from the basement of the East Wing to the basement of the Treasury Building which was built by FDR as an air raid shelter.
How did Shanghai’s tunnels become a hub for crime?
In the 19th century, these tunnels were primarily used by merchants to move goods from the ships docked at the harbor directly to the basement storage areas, while avoiding the busy over ground traffic. But over the years these dingy tunnels became the center for organized crime and many nefarious practices such as shanghaiing.
Does the White House have an underground passageway?
An underground passageway provides pedestrian access between the White House and the Old Executive Office Building next door. There are rumors of tunnels connecting the White House to the Capitol, Blair House, VP Residence, Camp David and the Pentagon, but these are unsubstantiated at this time.
Was the Portland underground part of San Francisco’s shanghaiing movement?
Some records indicate that Portland eventually surpassed San Francisco for shanghaiing, although historians argue that the Portland Underground was never a part of this insidious practice. A leading crimp of the era was James Kelly, better-known as “Shanghai” Kelly, who ran a number of bars, a saloon and a boarding house in San Francisco.
