Philadelphia - Underground tunnels and sights from City Hall
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- Опубликовано: 21 апр 2007
- From a WHYY special. The cast-iron Victorian style basement of Philadelphia's City Hall. That tunnel probably leads to the Masonic Temple..... really cool stuff! Also includes some footage from the City Hall basement records room, with documents dating from the 1860's!
It's pretty amazing all the parts of the city we're not allowed to see unless it's in a documentary. Philly has ALOT of secret tunnels and hidden/abandonded passageways underground.
There’s a huge set of tunnels under the corners of 17th and chestnut street that the old provident bank could transport money underground.... I worked painting the bank back in the late 90’s when it was turned into a cvs or rite aid. Not sure how old the tunnels are however they look brand new.
"Look a secret passage in a historical building." "Wow, where do you think it leads?" "I don't know, let's not check." "Good idea, no point ever knowing."
"Wow, where do you think it leads?!" " DNC Head quarters, Washington DC."
I was part of a construction crew back in 2005-06 who did work in the widener building across the street from city hall. There were tunnels in the sub basements that are connected to city hall and other buildings. It’s a pretty extensive underground system. Saw a lot of cool stuff.
I've worked at Capital Grille at Broad and Chestnut since 2007. Our building also has the sub basement. It is probably a part of that system that you're talking about. I've heard that it connects under Macy's, City Hall, and The Ritz Carlton. There is so much cool history in Philly!
Having been born and raised in Philadelphia, I found this series to be intriguing. I walked through city hall courtyard and through all the many underground hallways that comprise the subway system more times then I remember. I was up in the tower twice and wish I could get a tour of these out of the way places shown in this video. George Hollingsworth is the brother of an aunt through marriage. He's a great guy. I really like the enthusiasm of the host. I did not catch his name.
Wow, I love stuff like this. I've grown to really appreciate my very rich historic city.
*Your 14 year old comment is historical. Are you still online?*
I have been playing flute for 30 years on the court yard at city hall,I always wondered what was under the court yard,When I started playing flute there in 1978 their use to be a huge Gold Sundial at the very center of the court yard,Andy the Cop would run me out every chance he can get,LOL but I always keep coming back because of the rich acoustic sound I would get from my flute when playing at that time music by Jethro Tull,I am playing there Christmas day 2008, oh yeah that is tomorrow,CYA.
incredible. i love jethro tull. i bet you have some great stories
This is excellent! Thanks for posting this.
By the way I knew George Hollingsworth. He was my Aunt's dad. He passed away a few years back. Great guy he was.
Put those record books in an archive in the building. Scan them also.
Find someone in City hall today that writes with such penmanship! Or, one that graduated from high school! The basements of these old structures can be very interesting, and for those of us who find antiquety a fascination, seing places like this can be very intreguing. The basement of John Wanamaker's department store is something to see to. The labrinths that connect city hall subway station to Walnut Locust station is incredible to, and you can walk underground for blocks in either direction!
Ha! I have probably heard you playing there before! It really is a shame that the tour of City Hall doesn't involve any of this type of stuff. There is a tunnel that connects City Hall with the Masonic Temple, I always thought that was really neat, and would love to see it. I may be walking through the courtyard sometime tomorrow, and if I do I will stop and say hello!
The craftsmanship of the builders back then! Thats just the basement! there were no welders, not to many power tools, just some really hard working Artisans.
Masons were probably involved in the intricacies of these buildings....so many mysteries,mad skills and craftsmanship
Imagine the amount of graft they had to accommodate in the building of Philadelphia's City Hall; no wonder they needed 30 years to complete it.
Yeah, that always bothered me, too! They need to make a sequel..... "Part 2: WHAT'S IN THERE - REVEALED!"
ALSO, I wonder what ever happened to the sundial. What a shame to get rid of something like that!
I agree! It's frustrating to watch them pass it by! Sadly I can't say I have checked it out in person, but there must be someone out there who has.
That all should be kept in a much cleaner and safer storage center, even placed on display . Hey Philly. I see a potential exhibit.and tour...$$ maker for sure. and that tunnel,hummmm. I would LOVE to stay a couple days in their..seek it all out.
The word Masonic was one of the first that came to mind when it started
They were so intelligent in the eighteen hundreds.
Probably filmed in 2001, maybe 2000. The original broadcast date was to be Sept. 11, 2001, but it was postponed. I'm not sure exactly when it did air (my copy is from a VHS tape), but I guess it was a few months later.
That's true, but there's also the trolley lines, which have their own tunnels, as well.
The funny thing about SEPTA is that they try to make the two subway lines seem more complex by having 'A' trains and 'B' trains on the east/west line. But all that means is that some trains skip certain stops.... even though they'll slow down to an almost total stop... they just don't open the doors. Total idiocy, but pretty comical in a sad way.
They've been doing it for about 60 years. I never heard of anyone objecting.
Absolutely amazing walking through city hall every day u always wonder what’s under the ground
That's a fascinating tour. I just cannot imagine the extent of all the stuff they left behind in those archives. I wonder are they now available on computer.
No, it's not as in depth as I wish it was, but it's better than nothing!
Those historical records should be kept in a better way...,.. and backed up digitally
Funny you can be in Philly all your life and never had to go in city hall but maybe once or twice never knowing what it looks like in there - just thru it’s courtyard into the subway plus I always figured it’ll be too secure to be walking around in there
I would so love to read all the stuff in the records room =D
very cool
pretty cool.
George you don't have any idea where that tunnel go😏
Lol
Some tunnels was under my family's house in wp.
I guess George’s job was given to him without qualifications 🤪
I came here with my mom yesterday and saw the building's corner stone.
my left ear enjoyed this
City hall underground tunnel and basement are haunted full of ghost.
It's a shame that they didn't explore the passage way, the one that they took a look at from about 3:42 - 4:12. Did you, WhollyGhost, explore down there yourself?
my left ear enjoyed that
@nathanwilefrazier Haha, yup!
True. But the interconnected feeling does sort of make it feel like an underground metropolis. Having explored a lot of Philly's underground, the fact that it's small and walkable adds to that. For me, anyway.
Damn,
I don't do much reading ( I get my knowledge from listening and watching ), but I could spend a couple of months cataloging all the information that is in the books that are in the room seen between 6:00 & 7:00.
So where does the mystery tunnel lead? I dunno, hey lets look at the old concrete tester.... SIGHS
Derrick Pitts !!!! Awesome. He must have worked for cheap back then !!!!
I can recall a PBS series he did about underground Philly places..
W-O-W-!!!
Right Ear: Am I nothing to you?
What a disgrace ,all that history it’s just sitting in the basement without any conservator toPreserve philadelphia’s past, it should be in a museum for future generations….
Does anyone know when this was filmed?
Late 2000, early 2001.
@@derrickpitts1230 Thank you Derrick
Yoo City hall was built by the old world America
I hope those old paper records have seen been saved somehow digitally. They would just decay over time and be lost. Who knows if any of our ancestors have paperwork in there!!!
I really don't know but rumor has it that It was made of gold and at that time the city needed money so it was sold,I maybe wrong but someone out there knows what really happened to it,If they still have the Sundial it should put be back in its original place,It would be better than what they have now.
Total idiocy, but pretty comical in a sad way pretty much describes how I feel about SEPTA.
Ha ha ha!!! I know, right?!?
2:48 lol
Yep. Classic Philly. But it makes it more fun to do it secretly, just a shame that you'll get the shit kicked out of you by the cops if they catch you.... it's happened to me before. No one else can see you down there.....
I don't think many homeless people have access to the types of tunnels they're talking about in this video. These aren't tunnels currently in use that you would use to take the subway..... seems to me like you just showed up to say I DONT LIKE HOMELESS PEOPLE CAUSE THEY SMELL BAD, which..... well, not only is it obnoxious, this isn't really the right place to say it.
🤫shhh
Agartha
E
@WhollyGhost yeah and in agreement with you not all of us can afford to be snobby enough to write off public trans because of a "pee smell" that you really only smell in stairwells.
These were used by law abiding citizen 🤣☠️🤣☠️
Tesla free energy - none of the underground crap is needed