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Coordinates: 40°48′32″N 73°57′40″W / 40.809°N 73.961°W / 40.809; -73.961
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During the [[Columbia University protests of 1968|1968 student strike]], student staff at [[WKCR]], Columbia's [[radio station]], used the tunnels to [[Wire tap|tap]] the university's telephone system. Students also made use of the tunnels to travel between buildings occupied by strikers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Homans|first=Charlie|date=March 27, 2003|title=Forbidden Tunnels Guard CU History|url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/2003/03/27/forbidden-tunnels-guard-cu-history/|url-status=live|access-date=January 2, 2022|website=Columbia Daily Spectator}}</ref> In response to the protests the university administration has sealed off many of the tunnel's passages, though some remain accessible.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Eule|first=Alexander|date=May 13, 1998|title=Are There Really Tunnels Under Columbia? YES, They Were Used to Move Patients|work=Columbia Daily Spectator|url=https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19980513-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-tunnels------|access-date=January 2, 2022}}</ref>
During the [[Columbia University protests of 1968|1968 student strike]], student staff at [[WKCR]], Columbia's [[radio station]], used the tunnels to [[Wire tap|tap]] the university's telephone system. Students also made use of the tunnels to travel between buildings occupied by strikers.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Homans|first=Charlie|date=March 27, 2003|title=Forbidden Tunnels Guard CU History|url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/2003/03/27/forbidden-tunnels-guard-cu-history/|url-status=live|access-date=January 2, 2022|website=Columbia Daily Spectator}}</ref> In response to the protests the university administration has sealed off many of the tunnel's passages, though some remain accessible.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Eule|first=Alexander|date=May 13, 1998|title=Are There Really Tunnels Under Columbia? YES, They Were Used to Move Patients|work=Columbia Daily Spectator|url=https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19980513-01.2.13&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-tunnels------|access-date=January 2, 2022}}</ref>


Over the course of Columbia University's history there have been many stories about tunnels under the campus, including one of a rumored passage across [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] connecting the Columbia and [[Barnard College]] campuses. ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in 1923 that several undergraduates attempted to find such a tunnel in order to spy on the secrecy-shrouded [[Barnard Greek Games]], but were unsuccessful. Legends also tell of a freshman in the early 20th century who disappeared into the tunnels and was forgotten until he failed advance to receive his diploma. Despite having never attended any classes, he supposedly graduated ''summa cum laude'' and was considered for [[Phi Beta Kappa]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|date=1932-02-14|title=Columbia University Catacombs|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/14/archives/columbia-university-catacombs.html|access-date=2021-08-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
Over the course of Columbia University's history there have been many stories about tunnels under the campus, including one of a rumored passage across [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]] connecting the Columbia and [[Barnard College]] campuses. ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported in 1923 that several undergraduates attempted to find such a tunnel in order to spy on the secrecy-shrouded [[Barnard Greek Games]], but were unsuccessful. Legends also tell of a freshman in the early 20th century who disappeared into the tunnels and was forgotten until he failed to advance to receive his diploma. Despite having never attended any classes, he supposedly graduated ''summa cum laude'' and was considered for [[Phi Beta Kappa]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|date=1932-02-14|title=Columbia University Catacombs|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1932/02/14/archives/columbia-university-catacombs.html|access-date=2021-08-28|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>


Student activist [[Ken Hechtman]] was known to have explored the tunnels.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/2/28/freshmen-punished-for-stealing-uranium-pcolumbia/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gillette|first=Josh|date=February 24, 1987|title=CC suspends uranium thief for a year|volume=CXI|page=1|work=Columbia Spectator|issue=88|url=https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19870224-01.2.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|access-date=September 5, 2021}}</ref> Other explorers included [[Steve Duncan]] and [[Miru Kim]], who has used the tunnels as a backdrop for her photography.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Into The Tunnels: Exploring The Underside Of NYC|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc|access-date=2021-08-12|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gibberd|first=Ben|date=2007-07-29|title=Children of Darkness|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/nyregion/thecity/29shad.html|access-date=2021-08-12|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> According to her 1932 memoir, ''[[The Fun of It]]'', [[Amelia Earhart]] was "familiar with all the forbidden underground passageways which connected the different buildings of the University" when she was a student at Columbia in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hidden Histories of Columbia|url=https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/hidden-histories-columbia|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Columbia Magazine|language=en}}</ref>
Student activist [[Ken Hechtman]] was known to have explored the tunnels.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium {{!}} News {{!}} The Harvard Crimson|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/2/28/freshmen-punished-for-stealing-uranium-pcolumbia/|access-date=2021-08-12|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gillette|first=Josh|date=February 24, 1987|title=CC suspends uranium thief for a year|volume=CXI|page=1|work=Columbia Spectator|issue=88|url=https://spectatorarchive.library.columbia.edu/?a=d&d=cs19870224-01.2.2&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|access-date=September 5, 2021}}</ref> Other explorers included [[Steve Duncan]] and [[Miru Kim]], who has used the tunnels as a backdrop for her photography.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Into The Tunnels: Exploring The Underside Of NYC|url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/02/132482428/into-the-tunnels-exploring-the-underside-of-nyc|access-date=2021-08-12|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Gibberd|first=Ben|date=2007-07-29|title=Children of Darkness|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/nyregion/thecity/29shad.html|access-date=2021-08-12|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> According to her 1932 memoir, ''[[The Fun of It]]'', [[Amelia Earhart]] was "familiar with all the forbidden underground passageways which connected the different buildings of the University" when she was a student at Columbia in 1920.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Hidden Histories of Columbia|url=https://magazine.columbia.edu/article/hidden-histories-columbia|access-date=2022-01-03|website=Columbia Magazine|language=en}}</ref>

Revision as of 04:04, 3 January 2022

Columbia University has an extensive tunnel system underneath its campus connecting many of its buildings, used by the university as conduits for steam, electricity, telecommunications, and other infrastructure.[1] Similar tunnels also exist under the affiliated Barnard College.[2]

History

...the Columbia tunnel holds a high place in student regard. On its walls may be seen penciled inscriptions of men who long since have risen to importance in the affairs of the nation. Class after class has wandered through its passages, tracing the year numerals on the dust and leaving hieroglyphic commentaries on certain unpopular members of the faculty.

"Columbia University Catacombs", The New York Times, 1932[3]

The oldest section, connecting Buell Hall and St. Paul's Chapel, was built prior to the university's move to its current Morningside Heights campus, when the land was owned by the Bloomingdale Insane Asylum, which used the tunnels to transport patients between buildings.[4]

Prior to 1954, when Columbia was granted permission by the city of New York to close of the portion of 116th Street that ran across its campus, the tunnels were commonly used as pedestrian thoroughfares in order to avoid traffic, and were commonly used by students well into the 1960s. Some time before the construction of Ferris Booth Hall in 1960, the tunnels housed a shooting range beneath Kent Hall to be used for the Columbia Rifle Team.[1]

During the 1968 student strike, student staff at WKCR, Columbia's radio station, used the tunnels to tap the university's telephone system. Students also made use of the tunnels to travel between buildings occupied by strikers.[5] In response to the protests the university administration has sealed off many of the tunnel's passages, though some remain accessible.[4]

Over the course of Columbia University's history there have been many stories about tunnels under the campus, including one of a rumored passage across Broadway connecting the Columbia and Barnard College campuses. The New York Times reported in 1923 that several undergraduates attempted to find such a tunnel in order to spy on the secrecy-shrouded Barnard Greek Games, but were unsuccessful. Legends also tell of a freshman in the early 20th century who disappeared into the tunnels and was forgotten until he failed to advance to receive his diploma. Despite having never attended any classes, he supposedly graduated summa cum laude and was considered for Phi Beta Kappa.[3]

Student activist Ken Hechtman was known to have explored the tunnels.[6][7] Other explorers included Steve Duncan and Miru Kim, who has used the tunnels as a backdrop for her photography.[8][9] According to her 1932 memoir, The Fun of It, Amelia Earhart was "familiar with all the forbidden underground passageways which connected the different buildings of the University" when she was a student at Columbia in 1920.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "CU Tunnels Provide Dantean Maze". Columbia Daily Spectator. March 8, 1963. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  2. ^ Silver, Carly (September 8, 2009). "As construction winds down, tunnels become the roads less travelled". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 2, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ a b "Columbia University Catacombs". The New York Times. 1932-02-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. ^ a b Eule, Alexander (May 13, 1998). "Are There Really Tunnels Under Columbia? YES, They Were Used to Move Patients". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  5. ^ Homans, Charlie (March 27, 2003). "Forbidden Tunnels Guard CU History". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 2, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ "Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  7. ^ Gillette, Josh (February 24, 1987). "CC suspends uranium thief for a year". Columbia Spectator. Vol. CXI, no. 88. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  8. ^ "Into The Tunnels: Exploring The Underside Of NYC". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  9. ^ Gibberd, Ben (2007-07-29). "Children of Darkness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  10. ^ "Hidden Histories of Columbia". Columbia Magazine. Retrieved 2022-01-03.

40°48′32″N 73°57′40″W / 40.809°N 73.961°W / 40.809; -73.961

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