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| source = "Columbia University Catacombs", ''The New York Times'', 1932<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>
| source = "Columbia University Catacombs", ''The New York Times'', 1932<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>
| width = 30%
| width = 30%
}}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 1932 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> More recently, it has been rumored the tunnels are used as a graveyard for underperforming graduates as part of [[Lee Bollinger]]'s "extermination plan" for alumni who fail to donate to the school.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kumar|first=Shreya|date=August 15, 2020|title=Columbia’s Campus Myths Reveal More Truth Than Expected|work=Columbia Daily Spectator|url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/the-eye/2020/08/15/columbias-campus-myths-reveal-more-truth-than-expected/|access-date=January 3, 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 1932 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> More recently, it has been rumored that the tunnels are used as a graveyard for underperforming graduates as part of [[Lee Bollinger]]'s "extermination plan" for alumni who fail to donate to the school.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kumar|first=Shreya|date=August 15, 2020|title=Columbia’s Campus Myths Reveal More Truth Than Expected|work=Columbia Daily Spectator|url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/the-eye/2020/08/15/columbias-campus-myths-reveal-more-truth-than-expected/|access-date=January 3, 2022}}</ref>


The tunnels have been explored by generations of Columbia students and extensively mapped.<ref name=":2"/> Student activist [[Ken Hechtman]] was known to have explored the tunnels, and was expelled in 1987 after stealing [[uranium-238]], [[chloroform]], [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], and [[Caffeine|pure caffeine]] from Pupin Hall using 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>
The tunnels have been explored by generations of Columbia students and extensively mapped.<ref name=":2"/> Student activist [[Ken Hechtman]] was known to have explored the tunnels, and was expelled in 1987 after stealing [[uranium-238]], [[chloroform]], [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], and [[Caffeine|pure caffeine]] from Pupin Hall using 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 20:41, 3 January 2022

An example of a map of the tunnel system created by a student in 1999[1]

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.[2] Similar tunnels also exist under the affiliated Barnard College.[3] Though sections have been cordoned off by the university, either in response to the 1968 protests, rampant campus typewriter theft, or residual radiation from the Manhattan Project, many parts can still be accessed by students.[4][5]

History

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 in 1896, 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. During the Cold War, portions of the tunnels were used as nuclear shelters.[4] Some time before the construction of Ferris Booth Hall, the tunnels housed a shooting range beneath Kent Hall to be used for the Columbia Rifle Team.[2] Prior to its removal in 2008, the basement of Pupin Hall, which was only accessible through the tunnels, contained a Manhattan Project-era cyclotron built by John R. Dunning.[6][7]

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. It has been reported that in response to the protests the university administration has sealed off many of the tunnel's passages, though some remain accessible.[8]

Traditions

...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[9]

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 1932 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.[9] More recently, it has been rumored that the tunnels are used as a graveyard for underperforming graduates as part of Lee Bollinger's "extermination plan" for alumni who fail to donate to the school.[10]

The tunnels have been explored by generations of Columbia students and extensively mapped.[1] Student activist Ken Hechtman was known to have explored the tunnels, and was expelled in 1987 after stealing uranium-238, chloroform, mercury, and pure caffeine from Pupin Hall using the tunnels.[11][12] Other explorers included Steve Duncan and Miru Kim, who has used the tunnels as a backdrop for her photography.[13][14] 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.[15]

References

  1. ^ a b Hay, Mark (October 16, 2009). "Journey to the Center of Columbia". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "CU Tunnels Provide Dantean Maze". Columbia Daily Spectator. March 8, 1963. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  3. ^ 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)
  4. ^ a b c 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. ^ Continetti, Matthew (August 27, 2002). "Myth and Mohair: Have you missed your chance to be valedictorian even before classes begin?". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Linthicum, Kate (2008-03-24). "Cyclotron's Last Stand". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2022-01-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Broad, William J. (2007-12-20). "Columbia's Historic Atom Smasher Is Now Destined for the Junk Heap". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
  8. ^ Homans, Charlie (March 27, 2003). "Forbidden Tunnels Guard CU History". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 2, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b "Columbia University Catacombs". The New York Times. 1932-02-14. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  10. ^ Kumar, Shreya (August 15, 2020). "Columbia's Campus Myths Reveal More Truth Than Expected". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  11. ^ "Freshmen Punished for Stealing Uranium | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  12. ^ Gillette, Josh (February 24, 1987). "CC suspends uranium thief for a year". Columbia Spectator. Vol. CXI, no. 88. p. 1. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "Into The Tunnels: Exploring The Underside Of NYC". NPR.org. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  14. ^ Gibberd, Ben (2007-07-29). "Children of Darkness". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-12.
  15. ^ "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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