The Chicago Tunnels: 60 Miles of Secret Underground Freight Railways

Between 1899 and 1914, a private company quietly dug some 60 miles of narrow-gauge electric freight tunnels under the streets of the Chicago Loop — beginning under a city franchise granted for telephone lines, which was widened in 1903 to allow freight. The Illinois Telephone and Telegraph Company had started digging for conduits, then simply kept going. At peak operation, tiny electric locomotives hauled coal, ashes, mail, and merchandise between department stores, hotels, and office buildings, all without ever touching street level. The tunnels were about 7.5 feet high and 6 feet wide. The system was eventually abandoned in 1959. In 1992, the tunnels flooded spectacularly: a construction crew accidentally breached a wall near the Chicago River, sending millions of gallons of water into the tunnel network and up through the basements of buildings across the Loop. Power was cut to much of downtown for days. The tunnels still exist beneath the streets. Most are sealed, but sections are occasionally accessible during infrastructure work.