Closing Bell: Under Atlantic
Geralyn from Eyemaze joined Bob Diamond for one of his popular tours of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, the oldest subway tunnel in the world. Diamond discovered the abandoned tunnel in 1981 and has been leading group tours for years. You can see more photos on Eyemaze and Flickr. For more info on the tours, go…
Geralyn from Eyemaze joined Bob Diamond for one of his popular tours of the Atlantic Avenue Tunnel, the oldest subway tunnel in the world. Diamond discovered the abandoned tunnel in 1981 and has been leading group tours for years. You can see more photos on Eyemaze and Flickr. For more info on the tours, go here.
Pretty incredible that the boss of Barclays Capital has time to take people through these tunnels.
Great photos. They make mine look like crap.
I went last month, here’s my pictures:
http://www.controlgeek.net/blog/2010/1/23/under-atlantic-avenue-in-the-worlds-oldest-subway-tunnel.html
Agreed,
I waited in line for a couple of hours a few years back, just to get a peak at what’s below.
I wasn’t disappointed; amazing space and very large.
Once you climb down the manhole, you crawl through this small entryway here and down another ladder into the tunnel.
The tunnel ceiling is a good 15-20 feet and vaulted, the length is at least a couple of city blocks.
Considering it’s from the Civil War era it’s like taking a time machine into the past.
Just wondering what’s taking so long to knock down the wall at the far end and see what’s behind there.
Once you get past the dirt sided part of the tunnel it’s wide enough and tall enough to fit two trains with smoke stacks in. Plenty of room to let this claustrophob feel comfy again.
The tunnel is one of the best places to ever visit in NYC.
The only claustrophobic part of the tour is at the very beginning–what’s in this photo. You have to climb into a manhole, and then walk in this skinny tunnel until you get to the main area.
I’m pretty claustrophobic, but I was OK because you went through this part very quickly, and emerged into an enormous tunnel that is literally large enough for two locomotives to pass each other side-by-side. If a subway stop is large enough for you to feel fine, you’ll certainly be fine here.
Diamond is quite a character. But it’s a really, really interesting tour, mostly because of the anecdotes and history he tells. I really recommend this to anyone who’s interested in Brooklyn history.
Extends
I highly recommend going, too.
I think that pic is near the manhole where you go in. The tunnel expends toward the water from the intersection of Court and Atlantic. I think Diamond mentioned trying to get funds to excavate from the Court St. over toward Flatbush.
It’s not too claustrophobic at all, just dark. Some of the space feels about 20″ tall. and it looks wide enough for two trains to pass.
rob, I saw that movie, that was good.