Other Side of the Vertical City

A Guide to New York's Underground Adventures: Tunnels, Chambers, and Prohibition-era Secrets

Introduction: The Other Side of the Vertical City

While tourists line up for the Empire State Building's observation deck, real explorers are exploring New York's "underground space." The city has a total of 12,000 kilometers of tunnel systems, 20 times the number of subway lines. This article will reveal three of the most dramatic underground secrets, which together form a concrete version of "Alice in Wonderland."

Chapter 1: Time Capsule at City Hall Subway Station

How to Enter

Take a special guided tour of the New York Transit Museum (open only 4 times a month) and follow the staff through a cast iron door marked "1910" from Exit 6 of the Brooklyn Bridge Station.

Must-see details

Copper constellation map on the glazed mosaic dome (the designer's signature is hidden in the Scorpio position)

Grooved track on the edge of the platform (designed for the retractable pedals of the luxury carriages at that time)

A fragment of the 1932 Daily News in the cracks in the wall (reporting the kidnapping of Lindbergh's son)

Trivia

Before it was discontinued in 1945, President Roosevelt's funeral train had secretly stopped here.

Chapter 2: Wall Street's Financial Secret Room

Federal Reserve Bank Vault Experience

Book a free visit three months in advance, and you will:

Stand on top of the world's largest vault (stores 6,700 tons of gold)

Touch the sawn gold bricks (remnants of the 1993 robbery)

Witness the operation of the "gold elevator" (three people need to enter the password for each box of gold bars at the same time)

Hidden plot

In the abandoned vault 25 floors underground, the whiskey cellar hidden by bankers during the 1929 stock market crash was discovered in 2001.

Chapter 3: Ghost Station in Greenwich Village

Christopher Street Secret Station

Through the maintenance passage of the PATH subway station (you need to buy a "Hidden NYC" tour ticket), you can see:

The 1920s ticket booth was sealed with cement (there are still newspapers of the day in the glass)

"WITCH" graffiti on the wall (a feminist organization cast a "curse" here in 1970)

The sound of the organ coming from the ventilation shaft (an acoustic device secretly installed by the artist) by escort Sarah escorting

Special experience at night

Every Halloween, the underground theater group performs Edgar Allan Poe's "The Pit and the Pendulum" here.

Practical Guide

Gear recommendations: carry a flashlight and non-slip shoes (humidity in some areas reaches 90%)

Safety rules: never touch exposed cables (still carrying 190V voltage)

Photography tips: use cold color filters to enhance the industrial feel