Underground city

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Part of Montreal's underground city, a concourse in Bonaventure metro station, showing directional signs leading to buildings accessible through the underground city

An underground city is a network of tunnels that connect buildings, usually in the downtown area of a city. These may include office blocks, shopping malls, train and metro stations, theatres, and other attractions. An underground city can usually be accessed through the public space of any of the buildings connecting to it, and sometimes has separate entries as well.

Underground cities are especially important in cities with cold climates, as they permit the downtown core to be enjoyed year round without regard to the weather.

Underground cities are similar in nature to skyway systems and may include some buildings linked by skyways or above-ground corridors rather than underground.

The most famous underground city in the world is notably Montreal's, used by more people than any other locale.

Countries with underground cities include:

Australia

• Sydney has a series of underground shopping malls around one of the city's underground stations Town Hall. The tunnels run south to the George Street cinema district, west under the town hall, and north to Pitt Street Mall through the Queen Victoria Building. The northern branch links Queen Victoria Building with Galleries Victoria, Sydney Central Plaza (which in turn links internally above ground to Westfield Centrepoint, Imperial Arcade, Skygarden, Glasshouse, and the MLC Centre). The linked centres run for over 3 km. In 2005 Westfield corporation submitted a development application to link Sydney Central Plaza underground with 3 other properties on Pitt Street Mall and extend the tunnel network by a further 500m.

Canada

• Edmonton has a small system of tunnels and above-ground skyways called the Pedway connecting buildings and LRT stations of the downtown core.

• Halifax (Downtown Halifax Link) in which no point is more than 10 minutes casual walking distance from any other one.

• Montréal (Underground city or la Ville souterraine in French) is the largest underground network in the world. Its 32 kilometers of tunnel cover more than 41 city blocks (about 12 square kilometers). Access through the RESO can be made to apartment buildings, hotels, offices, banks, and universities, as well as public spaces like retail shops and malls, concert halls, cinemas, the Bell Centre hockey arena, museums, seven metro stations, two train stations, a bus terminal, and other areas. It connects 80% of office space and 35% of commercial space in downtown Montreal.
• *The network began as a connection between Place Ville Marie and the Queen Elizabeth hotel.
• *More than 2,000 shops and 40 cinemas line the passageways. Tourists often visit various attractions in the underground city, which is used by an average of half a million Montrealers per day.
• *Eight metro stations link to smaller networks that are not yet part of the central network, such as Berri-UQAM in the eastern part of downtown, and Pie-IX which links venues from the 1976 Summer Olympics. Additionally, other underground networks exist that are not part of the metro system, such as the La Cité housing and retail complex.

• St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador - At the main campus of Memorial University of Newfoundland are the MUNnels, a tunnel system, in which all the main buildings are connected, though there are also some elevated walkways.

• Toronto (PATH), comprises 27 kilometres of walkways and 1,200 shops. It links many important buildings and attractions downtown to five TTC subway stations. PATH accommodates 100,000 pedestrians daily, and PATH businesses host the world's largest underground sidewalk sale once annually.
• * Toronto also has a separate, smaller "underground city" connecting several building complexes and two subway stations on Bloor Street.

• Vancouver has a shopping mall called Pacific Centre that extends almost 3 city blocks and contains more than 200 stores that weaves above and below ground level.

People's Republic of China (China)

• Beijing built an extensive tunnel network during the Sino-Soviet conflict, supposedly covering 85 square km, falling into disuse in the 1970s. Now recently opened to the public and tourists. There are rumours saying it was used by the army during the Tiananmen incident. [A tourist report] describes the facility.

Finland

• Helsinki covering central railway station area, two subway stations (Rautatientori, Kaisaniemi) and shopping malls. Also in two other subway stations have undergrounds like this, like Hakaniemi and Sörnäinen.

France

• Paris The Forum des Halles, is a partially underground multiple story commercial and shopping center, opened in 1979. The building is connected to the underground station Chatelet-Les-Halles, central hub of Paris's express metro system, the RER.

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong - Some MTR (metro) and KCR (metro / suburban train) stations in Hong Kong form underground networks with buildings and shopping malls in the neighbouring areas. The stations themselves house a number of retail shops. Notable examples are the MTR Central - Hong Kong stations, and the MTR Tsim Sha Tsui - KCR East Rail East Tsim Sha Tsui stations.

India

• New Delhi - An underground shopping center by the name of Palika Bazaar is at the center of Connaught Place.

Iran

• Kish - An underground city by the name of Hidden Pearl was constructed which consists of roads interlinked 20 meters under the ground. Shops and restaurants are planned to be built.

Japan

The top five largest underground "cities" (chikagai) in Japan are all shopping malls:

• Crysta Nagahori in Chuo-ku, Osaka — 81,765 m²
• Yaesu Chikagai in Chuo-ku, Tokyo — 73,253 m²
• Kawasaki Azalea in Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki — 56,704 m²
• Central Park Chikagai in Naka-ku, Nagoya — 56,370 m²
• Diamor Osaka in Kita-ku, Osaka — 42,977 m²

• Osaka has enormous underground networks in the Umeda, Namba, and Shinsaibashi districts, which include retail shopping, restaurants, and subway and intercity rail stations.

• Tokyo's subway lines are owned by Eidan (9 lines) and Toei (4 lines), mostly within the 23 special wards. Near the center of the city, connecting passages between stations that span a few blocks exist for commuters. Stations such as Shinjuku and Shibuya have underground shopping malls. Unlike Montreal's Ville Souterraine, Tokyo's network of tunnels is not seen as a tourist attraction; rather it is seen as one of the many megalopolis features of the city.

Russia

• "Okhotnyi Ryad" (Охотный Ряд) four-level underground shopping mall -- 29,000 m^2, linked to Metro station of same name.

Singapore

• Extensive underground networks exists around most major stations of the Mass Rapid Transit, such as the one at the Raffles Place MRT Station with direct underground connections to 19 buildings in the busy Raffles Place area. Expanding the network further, is the first phase of a new subterranean network linking the station to the up-coming One Raffles Quay development and with provisions to extend it into the Marina Bay new downtown extension for a complex underground pedestrain nework across the entire downtown area.

• The CityLink Mall offers over 60,000 square feet of underground retail space and connects the City Hall MRT Station with Suntec City, the Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, and other developments in the Marina Centre area. It will also be linked to the Esplanade MRT Station when the Circle MRT Line is completed by 2010.

• The Orchard Road shopping belt is connected by underground linkways often with commercial space, particularly around the three MRT stations serving the district, namely Orchard [link], Somerset [link], and Dhoby Ghaut [link]. Plans are in place to link all buildings along the road into a continuous underground network on both sides of the over four kilometre long road.

Spain

• In Barcelona, some Metro stations or connecting lines in the same station are connected by underground passages over a block in length.

Taiwan (Republic of China)

• Taipei - underground streets connecting two or more metro stations.

Turkey

• Cappadocia contains several historical underground cities, carved out of unusual geological formations, largely used by early Christians as hiding places. They are now archeological and tourist sites, but are not generally occupied.

United Kingdom

• In London's redeveloped docklands Canary Wharf tube station, adjacent office towers and shopping malls are connected underground. It is also possible to access two stations of the Docklands Light Railway without going outside.
• Dover contains a series of interconnecting tunnels, that honeycomb both sides of the Dover Valley, carved into the chalk cliffs. These date from Ancient times at Dover Castle through to Napoleonic, Second and Cold War installations. The Dover Castle complex is the larger, going at least six levels deep and includes a hostpital, troops quarters, offices and storage and channel view points. The southern tunnels are mixed between Napoleonic defences ( see Dover Western Heights ) and WW2 defences, with some seafront Air raid tunnels still used for shop storage today. Many are now falling into disrepair and are blocked off/neglected but plenty are accessible : [See this] or [this.]
• There is an extensive Underground Edinburgh which includes a number of rooms and chambers that has become a tourist attraction. [click here]. see the link for a list of venues that allow you to visit these vaults that are part of Edinburgh's 18th century South Bridge

United States

• Atlanta, Georgia - Atlanta's “Underground” actually represents the original surface level of downtown Atlanta; the present streets are in fact raised roadways (viaducts) built in the 1920s. The shopping center Underground Atlanta, taking advantage of the former street-level storefronts, covers six city blocks, and includes retail shopping and restaurants. It was begun in 1968, and re-opened in 1989 after a financially-forced closure. [Underground Atlanta homepage]

• Chicago, Illinois - (Pedway) consists of approximately 4 disjoint tunnel systems, the largest covering about 10 blocks, connecting such buildings and transit stations as Metra's Randolph Street Station, the Chicago Cultural Center, Marshall Field's flagship store at State and Randolph, Chicago Transit Authority's State Street and Dearborn Street subway stations, City Hall, and the State of Illinois (James R Thompson) Center. [Pedway Map]

• Crystal City, Virginia - An unincorporated residential and commercial area next to Washington National Airport, Crystal City features an extensive underground city connecting its hotels, office buildings, and apartment towers.

• Havre, Montana - Throughout its history, the Havre Underground has been host to a brothel, a Chinese laundromat, a saloon, a drugstore, at least three opium dens, and rooms used for smuggling alcohol during Prohibition. It is now a preserved piece of the region's history.

• Dallas, Texas has a network of tunnels connecting various buildings in the downtown area.

• Houston, Texas [link] -Set about twenty feet below Houston's downtown street system, today's seven-mile Tunnel is a series of underground passageways which, with above-ground skywalks, link office towers to hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, retail stores, and the Theater District. Only one building, Wells Fargo Plaza, offers direct access from the street to the Tunnel; otherwise, you must enter the Tunnel from street-level stairs, escalators, or elevators located inside a building connected to the Tunnel.

• Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota - There are three major systems consisting mostly of above-ground skyways in the Twin Cities. Minneapolis's skyway system covers approximately five miles with 62 skyways. [link] St. Paul's skyway system connects buildings in a 30-block radius in the downtown core. [link] On the University of Minnesota campus, the Gopher Way connects most buildings and parking structures together using a number of skyway links and underground tunnels.

• Duluth, Minnesota has a small network of skyways and tunnels connecting some buildings, including the Federal Courthouse and Convention Center (DECC).

• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - There are two connected underground concourses around Suburban Station and Market East Station in Center City, both of which host a number of businesses, and are connected to SEPTA transit lines.

• Rochester, Minnesota - The Mayo Clinic's various buildings in the downtown area are interconnected with tunnels and skyways. Various other businesses also exist along the corridors, including a number of hotels that often house clinic patients. It is often called a subway, although there are no underground rails in the city.

• Seattle, Washington - Several modern undergrounds and a historical tour exist. The main shopping district around Westlake has an underground connected with the bus tunnel. Another substantial corridor extends from Two Union Square to Rainier Square with connections to hotels, the 5th Avenue Theatre, and many retail shops along the way. The Seattle Underground Tour in Pioneer Square takes visitors on a humorous guided walk showing the original ground level of many buildings in that area.

• Rochester, New York- [Nazareth College] in the southeast portion of Rochester has an extensive underground network of tunnels leading from the dormitories to the major buildings on campus.

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma The Metro Conncourse, named after its founder, Jack Conn, is an underground tunnel system connecting nearly all the downtown buildings in a 20-square-block area. The Conncourse is one of the most extensive all-enclosed pedestrian systems in the country, extending three-quarters of a mile and connecting over 30 downtown buildings by tunnel or skyway. The original tunnel link was built in 1931 and the system was extended in the 1970s. Offices, shops, and restaurants line the Conncourse system. It is scheduled to undergo a $2 million renovation in 2006. Upon completion of the renovation, the plan calls for the Conncourse to be renamed the Underground.

See also

• Catacombs
• Underground living
• Mole people
• Skyway
• Rapid transit (Subway)
• Plus 15 -- Calgary, Alberta's above-ground alternative

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