And So the End Begins — The Houston Tunnel System
This week will be my last one working in downtown Houston, so it probably marks the last time I will ever go spelunking in the Houston Tunnel System.
I get sentimental about the weirdest things, and the tunnels are definitely one of them. For all their dreary, dank stretches of water-stained, carpeted walls and worn out tile floors, navigating the tunnels is one of the coolest things about working downtown. On Houston’s hottest days, it is very convenient to be able to walk in air-conditioned comfort to just about any downtown building without having to step outside. It took me about a year to go down there and not get hopelessly lost, but once one masters the system, one becomes something of a happy tunnel Sherpa, guiding the lost to their destinations. One of my happiest tunnel memories was leading a family from the South Louisiana Tunnel (or “Ole Musty” as I call it), to the Tunnel Loop so they could go see the MLK parade. The kids couldn’t believe that there were so many cool things down there like Mc Donald’s.
The tunnels are steeped in lore. There are legends of the Houston Mole People who ventured down into the tunnels at the end of the eighties oil boom, but never found their way out again. There are also popular campfire stories about corporate bogeymen that haunt the old Enron tunnel entrance and try to trick unsuspecting little kids into adopting off the books accounting schemes. Well, not really, but it would be cool if there were such legends.
Houston Tunnels, get donkey! will surely miss ye.