Jump to content

Houston Downtown Tunnel System


Frank M

Recommended Posts

How funny. Talking about how we beat the heat, and they show a picture of the hottest part of the system. It must be 80 every time I walk by Beck's Prime. I don't think anyone pumps air in that part.

Last time we were at Beck's we walked out becuase it was so dang hot. How do people stand eating there? That place is dirty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How funny. Talking about how we beat the heat, and they show a picture of the hottest part of the system. It must be 80 every time I walk by Beck's Prime. I don't think anyone pumps air in that part.

Last time we were at Beck's we walked out becuase it was so dang hot. How do people stand eating there? That place is dirty.

LOL!!! I worked downtown near there for eight years...I never thought Becks was all that. Eats (above ground) has got a better burger...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

LOL!!! I worked downtown near there for eight years...I never thought Becks was all that. Eats (above ground) has got a better burger...

Beck's was and maybe still just a see and be seen place (or so we all thought so). I never saw anything unique about it. For one thing coming back to the office reeking of the smoke was the worse. Talk about heart attack food? this is it. Very over-rated place. When did the tunnel system become historic? whadup witdat yall. :blink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
I'd like to go down there. I thought you were talking about car tunnels. Have any of you walked down there?

Texhwyman.com said that there are no tunnels that are part of the state highway system. It said the current tunnels in Texas are the Addison Airport Tunnel in Addison, one in Big Bend National Park, and the Washburn Tunnel.

I heard that Federal Road goes to and through the Washburn Tunnel. Is it also part of the state highway system with a numbered road?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Texhwyman.com said that there are no tunnels that are part of the state highway system. It said the current tunnels in Texas are the Addison Airport Tunnel in Addison, one in Big Bend National Park, and the Washburn Tunnel.

I heard that Federal Road goes to and through the Washburn Tunnel. Is it also part of the state highway system with a numbered road?

I don't think so the old maps of Pasadena i've seen list it as "N. Richey Rd"(or shaver i can't remember)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could not decide where to post this one, so this forum won, but in today's NYT, there was this story on the tunnel system in Houston:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/us/21tun...amp;oref=slogin

KUHF Houston Public Radio did a big story on the downtown tunnels last year. It's better than the Times story, and you learn more about the tunnels. http://www.kuhf.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=19976

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, it is surprising on how difficult it is to find actual documented information on the tunnels. I get asked so often about them and the only thing I can refer to is that they were originally hooked up in the 30's and were inspired by Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.

I actually point out the tunnels to some visitors who have some downtime in downtown during business hours. Most seem very appreciative of being pointed out to it, and in later visits, use the tunnels when the weather is nasty.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know, it is surprising on how difficult it is to find actual documented information on the tunnels. I get asked so often about them and the only thing I can refer to is that they were originally hooked up in the 30's and were inspired by Rockefeller Plaza in NYC.

I actually point out the tunnels to some visitors who have some downtime in downtown during business hours. Most seem very appreciative of being pointed out to it, and in later visits, use the tunnels when the weather is nasty.

Ricco: Here's a link to an electronic version of the Downtown tunnel map: www.houstondowntown.com/Home/GeneralInfo/GettingAround/Maps/. You can also call the Downtown District for copies of the printed map. Downtown's hotels, and most of the office buildings, have them if you ask.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ricco: Here's a link to an electronic version of the Downtown tunnel map: www.houstondowntown.com/Home/GeneralInfo/GettingAround/Maps/. You can also call the Downtown District for copies of the printed map. Downtown's hotels, and most of the office buildings, have them if you ask.

I'm sorry, I should have clarified:

There is little HISTORICAL documented information that is found on these tunnels.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think so the old maps of Pasadena i've seen list it as "N. Richey Rd"(or shaver i can't remember)

The way I understand it, the Washburn Tunnel goes under a ship channel. Isn't the north side of it called Federal Road and the south side of it in Pasadena called Richey?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The way I understand it, the Washburn Tunnel goes under a ship channel. Isn't the north side of it called Federal Road and the south side of it in Pasadena called Richey?

No. Richey Street does lead to the Washburn Tunnel in a roundabout way, but it's not the direct route. The main artery that goes straight to the Tunnel from Pasadena is Shaver Street. Look at it on a street map and you'll see what I mean.

Shaver is a major artery on that side of the county. Under several names, it runs from old Hwy 90 in northeast Harris County, south through Jacinto City, Pasadena and South Houston all the way to the Gulf Freeway on the far southeast side.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't Nixon visit the tunnels in the early 70's?

In those days there were no bridges over the ship channel. Motorists had to "visit" the tunnels to get from one side of the channel to the other.

The Loop 610 bridge over the channel opened in March of 73. As amazing as it may seem, before '73, the only channel crossing points between downtown Houston and Galveston Bay were the Washburn Tunnel, the Baytown Tunnel, and the Lynchburg Ferry.

Absolutely true. When one tunnel or the other was closed because of an accident down inside, and it happened, people had to go many miles out of their way just to get from over here to over there, and back.

If Nixon came to Houston anytime before March of '73 and went to Pasadena, Galena Park, Baytown, or other places in east Harris County, you can bet the ranch that the Presidential motorcade "visited" one tunnel or the other -- or both.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've lived here almost my entire life and have never been in the tunnels. Have I missed anything?

Am I wrong to suspect that the tunnels expanded in the '60s and '70s with the unstated purpose of keeping the professionals segregated from all the bus-riding riffraff (like myself) up on the streets? This would also explain why information on the tunnels is not prominently posted on the streets.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've lived here almost my entire life and have never been in the tunnels. Have I missed anything? Am I wrong to suspect that the tunnels expanded in the '60s and '70s with the unstated purpose of keeping the professionals segregated from all the bus-riding riffraff (like myself) up on the streets? This would also explain why information on the tunnels is not prominently posted on the streets.

Where in the world did you get a suspicion like that? Yes you are wrong to think the tunnels were built with any intent to segregate people. They were built to provide a cooler and more comfortable way to get around downtown on foot. Nothing more -- nothing less.

You don't find information about the tunnels posted on the streets because the tunnels are not public walkways. They are privately owned by the people who own the buildings over them, and there is no access from the streets. You have to go into a building that's connected to the tunnels to get into them.

Think of each tunnel as an extension of the building's basement. The building owner owns it out to the middle of the street, where it connects with the tunnel that goes under the building across the street.

This is why the tunnels close when the buildings on the street close. They're open 7am to closing time Monday through Friday and they're not open on weekends, because most of the buildings over them aren't open.

You should check them out some time, but you'll have to go during the day on a weekday, and I think you'll be disappointed. You will only find restaurants and fast food eateries of all kinds, where downtown people go to lunch, along with a tiny handful of small retail outlets and small shops providing various services.

The tunnels are not an underground shopping center, and they are deliberately kept that way to avoid competing with retail stores up on the streets.

The downtown business people don't want the tunnels to be a shopping mecca or a tourist attraction. They just want them to be a way for people to move around downtown in air conditioned comfort. That's what they are, and that's all that they are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The downtown business people don't want the tunnels to be a shopping mecca or a tourist attraction. They just want them to be a way for people to move around downtown in air conditioned comfort.

So keep your riff raff ass up on the street, Julio. Nothing to see here, move along.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Where in the world did you get a suspicion like that? Yes you are wrong to think the tunnels were built with any intent to segregate people. They were built to provide a cooler and more comfortable way to get around downtown on foot. Nothing more -- nothing less.

You don't find information about the tunnels posted on the streets because the tunnels are not public walkways. They are privately owned by the people who own the buildings over them, and there is no access from the streets. You have to go into a building that's connected to the tunnels to get into them.

Think of each tunnel as an extension of the building's basement. The building owner owns it out to the middle of the street, where it connects with the tunnel that goes under the building across the street.

This is why the tunnels close when the buildings on the street close. They're open 7am to closing time Monday through Friday and they're not open on weekends, because most of the buildings over them aren't open.

You should check them out some time, but you'll have to go during the day on a weekday, and I think you'll be disappointed. You will only find restaurants and fast food eateries of all kinds, where downtown people go to lunch, along with a tiny handful of small retail outlets and small shops providing various services.

The tunnels are not an underground shopping center, and they are deliberately kept that way to avoid competing with retail stores up on the streets.

The downtown business people don't want the tunnels to be a shopping mecca or a tourist attraction. They just want them to be a way for people to move around downtown in air conditioned comfort. That's what they are, and that's all that they are.

Actually, there are several public access to the tunnels, including on Travis, Fannin, and Wells Fargo Tower.

The shops are mostly down there for "support" of the people that work in the buildings, but they were put in for additional revenue for the buildings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually, there are several public access to the tunnels, including on Travis, Fannin, and Wells Fargo Tower.

There's "public" access to the tunnels almost everywhere. Anyone can go to the tunnels, but you have to go into one of the buildings to get to them. There's no access from outside on the streets.

Building owners don't want people roaming around in their basements when their buildings are closed. That's why the tunnels close when the buildings close, and they're not open on weekends.

And yes the shops in the tunnels are there for "support" of the people that work in the buildings, and they were put in for additional revenue for the buildings, but not to compete with the retail stores at street level.

The manager of the Houston Downtown District told me this has been an issue since the tunnel expansion began in the 1960s. There's an ongoing tug-of-war between those who want the tunnels to be a shopping and entertainment mecca that will pull people into the downtown area, and the street level establishments who would have to compete with that.

Personally, I think someone needs to do SOMETHING to revive downtown. It's dying, again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 7 years later...

The Downtown Houston Tunnels create an efficient asset to the city by providing pedestrian walkways for safety and additional commercial space for the working class. In the past, the tunnel system functioned as a connection between large scale commercial buildings, today, the tunnel system continues to serve its function efficiently by spreading a span of 6 miles. Since the areas are mostly used for commercial purposes such as food franchises and newsstands the design inside the tunnels becomes a unnoticed second tier characteristic to the users of the Tunnels.  the Downtown Houston Tunnel System blends multiple architectural design styles ranging from modernism to a grid design reminiscent of the ideals of Le Corbusier and Rudolph’s Manhattan city grid proposals. The downtown tunnel system is a testament of architectural styles as well showcasing different levels of revivalism in some of the more dated system areas. Overall the tunnel system showcases itself as a timeline of monumental architecture styles, specifically, the time of modernism and post-modernism.

The beginning of the tunnel is frequently credited to William Horwitz and his “innovative” method of connecting his two large scale cinemas in the city of Houston. However, the beginnings of the tunnel had already begin but remained undeveloped and uninhabited. The original creator, Ross Sterling created the beginnings in the 1930’s when he interlinked two properties, much like Horwitz did. Sterling’s idea was fruition from a trip to New York City where the Tunnel system there was beginning to gain momentum. During this time period the modernistic principles dominated design of many designs of the era. The beginning parts of the tunnel system show characteristics of this through plain white walls, little decorative elements, structuralism through the use of concrete and steel, and the use of formalism through the hard lines and geometric shapes.  The characteristics give off a modern and cold feel to the project reminiscent of works by Le Corbusier, I M Pei and other famous modernists. As we move farther along the tunnel systems parts of the décor and structure start showing elements resembling Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum. The lights inside the tunnel with their conical shapes and bright strip lighting remind viewers of the gentle curves of Wright’s museum.

 

 Additionally the creation of the tunnel system brings back ideals from Le Corbusier and his vision for a connected Manhattan. After a visit from New York, Horwitz used the idea to connect his two theaters that soon brought about the start of the current Houston tunnel system. The layout of the tunnel system looks eerily similar to the carefully gridded and square tunnel system in the Big Apple. Although Houston does not have a subway system the interlocking pedestrian walkways create a similar idea.

 

During the expansion and revolutionizing of the Tunnel system ending in the 1970’s the aftereffects of the Arab Oil Embargo Act caused flocks of people all over the country to migrate to Houston and create a renewed thriving economy. This era was a time of thriving expansion for Downtown Houston mainly due to this urban development. Schools, businesses and retail sprang up at every corner creating a city similar to the one that we see today. In the decades that followed, an increase of oil and banking buildings that make up the Houston skyline built interlinking tunnels that further connected the bustling of the city’s center. The renovation and expansion of the tunnel system brought us many new art styles including revivalism of old styles. This post modernistic characteristic is notable in parts of the system made to match the buildings that it connects. The old styles range including Neo-Greek architecture and space age architecture.

 

Today, the city has expanded the tunnel system to create a system of intricate building relations. Some connections include Philip Johnson’s Pennzoil Place to the Civic Center Parking Garage, Two Shell Plaza to Pennzoil, Commerce Building to Southern National Bank. Buildings of different time eras and architectural styles are connected as well, notable buildings being BG Group Place, Wells Fargo Plaza and the Bank of America. The tunnel system also includes connections in the form of sky bridges between buildings.

Most of the underground space is now occupied by food courts, gifts stores, and banking centers. During the height of morning and lunch commutes, pedestrians, mainly workers from the connected buildings occupy the spaces and use it to move from place to place. The use of the tunnels allows traffic on the ground floor of the city to continue and decreases the amount of unnecessary congestion on the streets of Houston.

Although the Tunnel System has been identified to have certain design problems such as the lack of accessibility and the spaces being owned privately by the building owners directly above them, the tunnel system continues to provide a necessary aid to what could be an overpopulation problem. Although in its original creation date the tunnels met modernistic ideals of form following function the ever-growing boom of the city has deployed it of this feature. Much needed renovation to accommodate the cities’ working class are to be implemented soon into the tunnels.

Throughout the passing of times, the Tunnel system, although changing in connection areas, size and shape have continued to represent an important transportation asset to the city of Houston. Although there may be changes to the characteristics of this Houston system the Tunnels are a testament to the expansion of the city of Houston. The Houston tunnel system as a metaphorical timeline showcases the design principles prominent in modernism, and post modernism.
 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's the script for a story I did about the tunnels back in 2007. BTW, the audio doesn't work.

 

One of Houston's Best Kept Secrets: Downtown Tunnels

Thursday, April 12, 2007 
By: Jim Bell

 

Thousands of people use the pedestrian tunnels under downtown Houston every day, but this underground maze is still one of the city's best kept secrets. As Houston Public Radio's Jim Bell reports, there are those who hope they stay that way.

 

"You're getting ready to come upon the one, for a long many many years, the one and only connection in the tunnel between the east and west side of downtown, under Main Street. (This is the only one?) It was, it is no longer. There's a second one now."

 

Houston Downtown Management District Director Bob Eury says people who live and work outside downtown are often surprised to learn that there are more than six miles of tunnels and skywalks that connect more than a hundred blocks of downtown. Skywalks are a fairly recent addition, but Eury says the first tunnels were built in the 1930s.

 

"They were really built to accommodate buildings when they were built. They were seen in a very utilitarian function, mainly if connected to garage space, if connected to some lower level space that developers thought could be used for retail, even back in the earliest days."

 

Today the tunnels connect to dozens of office towers, hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, retail stores, and the Theater District. Eury says you have to go inside the buildings to get to the tunnels, because there's almost no access from the streets and there's a reason for that.

 

"The way it works is that the building owners own the tunnel to the center line of the street that they go under, and then the city grants, basically, a license for them to be in that public right of way."

 

Building owners can build a tunnel under their building, but it can only extend out to the middle of the street. Then they have to coordinate with the owner of the building across the street to connect to the next tunnel. The above ground skywalks are built and extended the same way.

Many tunnels started out years ago connected to just one or two buildings, and connected to other tunnels as years went by to create today's sprawling maze. Eury says we can thank Houston's hot and muggy summer weather for that.

 

"I always laugh and tell people that it's really kind of fun, because when you go to work in downtown, I can walk to over 30 million square feet of office space without going outside. On a nice day it's fun to walk at street level. On a bad day it's really nice to be able to walk in the tunnel system"

 

Walk through the tunnels today and you find an array of fast food eateries of all kinds, and shops offering various services. You won't find very many retail stores, because retailers up at street level don't want the competition from down below. There are a few retailers though, and they know they're in a risky location. Renato Ronquillo opened a small jewelry store in the tunnel near One Houston Center just recently, and while it's still too early to know if he's going to succeed or not, he has high hopes.

 

"And I am the only certified Master Bench Jeweler in Houston. I signed a lease for five years in here, and I believe that I'm gonna make it in here. With good location, and with God's will, I believe it will be successful."

 

Bob Eury says it helps to think of the tunnels as scenic basements, extensions of the lobbies above

them. That's why they're only open from 6am till 6pm Monday through Friday. They close when the buildings close and they're not open on weekends. Eury says people who live downtown would like to have them open after hours and on weekends, but that's not likely to happen, for a variety of reasons, mostly having to do with security for the buildings above them. The tunnels are designed to serve people who work downtown, which is why they don't try to attract people from outside downtown. They don't want the tunnels to compete with what's up on the streets.

 

"There is this issue of the tunnels removing life from the streets, and all the urban designers and planners over the years have looked at it, and I think that's been a continuing hot debate. I for one believe, let's not kid ourselves, we do pull life off the streets by having a tunnel. I'll also be the first to say that I think it's a tremendous amenity within the downtown area, so it's kind of a double edged sword, in a way."

 

The Harris County tunnel on the far north side of downtown isn't connected to the rest of the tunnel system. That portion connects the Harris County Courts, jails and associated buildings, and there are security reasons for not connecting to the other tunnels. Six blocks of the St. Joseph Medical Center are connected by skywalks at the southeast corner of downtown near the Pierce elevated. Jim Bell, Houston Public Radio News.

 

 

 

This interest
All interests
Search:

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all about the heat and humidity...just like all the skywalks in Minneapolis are all about the snow and freezing temperatures.

When I worked downtown in the 70's the tunnels were a great way to move between the buildings and avoid the heat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's all about the heat and humidity...just like all the skywalks in Minneapolis are all about the snow and freezing temperatures.

When I worked downtown in the 70's the tunnels were a great way to move between the buildings and avoid the heat.

I agree with this.

The tunnels are terrific for downtown workers. They do take life off the streets but, frankly, many office workers, including myself, find them a great option.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When my wife worked at Chase Bank downtown she would take a long walk through the tunnels for exercise during lunch hour. I drove downtown a few times to do that with her, and I can testify it's light years easier than doing it up on the street. You don't care what season it is. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When my wife worked at Chase Bank downtown she would take a long walk through the tunnels for exercise during lunch hour. I drove downtown a few times to do that with her, and I can testify it's light years easier than doing it up on the street. You don't care what season it is. 

 

And, there's no lights to make you stop and no cars trying to run you over because the driver is looking the other direction

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...