The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel – World's Oldest Subway Tunnel

New York · United States · Tunnel

Sealed in 1861 with tales of murdered laborers, pirate caches and a forgotten steam locomotive in the dark – beneath Atlantic Avenue, the world's oldest subway tunnel lies waiting.

Beneath Brooklyn's Atlantic Avenue runs half a mile of old darkness: a railway tunnel built in 1844, abandoned and bricked shut by 1861 – the world's oldest subway tunnel. Walt Whitman wrote of its "dark and dismal" vault, and since the sealing the legends have grown: laborers killed during the brutal construction and entombed in the walls, river pirates hiding loot and victims in side passages, an entire steam locomotive said to stand behind a bricked-up bulkhead. During Prohibition there were whispers of liquor caches and of people who went down and never came up. After a 20-year-old enthusiast rediscovered the tunnel in 1980 by crawling through a manhole, visitors on guided tours began reporting voices in the dark beyond flashlight range and the feeling of being followed back to the ladder. The tunnel is closed again – but the manhole cover remains in the street.

FAQ

Where is The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel – World's Oldest Subway Tunnel located?

The Atlantic Avenue Tunnel – World's Oldest Subway Tunnel is in New York, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.