The Secret Tunnels Under UT
NEW: Video link added to the bottom 12/14
NEW: Second video link added to the bottom 12/15
Haha… two secret posts in a row. I have a mental list of stories I want to write here, and somehow this one had slipped off of it. Luckily, a UT Grad who goes by “The Reel Deal” posted a comment reminding me about the story. So here it goes, with a little history first.
I never thought I’d go to UT (The University of Texas, not Tennessee). Ever since I was in middle school, I always knew that I’d go to MIT - it was where the smart geeky people went, and I was one of them. When it came time to do applications for schools, I mailed two of them. One for MIT and one for WPI, a lesser known technical school in Massachusetts. I had abysmal grades, due in a large part to my refusal to do most homework and having never actually studied for a test. I always thought it was interesting to see how much of the material I’d naturally retained. Let’s just say it usually wasn’t over 80%.
After sending those applications in I found myself sitting in a calculus class with my good friend Phil.
“Have you finished your UT app?” Phil asked.
“No, I didn’t do one”
“You should. They’re due today. Here… I have an extra one. I’m going after class to drop it off - if you come with me I’m buying Wendy’s”
That was enough to seal the deal. Phil had a meal plan on campus that allowed him to use his meals at the local Wendy’s. Because he had a fully stocked fridge thanks to his job (maybe I’ll write about that gem later), he rarely used his meals. He often bribed me with them, accounting for many classes, quizzes, and even a few tests missed. We both loved Wendy’s. That was, of course, before I began eating healthy.
During the rest of the class I filled out my application, although I didn’t have time to write an essay. I didn’t really have the inclination, either. I was sure that MIT or WPI would accept me solely based on my charm and potential.
Weeks passed, and my MIT and WPI letters came in. I was rejected at each of them. Oops. I wasn’t too upset, though - I wasn’t totally sold on the idea of going to college anyway.
Then, of course, my UT letter came in. Somehow they’d accepted me. Many of my friends had similar fates, so a bunch of us ended up at UT. In the end, this was much better and I’m very grateful I didn’t go to MIT.
Then, there were the tunnels. We’d heard about them before - supposedly there was a secret network of tunnels underneath UT that connected almost all of the buildings. It was a farfetched concept, but it became credible to us when we read an article that said it was the way they got to the tower without being shot to take out Whitman.
Soon after moving into UT, we started looking for the tunnels. The UT campus is one of the largest in the world, so this was no easy task. It led us to some pretty interesting places, but we couldn’t find any evidence of the tunnel.
Then one day we saw a worker servicing one of the fountains on campus. A door was opened in the back of the fountain that revealed a spiral staircase going underground behind it. Could that be the entrance to the tunnel system? We did our best to be nonchalant and peered down into the entrance. It appeared to go down quite far - surely this was the entrance. The only problem was that the worker never left the area.
Undaunted, we waited for night and headed to our armory of choice - Home Depot. Home Depot used to be open twenty four hours a day, which made it perfect for us. It seemed that nearly every adventure that we embarked on, and there were many, required some sort of supplies that Home Depot always had. We bought a small saw and headed back to campus.
With two people watching, and another two of us cutting, we tried to cut the deadbolt holding the door shut. I’m morally very against destroying property, and in our many crazy adventures (several of which involve breaking into buildings) we have destroyed only one lock and no valuable property.
Unfortunately, this lock was not destined to be the one that we broke. We cut 1/8 of an inch through the deadbolt after maybe half an hour and realized we’d never get through. We planned on getting a reciprocating saw and trying again, but it never happened. I guess we decided it was too difficult to explain why we had one of those.
For a year or so we forgot about the tunnels and diverted our mischeif to other outlets.
One night we were again discussing the tunnels, and we resolved that surely one of the many manhole covers must be hiding an entrance to the coveted tunnels. With a stick to pry them up, we hit the streets and pried up a significant portion of UT’s manhole covers. We found a few cool little hideouts, but no tunnels.
The next night we returned and upturned any other manholes we could find. We were about to go home for the night when Terry made a discovery. He found a metal grate that was blowing exhaust from below. That would be nothing to get excited about except that it appeared that there was light beyond the fan. We crowded around the grate and peered in. Sure enough, a tunnel could be made out below.
We were all very excited, but the task of penetrating the tunnels remained. The grate was secured by welding and concrete and wasn’t going anywhere. Further, even if we could get in, there would be no way to get past the fan.
Terry and I started walking in the directions the tunnel led, hoping to find an easier entry point. He found another vent that had no fan. It had some other metal contraption that could possibly be moved, but it wasn’t promising. What was promising is the clearer view of the tunnel that grate afforded. It was real.
I walked in the other direction, and found another grate. Beneath the metal grate was a ladder leading down to the tunnel, and the gate was secured only by a padlock. Often times too brash, I was eager to go get bolt cutters and go in that night, but another friend who wishes to remain anonymous pointed out that soon it would be light and we might get caught.
The next night we returned to home depot and bought bold cutters. We were always asking weird questions like “My deadbolt is stuck and I need to cut it. Which saw is best for that?” or “Which bolt cutters can get through a masterlock”, or later “my boss wants me to copy all these keys”. If they were suspicious, they never shared that suspicion with us.
We left with our giant flourescent orange bolt cutters and headed to campus. We agreed that the tunnels were likely used by workers, but that 2-5:30am or so was probably a safe time to go. I wrangled with the lock while John (name changed) and Terry acted as lookouts. I was too weak to cut the lock, so John took over.
We probably should have worked out a better plan, though, because although we spotted the police, there was nothing we could do to warn John. They saw us, turned on their lights, and started driving towards us.
Crap.
John made the decision for us. Bolt cutters in hand, he started running. I followed him and Terry headed in a different direction. As soon as we turned a corner John threw the bolt cutters into the bushes and we kept running. We stayed away from streets so that police couldn’t see us.
When we finally made it across the street and blended into the pedestrians, we were safe. We all met back at our apartments and agreed to try again the next night.
The next night was better. Our friend Ben was in town, and he was ready to ride. He was strong, as was John, so between the two of them we were able to quickly break the lock. One by one we scurried underground and closed the grate behind us.
After nearly four years of wondering - we were in.
Any expectations we had were instantly shattered. No longer were we on campus - we’d be transported into another world. The narrow concrete path was flanked with a host of steam pipes, bundles of wires, and even toxic waste pipes. It was surreal.
We ventured down the path, but soon came to a locked gate. We turned around and made it a little further in the other direction, but there was another gate there too.
Intermitently, the steam pipes would makes scary noises which sent our hearts jumping. We were all overwhelmed and not entirely upset that there wasn’t much to explore. We left the tunnels, put our own padlock on the gate, and went back home.
Plans were immediately made to go back. We’d bring the bolt cutters and get past the next gate.
The next day Terry, John, Dan (name also changed) and I returned. It was cold outside, but underground it was comfortable. We again got into the tunnels and stashed our jackets near the entrance. John was in charge of mapping out the labrynth as best as possible. We’d also brought orange tape to tie to grates so that we could find them from the outside. We were prepared.
Again we reached the first locked gate. This time I was a little more clear headed and realized that if we stood on the crossbar we could slide past it over the top. Immediately the maze began to branch and we realized that the tunnels were bigger than we expected. At the next dead end, John realized that if he hugged one of the pipes he could slide past the gate where the pipes went through.
We spent a couple hours underground exploring as much as we could. Every few minutes a steam valve would release or the pipes would creak and we’d all become terrified. There was no telling if we were alone in the tunnels, or if there were workers there.
Here are some of the incredible things we saw underground :
The tunnels were more interesting than we expected. There were ramps going up and down, entrances to buildings, forgotten storage areas, windows looking outside, and strange masses of pipe. Some places were very closed in, others were wide open. Some were brightly lit, while others were pitch black. One of our favorite areas we dubbed “the beach”. It was a huge sandy expanse under one of the buildings, bordered by a concrete walkway. Along the walkway were locked cages with strange looking machines. Here are some pictures from the beach:
Of particular interest was a code (or possibly gibberish) written on one of the stone pillars.
P D G H M P D G
P H M W M L Y W O
O F F 6 I M U S S G
P - Forgive me
The full image (blurry, unfortunately) can be downloaded here : code.
We never figured out what it meant, but our interest was piqued with the “Forgive me”. If you can figure out what it means, we’d all be really interested in hearing your interpretation.
Here’s a copy of the map that John created : [removed at KVUE / UT's request]
Finally after spending hours underground we started to get worried that workers may be arriving. We peeked our heads out of the grate, and when no one was coming we quickly snuck out. Our lock was put back on the grate and we left.
We had intended on going back, but our lock was replaced with an official one rather quickly. We were all alarmed, thinking that it was an unused entrance. We never went back in. To this day there is a grate near ENS which you can look into and see some of the orange tape we used to mark the path.
We are a particularly responsible group of trouble makers. If any of us had gotten hurt we wouldn’t have sued UT. We didn’t damage anything or steal anything. I can’t be sure that readers of this article will exercise the same discretion, so I won’t disclose where the entrance to the tunnel is. If you’re dedicated enough, you can find it. The map also provides some clues.
Update: On 12/13 I got a huge surge of traffic thanks to sites like Digg, Del.icio.us, Fazed, and many other bloggers. Within the first few hours of the morning, I received over 10k unique visitors. By the end of the day it reached 17k.
One of the people who read the story is friends with a reporter at ABC affiliate TV station KVUE. KVUE did a piece on the story seen here :
When I saw it, I was furious. The segment was pretty complementary, and that Izzy girl was pretty cute, but they stole my pictures!
The next morning I called the Austin Bar Association and was referred to an intellectual property lawyer. He was generous enough to talk with me for twenty minutes to give me a good understanding of the law and the practicality of filing a suit.
He said that it was without a doubt illegal copyright violation and that I would win in court… but he also said that it would be hard to prove that I was significantly damaged by the use, and would probably not get too much money.
After hearing that, I was still going to sue. He said we’d send a letter, they’d reply back saying that it was legal just to call my bluff because it was unlikely that I would actually file suit. However, I had every intention to do so, even if it was possible that I would lose money.
It was a matter of principle, and I was genuinely offended that they would air my pictures without credit. The lawyer suggested I first contact KVUE and try to work it out. I was skeptical that they would rectify the situation, but I wrote a letter anyway. I offered three possible solutions :
1. They could give the address on TV tonight
2. They could pay a sum of money in damages
3. They could air a different story with me and give credit there.
Within a few hours the reporter who did the segment got in touch with me. He was very apologetic, professional, and courteous. He said that he regretted the way that it was handled, and would air a segment that night with the address. I thanked him for making the situation right.
Here’s the new segment that aired :
Pretty cool.
I’m not concerned with UT coming after me. It just wouldn’t make sense. We explored the tunnels 5 years ago, which is more than twice the statute of limitations. We also did no damage other than the lock. If they do get in touch with me I would be more than happy to buy them the lock of their choice, though. After the second time I actually planned on taping a $20 inside the tunnel to cover the cost of breaking their lock, but we never went back.
(7 votes, average: 4.43 out of 5)
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February 13th, 2006 at 1:08 am
An interesting story and even better adventure. I honestly can’t believe you guys did all that, but I can understand being a young freshman living on campus…
I know UT manufactures all its own energy in a steam plant so the pipes and such make sense, but I couldn’t tell on the map if the tunnels went under the 6-pack and tower. hmm.
February 13th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Woot! Batman’s secret underground lair!
That is cool, everybody wish they could discover something like this at least once
Cheers!
Kiltak
[Geeks Are Sexy] Tech. News
February 13th, 2006 at 9:35 am
Looks a lot like the steam tunnels under UCLA.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:36 am
We found tunnels like this all over our campus (Lehigh University)… we used to explore in the middle of the night.. One time we checked it out during the day and came up on a tunnel in the path to the University Center… my friend was first and popped his head up and someone called out his name.
I guess someone recognized him and was wondering what he was doing in the “sewer”. That was a funny scene. A few months later there were locks on most of them, but we still managed to get in.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:42 am
Actually, a great deal of colleges have these underground tunnel systems. I remember going under UMBC’s system several times. This tunnel system for UMBC carried all their data, water, and electrical connections between all buildings. Each building had at least one entrance door into this tunnel system, some more secure then the other.
I’ll have to dig up the pictures, cause this was several years ago and possible they beefed up security since then.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:43 am
That’s funny, I wouldn’t have thougth the tunnels would be interesting. Our campus has a series of tunnels that look exactly the same, steam pipes waste waters etc. Except that ours are available for staff/students to go between building without having to go out doors. It does get quite cold in the winter. Here’s the map posted on the web:
http://umanitoba.ca/maps/tunnels/index.shtml
-pc
February 13th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Did the same thing at the University or Vermont many years ago. I can remember how scared we were at every little noise , it was also really warm in the tunnels. Although your system of tunnels is much more extensive than the ones we found.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:46 am
Batman, hell… This is where Vince used to keep his cape and the Vincemobile during the week.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:50 am
Hey,
These tunnels are nothing new. In fact, it appears that you are in the “upper” tunnels or utility tunnels….the ones people are in and out of all the time. The really interesting ones you have to access in the oldest parts of campus look like fallout shelters or old ice cellars. Now they are used to store extremely old equipment from the 30s and 40s. There is some really interesting stuff down there. Although I didn’t steal anything for the fear of being expelled my buddy Justin (who found them working on the fiber networks) got some decent lab equipment despite it being 60+ years old. You can get to them from the main building (the tower) but you will need someone with a utility key for the elevator and some official looking nametags (if there is anyone down there they will know what you are doing as the “looking for the registrar’s office” excuse is not going to work. Luckily, UT hires all sorts of contractors for everything so any kind of official looking nametag should do the trick. It is said that a full 25% of UTs square footage can be found underground. If you get a chance, you should check out the tokamak fusion reactor under the math building. You don’t even have to sneak in–they hold tours.
February 13th, 2006 at 9:53 am
There’s tunnels on both East and West Campus here at Duke University. They are all either maintenance or steam tunnels - it’s great fun to go down there. Here’s a map of the West Campus tunnels (I’ve only been in the East Campus ones): http://www.cs.duke.edu/~jeffp/steamtunnels.html
February 13th, 2006 at 9:55 am
At my campus (Université Laval, Canada), there is about 10km (6 miles) of tunnels and about a third of them are accessible to everyone, something useful in winter. Here is one pic of the weirdest place: http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Laval_university_underground.jpg
February 13th, 2006 at 10:00 am
Cool links. I wish we found the lower tunnels… sounds really interesting.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:01 am
Very interesting story. Featured on Emzen.com
February 13th, 2006 at 10:04 am
I know a guy who used to be a rent-a-cop for U of Michigan. His route was the steam tunnels under the main campus, graveyard shift. He said walking alone through those miles of tunnels was some freaky, scary shit.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:05 am
Woah, it was really weird to see my university mentioned in this blog that I ran across while wasting time on Digg. I’m a third year ECE major, CS minor at WPI…
I loved reading about your discovery of the secret tunnels.
Best of luck!
February 13th, 2006 at 10:17 am
We have tunnels like that at Iowa State University too.
Here is the latest article written on them:
http://www.iowastatedaily.com/media/paper818/
news/2005/10/27/News/Tunnel.Vision-1106806.shtml
February 13th, 2006 at 10:27 am
P D G H M P D G
P H M W M L Y W O
O F F 6 I M U S S G
P - Forgive me
P D G H M P D G P H M - Please Dear God Help Me, Please Dear God, Please Help Me…
6 I M - Six Innocents Murdered
G P - Gay Priest
He buried them by the pillar. You need to bring a shovel next time, and smoke lots of weed.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:28 am
Urban spelunking. If you’re into crawling through abandonded places you shouldn’t be - check out:
http://www.infiltration.org/
It’s been around for years and they have a treasure trove of diaries with photos. great resource.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:31 am
Ahh tunnels. I did the exact same thing at Duke University. There is an amazing network of industrial tunnels that stretch from West to Central Campus. Supposedly there was a tunnel that connected West to East campus, but we were never able to find it. We were able to go up random doors and end up in classrooms, the library, and even some of the on campus restaurants after everything was locked! What I do remember is how innocuous and freakin hard to find the entrances were to the tunnels! Some really low windows allowed you to slip into rooms underneath buildings, which then connected to parts of the tunnel networks. Others were just random doors that you would have NEVER have noticed before, that led straight into the network. It was crazy, and I highly recommend every Blue Devil to check it out.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:44 am
It was my understanding that the nuclear reactor under RLM is no longer operating. In any sense, that is most likely what the toxic waste pipes are for.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:44 am
I spent 6 long years on that campus & have walked back to my car many a late night, wondering what the hell all those metal grates led to. Very interesting. After being out of school for almost 10 years, I really really want to go back & check it out. Of course now I’m too fat & lazy to do so.
Also, I know the fountain you speak of-Littlefield, & I’ve always wanted to go into the “secret” door. I had a French class in OMB the fall of my senior year & I used to sit right outside that door along the back of the fountain, studying up for class. I always wondered where that door led. Sweet…
February 13th, 2006 at 10:49 am
It seems like its been said 10x already, but these are exactly like the tunnels under the University of Colorado! I’ve only explored the not-so-interesting utility maintenance tunnels, which are packed with steam-pipes, cable tv lines etc, but I know there are sections that are very wide open (where you don’t have to crouch under pipes). We made it from the engineering center to farrand and even past the planetarium to some dorms (they tend to let you out in the boiler rooms in basement), but never into the main parts of the tunnel system. The tunnels are centered under the heating building and you can peer into them through many grates around campus. I hear in the main sections there are many doors that open in front, but lock behind you (just hope you don’t reach a dead end). Also there are plenty of signs warning of asbestos, so not a bad idea to wear a mask =P. Don’t get caught or you might get expelled too!
February 13th, 2006 at 11:10 am
I found an entrance to my university’s steam tunnels in an unlocked(!) janitorial closet. It was a little trap door in the floor, and we had to buy a collapsible ladder to get down there. Didn’t get too far, because they actually had an alarm system, not just padlocks.
February 13th, 2006 at 11:30 am
P D G H M P D G
P H M W M L Y W O
O F F 6 I M U S S G
P - Forgive me
Interesting… If you assume that each letter is the first letter of a word, then you could interpret that message as:
“Please Dear God Help Me Please Dear God”
“Please Help Me Will Me Live Your Will Only”
… (don’t know about that third line)
“Please - Forgive Me”
Of course, it could mean something entirely different, but that was my first “impression” when I attempted to decipher it. I am assuming that each time a letter is used, it means the same word - this could be completely wrong.
Thanks for writing this up - it looks like it was a great adventure! I would be a little scared to stand under those “Acid Waste” pipes though!
February 13th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
I’m from the University of Washington and I have some friends who explored the tunnels underneath our university one night after finding a utility door left open. Unfortunately they were utlitmately caught by the utility man who had called the cops. They were both arrested, and as my friend was led to the squad car he yelled “I was framed!” which became a great funny story to retell and made the arrest completely worthwhile (according to them).
February 13th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
Awesome story! It’s funny that chair in the third picture, I have one exactly like it.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
The UT student news show on KUT radio did a story about the tunnels several years back. They interviewed some students who had snuck into the tunnels and a couple who had been caught. If I remember correctly, the police threatened them with expulsion, but nothing ever came of it. They hinted that there were motion detectors in the tunnels, but it wasn’t clear one way or the other.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
ut tunnels
Vaqas sent me a story of someone invading the tunnel system here. It’s been known about for a while, but I’ve never heard of someone so passionate about breaking into it. Suddenly, I’m googling lock picking….
February 13th, 2006 at 1:06 pm
Here’s a hint for people that go through industrial tunnels and see wooden sticks on holders near the entrances. They’re there for a reason. The reason being if there’s a steam leak you probably won’t see it, you might hear it and you’ll definately see the water on the ground. By that point you might have lost your ear, eye or arm because some steam leaks can cut like a steam knife. So just remember to grab the stick and wave it front of you as you walk along and when the end goes flying off that means don’t go there.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
My friends and I went looking for the tunnels around ‘94. We had heard there were motion detectors and security cameras around though, so we never got too brave. I’ve also heard that the police utilized the tunnel system to get to the tower when Whitman was shooting. Please note that any and all of this may be urban myth.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:31 pm
These look a lot like the tunnels that are left at Washington University in St. Louis. Many of them have been torn up as new buildings are put in. I’m convinced that my friends & I were among the last people to be in one of the tunnels, as it was demolished the week after we were there. A single tunnel that used to run the entire 3/4 mile length of the campus is now just a few fragments. When we had the presidential debates here, the secret service stationed agents in the tunnels, as some of them lead into the athletic complex (where the debates were being held). Most of the tunnels are the old, narrow, short kind, filled with pipes. There is 1 new tunnel on the north end of campus that’s big enough to drive a golf cart through, though — there’s even a driveway leading into one of the buildings! Last time I was there, 2 years ago, you could still get into the tunnels through a manhole cover. I can’t imagine that they locked it (too thick), but it is really heavy — scary sealing yourself in when you go down the ladder.
February 13th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
The Secret Tunnels Under UT
Not sure how much of a “secret” these tunnels are but a well written story nonetheless. Then, there were the tunnels. Wed heard about them before - supposedly there was a secret network of tunnels underneath UT that connected almost…
February 13th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
[...] The secret tunnels have resurfaced [...]
February 13th, 2006 at 4:42 pm
Ah, warm life giving tokamak. We shall not forget you.
February 13th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
Seems the prayer might involve a school issue -
Please Dear God Help My Poor ‘D’ Grade.
Please Help My Wondering Mind.
Last Year With Out Our Fellowship Failed.
6 Idle Months Unfortunately Secured Sorry Grades.
Patiently - Forgive me
February 13th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Interesting read, brings back memories!
University of Ottawa (Ottawa, Canada) has underground tunnels as well which students are allowed to enter to get from building to building.
February 13th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
At Carleton University in Ottawa, there are tunnels connecting every building, and accessable to everyone. Very nice in the winter time, espessially living on campus. There are also a network of side tunnels from these that hold steam pipes, water, power, data, etc. Usually they’re all behind doors locked with deadbolts, but sometimes they’re left open or otherwise accessable. We spent a few nights exploring some of them, but unfortunately never took pictures.
There are a bunch of electrically-powered “tunnel carts” that maintenance workers use to get around campus. Ocasionally they have been found unlocked, seemingly parked and forgotten about at night. Of course, sometimes they belong to security, and well.. that’s a story that I won’t get into now (I was not directly involved with this).
February 13th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Snippets
· Larry Schooler of KUT reports on the raffle Austin Energy is holding to allow new customers to join the “Green Choice” Program. · Gorilla vs. Bear has a link to the video for SOUND team’s “The Fastest Man…
February 13th, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Looks like this site just made the local ABC news here in Austin.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:14 pm
Haha… what jerks! They didn’t even give my web site address.
February 13th, 2006 at 10:30 pm
[...] Pretty hilarious stuff. ABC News here in Austin, TX reported on the UT Tunnel Story that I posted a couple days ago. I’m working on getting the video. [...]
February 13th, 2006 at 11:25 pm
[...] The Secret Tunnels Under UT (tags: Tunnels sweet troublemaking) [...]
February 14th, 2006 at 3:17 am
cmu (carnegie mellon, not central michigan) has the same tunnels as well - i’ve been down there both legally (working for datacomm) & not so legally (drunk & wandering). cool stuff down there, you can make it across most of the campus… the best entrance is in the back of the college of fine arts behind the bulliten board, the whole thing opens up.
dont ask me about drinking tequila on the roof of wean hall tho…
-hoss
February 14th, 2006 at 9:38 am
There are tunnels under Austin State Hospital’s campus about a mile north of UT. I don’t know any entry points and I’ve heard they are much less hospitable. You’d have to be mentally ill to go into them without a respirator and some goggles. They’re full of asbestos.
February 14th, 2006 at 10:46 am
The tunnels are not as big at Ursinus: image .
February 14th, 2006 at 10:47 am
Oh and I still have a scar from getting down in those damn tunnels, but that’s a story to be told on its own. (That picture was taken about 4 hours before my graduation ceremony…)
February 14th, 2006 at 1:53 pm
Very interesting. I should check my college in New Jersey out now! I know there’s a lot of tunnels because of our heating system.
February 14th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Ha ha ha yeah,
Same thing several years ago at ASU.
Only me and my bro got caught. Oh, and that handy dandy bolt cutter? its known to prosecuters as “burglary tools” ‘go fig.’
that equals a 6aFelony! yay!
No one cared that we were only there for fun.
So 100hrs of community work, no jail time(*phew*) and now its off my record.
Close call. I say STILL DO TUNNEL HUNTING, just ditch your “tools” before you get caught!
February 14th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
There are several underground tunnels running beneath downtown Austin that serve as aqueducts for active artesian springs. The best-known of these runs N/S along Nueces Street from 4th to 19th street. The entrance is just across the street from La Zona Rosa down along the banks of Shoal Creek. It was closed up about ten years ago. It’s an active branch of Shoal Creek, (shown on old maps as “Little Shoal Creek) that used to be on the surface but was covered over in the 1920s when much of the southwest side of downtown was backfilled and leveled-off to accomodate the construction of new city facilities. The arched walls/ceiling are constructed of beautiful hand-hewn limestone, and the old limestone bridge pilings at each cross-street were incorporated into the walls. There is another one that runs from an underground spring at 9th street south along Congress Avenue until it dumps into Town Lake. I don;t think it’s at all accessible to the public either. All that fresh spring water just travels on down to Bastrop and beyond.
Lotsa cool stuff still to be found in Lost Austin…
February 14th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
http://bingaman.senate.gov/code_talkers/code/code.html
Maybe this will give some insight into a method for decrypting the coded message you discovered. Very intriguing.
-Tristan
February 14th, 2006 at 5:32 pm
P D G H M P D G = Please Dear God Help Me Please Dear God
(this was my first instinct, and I can see I’m not alone–it’s got to be this or something similar)
P H M W M L Y W O = Please Help Me
1. With My Life Your Way Only
2. Wasting My Life You With Out
O F F 6 I M U S S G =
Oh Free Forgiveness Giveth Thou My Unpardonable Secret Sin, God
(assuming that’s a G and a T, not a 6 and an I; in any case, I’m thinking one of the S’s has to stand for “sin”, and maybe the SG is “Saving Grace”…I dunno)
P - Forgive me = Poop! Forgive Me!
I Google-ma-fied the first line, and there is a Morrisey song with a similar theme, but I don’t think this is it. Just spitballing here….
February 14th, 2006 at 7:09 pm
Cool tunnels, but you should check out the tunnels beneath the University of Alberta - I had access to one small portion under the old greenhouse that was cut off from the rest (until they locked it up, I think), and it was like a nightmare down there. Old radioactive rock samples from the geology department were down there, ice rooms that looked like a morgue, and two story rooms that disappeared into the dark. The main system connects only parts of the campus; available for use by everyone during the winter, then there are the service tunnels run everywhere. VERY easy to get completely lost down there, since the only always-on lights were at infrequent intersections. Also, will soon post some pics from my new campus, University of Manitoba, that are just as cool.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:11 am
I used to do work-study for the Landscape office in PP7, on the Disch-Faulk route. There were several tunnels over there one directly below the “greenhouse” where they keep the plants that decorate stages for speakers. There is also a huge compost heap on the north side of PP7 between the building and the fence, and there is a break in the middle of it for a grate with a fan like the one you describe in your story. I’m guessing there are a lot of tunnells on the part of campus east of 35.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:31 am
I have a similar story from Virginia Tech. Last year while I was a Freshman, a friend on my hall (who shall remain anonymous) showed me some pictures of the mischief he got into as a Freshman himself by sneaking into the campus steam tunnels. The pictures he showed me were pretty similar to those seen on this site, it was a tunnel corridor with pipes of various sorts going through the top. There were also portions where he had to crawl on his belly to make it through, and let me tell you from the pictures it looked quite hot down there!
Unluckily for him, motion sensors are installed in the tunnels to keep explorers out, and he tripped one of them. As he tried to come out of one of the manholes at 3′ish AM, a police squad car was waiting nearby. Needless to say, he got booked by campus security and had to do a lot of volunteering as sanctioned by Judicial Affairs in order to avoid getting kicked out of school; he’s still here and has the awesome pictures to prove it!
February 15th, 2006 at 12:48 am
The Illinois State Mental Health Center in Elgin, Illinois has some really creepy tunnels beneath it. Some friends and I explored them back in high school. This was after the facility abandoned it’s “Farm Annex” located a couple of miles away from the main facilities. I guess the patients got to work and interact with nature at this Farm Annex years ago and workers used the tunnels to transport the patients. Some were more than a mile long with no pipes or wires, just dirt and a concrete path. We entered through the abandoned buildings which were full of old beds, desks, books, and a lot of other creepy stuff thrown about the place. We had no money to buy flashlights so we used old T-shits soaked in kerosene as torches. This was pretty dumb considering we continuously choked on the smoke. We found recently used beds and “living areas” that we assumed were use by homeless people. Although we never saw anyone, I guarantee that there were “others” down there. It was pitch black and with our torches we could only see about 15-20 feet ahead of us at anytime, but I’m sure that they could see our light from a distance. We heard noises that made our hearts skip a beat. I consider this little trip one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. We wandered for hours without mapping or marking anything. It’s amazing that we found our way out. We traveled one tunnel for at least a half-mile to a mile before we turned around without coming to an end or seeing a doorway. I think this was the tunnel to the main facility located on IL RT-31. The “Farm Annex” has since been demolished with other businesses built on the land near McLean and Bowes Rd. I heard the tunnel entrances were cemented over, but I bet that if you tried, you could get in somewhere.
February 15th, 2006 at 1:23 am
PDGHMPDG = Please, Dear God, Have Mercy, Please Dear God
PHMWMLYWO = Please have mercy with my light, your way out
OFF6IMUSSG = Oh, for fuck’s 6ake, I am under satan’s spell, God
P- Forgive me = Please, forgive me.
February 15th, 2006 at 6:20 am
PDGHMPDG
PHMWMLYWO
OFF6IMUSSG
P- Forgive me
Please Dear God Help Me, Please Dear God
Please Heal My Wickedness, My Life You Will Own
Oh Father, February 6th I Murdered University Student Sara Gold
Please- Forgive Me
February 15th, 2006 at 6:22 am
Cinec - nice… best one yet
Tynan
February 15th, 2006 at 7:00 am
Im surprised Dept of Homeland Security hasnt shut this “hole” thing down yet…..(pun intended)
If your going to post stuff like this on the web to show off, make it a secure site so Jihadists cant find it… sheesh
You can add directives to Apache to require US-based ip’s/domain’s or something…..
February 15th, 2006 at 8:29 am
There is a society in Berlin (Germany) that gives tours through the Berlin underground.
http://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/002/002.htm
Apparently you can visit Subwaystations that are huge but have no rails, so nobody ever goes there, the Sewers and old Bunkers from WWII and the cold war and more. I’ve never been on a tour but supposedly it’s very interesting. Some of this stuff is partly destroyed, which must give it an even more creepy air.
February 15th, 2006 at 10:48 am
Find a book called “Rule of Four”. It starts off with a bunch of guys playing laser tag in the tunnels under a school.
February 15th, 2006 at 11:14 am
I don’t think anything crazy was going on with the acid waste pipe in the photo. There are acid waste pipes running all through the Welch building above ground and are labelled as such.
February 15th, 2006 at 11:22 am
Damn man! All that trouble and nobody brought any weed to toke!? It looks cool, all that underground “hidden” shit… It just would’ve been hella tight with some green thumb goin around…
http://www.collegehumor.com
http://www.3613Life.com
February 15th, 2006 at 11:38 am
They have tunnels like that at FAU too, it used to be an air base.
February 15th, 2006 at 11:41 am
When i was in high school me and my buddys had found tunnels just like that under our school… one day after school we snuck down there and went searching around and we found this room with all these satanic symbols and nazi signs all over the walls… found out later that one of the custodians lived down there… that same custodian shot himself in the head during a school day in the basement
February 15th, 2006 at 11:44 am
Thanks to this, I will never look at the University of West Florida grates the same way again. Awesome story!
February 15th, 2006 at 11:44 am
The statute of limitations is 20 years on somthing like this, and the school is required by law to prosecute (if they don’t want to take responsiblity), I will make sure they do so as…
YOU THREATENED TO SUE A NEWS STATION WHO AIRED PICS OF YOUR ILLEGAL TRESSPASSING!?!?!?! YOU STUPID PRICK.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:05 pm
Any campus (i.e. universities, hospitals, Sprint headquarters in overland park, KS, etc.) environment usually has such tunnels. The reason being that it is much more effecient to operate the HVAC systems from a central location. Many campus environments ,such as Truman State University, purposefully place these tunnels along the same paths as the above ground sidewalks thus melting any snow accumulation during the winter.
During my undergrad at SIU (which by the way covers over 1100 acres compared to UT’s 350 acre campus that is “one of the largest in the world” according to the story…typical Texan) I worked for physical services which administers these tunnels and used them extensively during inclimate weather. We actually found drums of supplies from the cuban missile crisis (first aid, food, water purification, etc.) that nobody ever bothered to haul back out!
February 15th, 2006 at 12:33 pm
Man, some people just can’t appretiate the unknown things in life. But great find! I know my school, the University of Wisonsin- Whitewater has underground tunnels leading all over the place. They lead from every residence hall, from every acedemic building and the University Centre, to a gas-fire powerplant, about 1/2 mile away. But don’t stop urban exploring, it’s so cool to see everything that goes into making a builing, complex, subway tunnel….etc.
February 15th, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Reid,
Dude, I’m at SIU right now! Give me a way in!
February 15th, 2006 at 1:15 pm
It’s amusing that this comes and gos every few months. Like when I requested the maps from the University, and the FBI/SS investigated me. Lapse for few months. Then students get caught, relapse. Lapse for a few months. Then I got mentioned for the request for information on the webcams, rementioning of tunnels, lapse, ad nauseum…
February 15th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
thats so cool, I think theres a secret tunnel at my school but theres always people around so I can never check it out.
February 15th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
PHMWMLYWO
OFPGIMUSSG (looks like a “p” to me and numbers are unlikely)
P- Forgive me
That’s easy:
First line as before, then: Please help me with my lousy yig welder obsession. Oh, forgive God, I must use stainless steel grade pipe. : )
Actually, I do like “obsession”. Maybe it’s “leacherous young woman obsession.”
February 15th, 2006 at 2:05 pm
There are official maps of the tunnels posted in the operating rooms of the chilling station near 26th and San Jacinto. Check them out– I only got a fuzzy picture on on my PDA camera.
February 15th, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Hey. Here at OSU (Oklahoma State University) we have similar tunnels. We found like a grate that was unlocked with a 25 foot ladder we climbed down. It was pretty cool, similar to the pictures. Except we went into a room where it was like a break room or something and there was a guy in there. We started to run but then decided not to. He led us out and didnt call the cops or anything. Turns out he led us out into the basement of the Student Union. Didnt know there was an entrance there.
February 15th, 2006 at 3:27 pm
no entiendo un carajo
February 15th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
[...] The Secret Tunnels Under UT » Tynan is… Better Than Your Boyfriend Then, there were the tunnels. We’d heard about them before - supposedly there was a secret network of tunnels underneath UT that connected almost all of the buildings. It was a farfetched concept, but it became credible to us when we read an article that said it was the way they got to the tower without being shot to take out Whitman. [...]
February 15th, 2006 at 3:49 pm
I hear the tunnels is where we keep the pride, masculinity, and literacy of the Aggies. we have to hide it for fear they might find it and realize that overalls aren’t cool. it was a good story but i was expecting something more in the way of the Stone Cutters
February 15th, 2006 at 4:20 pm
I heard some of those tunnels were for transporting equipment, or hiding staff during a school riot.
That’s pretty fucking cool though. When I get into college, I’m definitely looking for a tunnel.
February 15th, 2006 at 5:07 pm
Is there a better story in the world? i think not…Youre a legend
February 15th, 2006 at 5:09 pm
The tunnel system at Univeristy of Illinois Chicago looks almost identical to the UT tunnel system. However, the tunnels at UIC are no legend, they are not exactly public but no one denies they are there (does that make sense?). Myself and two friends worked for campus security and they told us the tunnels existed, and we should never go down there since our radios wouldnt work down there if we got hurt (its easy to fall down there). So of course we went down there about half a dozen times. The entrances are not marked, but are completely obvious. Also, there are no locked doors so access is as easy as being able to open the door. One time we gained access to University Hall and got into the chancellor’s office on the 28th floor. What we did there remains legendary (no, we did not vandalize anything or engage in homoerotic behavior) to every incoming freshman. What a great time we had, but we got bored with it after a few months.
February 15th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
you guys are all wrong, everyone knows UT used to be a maximum security prison back in the early 1900s. all those tunnels are is a massive escape attempt by a few determined inmates….they put up all those pipes in there to make anyone that caught onto their plan think that they had just found a lowly service tunnel. ingenious.
February 15th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
onezero talked about the tunnels at the university of colorado at boulder and theyre no joke. Most of the entrances to the main tunnel system are sealed off, however, there are htree ways in that i personally know of: the basement of libby, the basement of the pendulum tower ( i found this one when i was working security for a CU game and they take you down there cause theres a big meeting room off one of the tunnel branches, and it allows direct access to the third entrance), and the area under the stadium, to which theres two ways in: a door at gate 5 (the gate right next to the NROTC gate) and in the mini-gym where the indoor track is. This is a massive expanse of tunnels that goes to almost every building on campus and is fairly modern. Most of the exit doors have electronic keycard locks, but we did find that there is a tunnel that goes directly under boulder high school and a side branch that comes out in the gardens at the base of the hill below the gym (but its closed with two padlocks). However, much like the UT tunnels, the hilly landscape the campus was built on gives way for some amazing sights, and nobody ever goes down there as evident by the obscene amount of dirt on the ground in most of the tunnels and no shoeprints except our own. However, as onezero said, its a violation of campus policy to be down there and if caught, they WILL expel you. Scope it out!
February 15th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
We had tunnels similar to this under my high school. They were off-limits, but definitely muchh easier to get into than the ones here at UT. Ours were designed originally as a bomb shelter. (my school was built in the 1950s)
February 15th, 2006 at 6:02 pm
I’ve heard that Oklahoma State University has quite an expansive tunnel system as well, and was just curious if anyone would be interested in exploring them? I think I’ve found three entrances, but haven’t had the desire to go down in them until reading this…
February 15th, 2006 at 6:07 pm
Nice.
More tunnels found at JAC (John Abbott College) in Quebec. None of them are acessible to the students, although they used to be used to get around the campus in the winter. Problems with crimes in the tunnels caused their closure. On top of these tunnels, there are also steam tunnels and maintenance tunnels much like those described at UT. One of the tunnels has a window which looks into the deep end of the college pool, definitely a sweet find, although it was a quick realisation that the swimmers could see us too.
The tunnels were fun, but on top of that the campus has a building named Britain Hall that is only partially used. They’ve filmed a couple of movies in it (one with Shannon Doherty about some school girl thing… didn’t really care enough to remember but saw them filming it). Part of the building has been restored and is used for adult education, but the rest of it is completely abandoned and quite interesting.
The building was originally a men’s residence when the entire college campus belonged to McGill University. It has three floors and a basement. The upper floors are mainly old dorm rooms and showers and bathrooms. Really interesting to go through them and read the graffiti. There are still “artifacts” around from the many who lived there, although it was obvious many had found the location before us, and weren’t of the same mindset about not leaving a trace.
The basement was creepy. Lots of concrete, and pitch black. Rooms full of steel bedframes and rotting wood shelving. Not to mention a quite “rotten” squat in a room that was entirely covered in different mosses (just that room. At one end is the old “campus cafe” called the Oval. The name is still painted on the doors outside the building that used to lead to it (closed and can’t be used to enter really).
On the main floor, in the “lobby”, for some reason there are old filing cabinets and desks full of police reports and files. Not campus security, real police. some kind of random junk storage.. not really sure, but we left it alone out of respect. One room off the hallway had a lightbulb that was on and a broken piano. The piano body seemed to be completely smashed, but the strings remained. We played it in the eeriness of the night, but feared it might get us caught.
This building also has two other “Super-attractions”. The firs is easy enough to find and takes up almost an entire wing. It’s the gym. Picture a huge inside gym, almost the size of the current school gym. Now add a running track suspended 30 feet in the air at the top of the gym and two sets of spiral stairs going up to it. Really cool. The runnins track is litterally hanging from the ceiling, suspended with thick steel “supports” and was still solid enough for us to venture up. It was actually very solid with no give or sway. still, we stayed near the wall, considering the building was entirely abandoned and decrepit.
How abandoned? Well, the floors were rotting away (wood floors everywhere). Paint was all falling off, many windows were broken and wooded over. Generally everything wood was rotting. structurally the building seemed fine, but everything trim was in some advanced stage of decay. Whoops… back to the second Super-attraction.
The Gym was fun and the runnign track awesome, but there was still another cool place to discover. In one corner of the gym, was a spiral staircase leading down. Curiosity found us going down that staircase and discovering the Pool. Empty, except for random object our previous explorers had decided to throw into it, but an inground pool in the basement. Wow… Although it was far from olympic-sized, still the residence must have been a pretty sweet place to live!
The very last particularly cool place that we visited was the attic. Concrete with a high ceiling and windows. Lots of ducts and fans and vents… and one of the only places where you can clearly see that part of the building is still in use because fresh new gyprock blocks that part off from the abandoned side to conserve heat I guess…
We actually had a few access point to the building, none of which are really currently feasible. At one end of the building, there is a single basketball net. Right next to that net is what used to be a stairway down into the building. In our time, the stairway led to a piece of plywood nailed over the door. Our first few ventures in were realised by simply prying the plywood off and putting it back when we left, simple and requiring only a hammer or small prybar. I think it was on the third attempt that the plywood actually broke, which completely prevented us from covering our entrance. still, we had explored most of the building already and didn’t think it would be noticed for a while as long as we put it back half decently. Well, after three previous successful attempts, the nails seemed to have become too weak and we had to leave the board half-on.
It was noticed the next day of course and we figured that was it for us… Until we saw their solution. They simply replaced the board in the exact same manner. Of course, we decided to return, and this time brought along the same kind of nails just in case and paid special attention not to break the board. Campus security made constant partols, but were predictable and cover was close at hand with large bushes and cars around. We made many successful returns before they apparently noticed the many many many hammermarks on the board (or so we theorised) and decided to close our entrance for good. They filled the stairwell in with gravel as you’ll find it today, our little addition to campus geography.
For a while, we just gave up and were satisfied with our intimate knowledge of what others would never see, but after a few months, the campus decided to give us yet another brief entrance to the building. They began work between that building and one of the currently ocupied one that involved digging a rather large hole. The location of the hole interested us because we happened to know it was right where there was a tunnel between the two buildings. Further exploration after dark paid off when we realised if we jumped in the 8 foot hole we could simply step into the tunnel from a hole they had made in the concrete and head for the old Residence. This was how we made our last several trips into the building, although it was only feasible for the three days before they patched the tunnel and filled in the hole.
I’ve heard rumors about current explorers who have found alternate entrances and don’t doubt it. In many cases a board ona window is an easy way in, but I wouldn’t recommend it. Exits from the building aren’t really a problem, several of the doors still open from the inside with the push-bars. The front doors are locked (chain and padlock) but the old Oval doors work. Still, when they filmed the movie in the building (which was after we had investigated it) they spent a lot of time “decontaminating”. I believe the problem was RADON, something to be aware of as a risk for current explorers.
An interesting thing to see that can be seen without entering the building right now is the large aircraft in pieces in the back section (used to be parking). I’m really not sure what kind it is, but it is a large commercial aricraft in threee pieces. The school has an aircraft mechanics course and thi must be the ultimate playground for them. It’s neat to see and the fact it’s cut up means you can see inside without even going past the fence around it.
Whew. Enough now. Let’s just say that exploring these tunnels and buildings can be remarkable fun and makes for some great memories. BUT, make sure you know the risks and PLEASE LEAVE NO TRACE.
February 15th, 2006 at 6:10 pm
Guys,
What a frickin great story! Finding ’secret’ tunnels, having to make multple attempts to finally get in and then getting it aired on tv! Awesome. Even more awesome is that you got the news company to apologise for not listing your site address; had me laughing my ass off.
Cheers from England!
February 15th, 2006 at 6:17 pm
Did you see any Penguins while exploring the tunnels? Were there any evidence of Penguin habitation or experimentation in any of the areas you explored? Did you find any areas with icy temperatures suitable for these fine birds?
Gruntie
February 15th, 2006 at 6:25 pm
LSU (Louisiana State University) has a similar network or tunnels below it. There are some pretty cool entrances/exits. Like the other schools, the penalties for getting caught in the LSU tunnels are steep (expulsion from what I heard)… For all of you LSU students out there, you can get a map of the tunnels by looking at the archives (I think at Hill). They may also be available online through part of the digital library… I forgot, it has been a while.
February 15th, 2006 at 8:47 pm
I know the folks that live in the more northern climes are used to the underground tunnel thing, as you folks live in places where there is a possibility of getting lost in the snow between buildings. But underground anything is pretty unique down here in Texas. The water table is typically too high to make most anything below the ground work, as standing water always tends to be an issue there. I’d be interested to see what kind of drainage system the tunnels here at UT have in them to keep that from happening. But yeah, so you northerners know, tunnels and even basements are considered a rare novelty here in Texas. Had a friend once that lived in an older house near Dallas, it had a root cellar in it, and no-one ever went down there because there was a good 2 feet of who knows how old standing water down there.
If only there really was a decent and not too legally reprehensible way to get into those really old tunnels under the Tower though. Those babies really piqued my intrerest, particularly the 60-year old artifacts. Guess that’s why I’m an Archaeology minor…
February 15th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
Wow, what an asshole you are. You break and enter private property and you now want to file yet another frivilous lawsuit to strain our judical system.
*Golf clap*. You really are a world class loser. I’m glad people have turned to blogging. It provides us with another way to realize how stupid people have become.
Greedy prick.
February 15th, 2006 at 9:49 pm
this is freaking badass, im a student at UT and i think there are secret societs at every school, in that one picture why is there a chair>? ? ??
February 15th, 2006 at 10:06 pm
Yeah, we have the same steam tunnels here at Texas A&M. But I wanted to point out that 350 acres is a small campus. A&M’s campus is 5,200 acres; and I quote “Texas A&M University is one of the largest universities by area in the nation” ~wikipedia.org
It never suprises me when a longhorn brags and has no facts to back it up.
But I do think you did the right thing to seek legal counsel.
February 15th, 2006 at 10:12 pm
Every school has underground tunnels, they are for all of the pipes. My college gives tours of it.
February 15th, 2006 at 10:27 pm
Central Michigan has tunnels as well. There are old tunnels and new ones. The old ones connect all buildings on campus and the new ones connect only new residence halls. I am transfering after this year and I have not yet been in the old tunnels, you inspired me to give it a try! Found your site on collegehumor.com they’re featuring it today! Congrats on all the free publicity and good luck in the future!
February 15th, 2006 at 10:40 pm
Texas is surrounded by a city that people like living in. Texas A&M is surrounded by nothing, but its a 5,200 acres that livestock likes shitting on.
February 15th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
Im not getting into a UT vs. A&M debate. I was simply pointing out how small UT’s campus is. (but just to let you know a city of 200,000 people isnt “surrounded by nothing”, and Ive lived in Austin, its too crowded and theres little personal space)
February 15th, 2006 at 11:51 pm
He was definitely off-base with that. But the student pop is a bigger. One of the nation/world’s biggest.
February 16th, 2006 at 12:12 am
http://www.uttunnels.com
February 16th, 2006 at 12:18 am
Please Dear God Help Me Please Dear God
Please Help Me With My Love For White Out
Oh Fuck Please God I Must Use Intravenous Syringes God
Please - Forgive Me
February 16th, 2006 at 2:36 am
freeking awesome story.
as with the code
the whole letter-to-word thing is good.
but guys
who said it was “please dear god help me”
i mean
thats already been thought of
come up with your own, you know, ideas
heh
sweet story
if you get in trouble, just tell them ‘JG’ said it was cool
heh
February 16th, 2006 at 3:12 am
P D G H M P D G
P H M W M L Y W O
O F F 6 I M U S S G
P - Forgive me
Hold on everybody I know what it means I took crypted language in College. it’s a quite typical code you can find the same under the crypts in Paris and in the Sixtine Chapell on each column…
Putain Degage Grosse Harpie Mais Putain Degage Grognasse
Pauvre Hyperdiarrheique Marcel Wallace Livre a Yvonne Wallace obsequieusement
O Fremissez Fols 6 Italiens Mystifies Unanimement Sous Similaire Gaz
Papa - Forgive me
Well it s in French and I’ll try to give a fair translation but let me tell you that this text is quite obscure…
F*** Move Fat Harpy Move F***ing Bitch
Poor Hyperdiarrheic Marcel Wallace Given to Yvonne Wallace
O tremble you 6 Italian Fools unanimously mystified by similar wind
Daddy - Forgive Me
Well I’d better search for Mr and Mrs Wallace….
February 16th, 2006 at 3:31 am
Porky Dirty Give Ham Me Porky Dirty Goood
Porky Healthy Meat Will Me Let You Wax Obviously
Ok Fest For 6 I Must Undoubtly Save some Grub
Porky - Forgive Me.
P D G H M P D G
P H M W M L Y W O
O F F 6 I M U S S G
P - Forgive me
Well another typical thing we can read on many stores in France maybe a kind of ritual
NB The english is quite bad but everybody knows how good are french, don’t they?
February 16th, 2006 at 5:05 am
Why is it so amazing for all of you? They are not really ’secret’ tunnels but just another utility area offlimits for students. Or am i missing something?
February 16th, 2006 at 8:50 am
hj is a dumb ass the tunnels go all throw Austin my uncle was one of the polcie men who went in them to cash the hitman (the sniper).
February 16th, 2006 at 8:59 am
“please dear god help me…”
lol
February 16th, 2006 at 9:00 am
Sounds like an issue for Homeland Security. Thses tunnels could be a terrorist dream if they wanted to level a major US university.
February 16th, 2006 at 11:54 am
In 1972 a bunch of us third gaders in Augsburg Germany discovered that our elementary school, formerly a nazi military building, had a network of tunnels underneath the military base. Every day after school when as far as our parents knew we were “bike riding” on the secure military installation, we instead explored further and furthe into the tunnel system until one day we went so far that we were lost, and our flashlight batteries expired, and we spent twenty hours in the cold darkness until the search dogs led the MPs to our scared little group.
February 16th, 2006 at 1:02 pm
very Very interesting. If I went there, i would like to find where the tunnels are, but becuase I don’t, I won’t. IS there any Tunnels at SJSU - San Jose State Univeristy in California??
please respond
February 16th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Snippets
Two Snippets in a week? Dang. I must have some free time. · More UT tunnels: After the Better Than Your Boyfriend site posted about the secret tunnels at UT, KXAN and KVUE did reports on the UT administration…
February 16th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
you people are idiots if you think they are secret tunnels. if they are so secret, how come everybody knows about them? these “secret tunnels” in which you speak of are simply utility tunnels for piping.where do you think the piping goes? maintanance workers are in there all the time, just not at night when all the students “sneak down” there!
February 16th, 2006 at 6:08 pm
That figures, an Aggie getting onto a Longhorn with “It never suprises me when a longhorn brags and has no facts to back it up,” yet quotes wikipedia, where anyone can go in there and edit it. Real credible source there Ag. I just read on there that “Aggies, while claiming to be smart, are nothing but a bunch of retards.” and it must be true because it was on wikipedia and I just put it there. And what bragging are you talking about?? That we have underground tunnels?? He showed proof of them with the pics….where is your evidence of tunnels covering 5,200 acres? You didn’t provide any evidence or facts so instead of trying to rip on Longhorns, go back to the Ag farm and pick up your girlfriend, I heard she just got sheered.
February 16th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
in keeping with everyone else, UF (university of florida) also has this network of underground tunnels. it’s pretty normal for steam to be seen rising out of some grates at any time of the day. what i have heard that seems uber cool is that under turlington plaza (many students gather there between classes..it’s right across from the carillon bell tower) are an enormous amount of chemistry and physics labs. i have friends who work for the university as light and stereo people, and they have tons of keys that they don’t even know what the hell they go to. probably not hidden chemistry lab, but it’d be worth a look, eh?
also, 350 acres is really damn small. UF is the fourth largest in the nation with 2000 acres (at least it was fourth largest when i was accepted; that may have changed).
February 16th, 2006 at 11:55 pm
I go to SUNY Albany, and they have tunnels under the whole campus. You can go to any building, and even into the lecture centers. They are similar to those ones, but are as wide as a two lane road (in most places). There are always maintenance men down there, but they don’t care if students go down there.
February 17th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Well I almost fell into a cloaca maxima collector of a million people city… not so much “secret” as disgusting. The rats are a size of cat, apocaliptical feeling down there…
February 17th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
wheres the map!!!!!!!Post it!
February 18th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
My grandfather was a pipe fitter in downtown Houston. I’d bet there are several 100 miles of tunnels there as well. Consisting of many levels. Obviously some people know about the public ones with shopping malls but there are unimaginable other tunnels as well. As a kid I’d go to work with him (in the 80’s) and I saw all sorts of interesting things. With a google search you can checkout some of the NYC tunnels that people actually live in.
February 18th, 2006 at 1:29 pm
More information I think everyone will enjoy.
http://community.livejournal.com/ut_austin/1329403.html#cutid1
February 18th, 2006 at 5:28 pm
For the Aggie that said Texas A&M does actually have something around it - yeah dude. It does have stuff around it - 2 suburb-sized cities. But that’s it. They’re like whitebred suburbs of any large city, but with no large city for 2 hours in any direction.
I lived in that shithole of a city (College Station) for the second half of high school, and I tell you, I was bored out of my gourd. NOTHING to do in that town, unless you enjoy getting drunk and having the cops ride your ass up and down Harvey road to see if you swerve the slightest little bit so they can pull you over and test you. Any job you can get in that town is only minimum wage, maybe one dollar more, but nothing else.
As soon as I discovered Austin during my second year of living in College Station, I knew it was where I needed to go. And I got over here as soon as possible. My parents and sis still live out there, and they always ask why I don’t visit more often. Why? Because it’s one of the most dull places anyone could ever live.
Too crowded and little personal space in Austin? Yeah, downtown. Go to Houston or Dallas son, then you’ll see what “too crowded and little personal space” really means. Drive 5 minutes west from downtown Austin, and suddenly, you’re out in the gorgous hills, or down by the greenbelt, enjoying truly beautiful natural scenery and cool waters of the Colorado’s tributaries. I couldn’t find a signifigant hill to bike on or cool bubbling clean river tributary to swim in in CS if my life depended on it.
Really, College Station and Bryan are both redneck boring towns that only exist because the college was built there. If it wasn’t for that school, the towns wouldn’t exist, and thus, there’s no history, no culture, and nothing but ugly flat dull terrain for miles and miles and miles… I’ll take city life any day. For you, maybe Green Acres is the place to be. Say hi to Arnold the pig for me.
Sorry for the negativity and all, but really, I cannot fathom that anyone in their right mind would ever prefer that town over Austin. I just don’t get Aggies. That’s likely a good part of the reason why I left. They’re biggest way to show pride in their school is to put down UT. No, THAT just seems sad to me. Be proud of your school for what it is, not for the fact that you can hate another school so much.
Enough rambling, I’m done.
February 20th, 2006 at 2:30 pm
Oh ye Tunnels, my beloved home.
Underground world, the mischievous seek.
Hidden from view, enter my child.
The bait is taken, almost too easy.
Feel the heat, the steam is alive.
A simple riddle, to keep you amused?
Why the sand? Maybe to mask, or to deceive.
Entry, exit, to a deeper kingdom.
A solitary throne, for the weary master.
Mystery revealed, life courses altered.
February 20th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
“Here’s a copy of the map that John created : [removed at KVUE / UT’s request]” Anyone get a copy of this before it was removed? Got it? email me at kennymyles24@hotmail.com
February 21st, 2006 at 1:09 am
The UT/A&M debate is so tired. I happen to go to A&M and I enjoy it. That does not mean that I’m some hick who wants to raise cows for a living. I grew up in downtown Boston. If you are looking for a city with history and culture there are not many in the US that can top that.
Just like not all Longhorns are liberal hippies, not all Aggies are back country hicks. And I would like to dispell the idea that Aggie culture is all about hating UT. That may be how many of the traditions started but that was back when UT and A&M were the only schools in the area worth caring about. Like myself, a lot of the current students don’t like how so many things are centered around being anti-UT but its a little hard to change traditions that have been around for 100 years.
People do not come to A&M for the “beautiful” city of College Station, they come for the experience of being an Aggie. We do not intend to live here for the rest of our lives. Some people prefer the atmosphere of a smaller town while some prefer the city. I just figure I have the rest of my life to live in the city so why not go to college in a real college town.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:35 pm
The reactor that was underground was moved to the Pickle Research Center north of campus. It is a UT facility that does classified advanced weapons research for the department of defense. That way when former President Faulkner and current president Powers say “there is no classified weapons research going on on campus” they are not lying. Pickle Research Center is known to be developing a rail gun.
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:48 pm
If you like underground exploring this site has got quite a bit similar to this: http://www.undergroundozarks.com
February 27th, 2006 at 10:29 pm
[...] The Secret Tunnels Under UT Tagged as: blog cool fun [...]
February 28th, 2006 at 10:25 am
Carl, why do you feel the need to stick your chest out & boast about the size of the aggot campus on a UT thread???? This is a thread about The University of Texas. This thread has absolutely nothing to do with the aggots or collie station. Nobody on here gives two shits about your whitebread, racist, inbred campus. This shouldn’t surprise me though. Wherever UT is being discussed, some redneck aggot always has to come along & take a shot. Stop being obsessed with us & get lost you fucking aggot!
March 16th, 2006 at 8:00 am
[...] Outside of my two case studies, it’s pretty obvious that I’m trying to break into the blogging world (I will never say blogosphere - I promise). With millions of blogs out there, it’s not an easy field. However, within two months I have been able to go from 10 readers a day to 4000 (if you average out the huge spikes), and I keep going. To shake it up here, I posted some stories which I knew would get massive publicity like the Ghetto Pool story, the UT Tunnel story, and most recently the Living with Courtney Love story. I knew that these stories would put me in front of a lot of eyeballs, which would force people to notice my blog and read it. I managed to get on the front page of digg, college humor, delicious, shoutwire, reddit, fazed, and leenks. Thanks to those services, over 150,000 different people saw my blog in a month, and a number of them became regular readers. [...]
March 16th, 2006 at 6:32 pm
Hey, I can totally confirm these tunnels, as I have been in them twice. Both times we entered them while buildings were being built/remodeled on campus. A while back (about 1988-89 or so), after a particularly victorious Longhorn weekend, we were celebrating at the Crown and Anchor. As time drew the bar to a close, we decided to walk around campus. I got the bright idea to check out the construction in the newly remodeled E. P. Schoch building. Inside the basement, we found what can only be called, a passageway. Of course, we followed it into the same tunnels you described. We actually got pretty far before we found the locked gate. Not as daring as you, we turned back. Several years later (1996), under similar circumstances at the Crown and Anchor (do we see a pattern here), we launched another expedition. This time, we started in the construction site of Neural Molecular Science Building. This is where I think you found “the beach”. The building was mostly just a frame work then, with floors in between. The day we were under there it had been raining, and the area with all the dirt was half full of water. It really was a beach. It was really cool looking as it was covered by the first floor, so it looked like an underground lake. I wish I had a camera. We found another access tunnel in that room. This one went on for quite a ways. Eventually, it lead up a spiral metal staircase going into the university power area. This was REALLY cool. It was a darkened room with lots of blinking lights and gauges. It was supervised by a technician in a glass room. He looked extremely sleepy (it was around 2-3 am). With the lights out and his lack of attentiveness, we crept around there for awhile, looking at various dials and gauges. After a bit of time, we decided not to push our luck any further and went back down the way we came. All in all, an adventurous night.
March 16th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Man dose haters hatin on BIG AUSTIN and LONGHORNS need to go!!!LOL well dat tight yall found dose underground tunnels i wish i was there! well g2g
March 17th, 2006 at 1:20 am
i didnt mean that longhorns needed to go just incase sum of yall thaught that i meant dose haters got to go!!!
March 17th, 2006 at 5:08 am
There was no hating. . . Just pointing out errors. A few points: I lived in Houston from 1989 to 1998, and then I moved to austin where I graduated from Highschool. I cant stand being crowded, but thats just my opinion. I dont like paying alot of money for land (like you do in a big city). And finally I am in no way a hick. . . I grew up in the 3rd largest city in the US, Ive never even seen a farm, and the only knowledge I have of animals is from my sister who is involved in 3-day eventing (an English horse riding event).
Uberhorn, My ‘bragging’ was pointing out that yet again people boast about their school, UT this time, with no facts. But if you notice, I never cussed or called anyone immature.
wednsday818, read above, il lived in houston and Austin, i hated it. You say you lived here and couldnt find anyplace outdoors to find a lake or stream? Im an avid mountain biker and LOVE biking around lake Bryon. But then again Ive also been diving in Lake Travis. But getting from downtown Austin to Lake Travis take 30 minutes. . . so its not really in Austin.
and finally longhorn the great: If you look at the bottom of the wikipedia article I quoted you will see all the sites sources. . .LIGITIMATE sources. Not random made up stuff. please do a bit of research before you try to discredit me? Also I didnt say there were tunnels under all 5,200 acres, just that its larger than the UT campus. . .wich the author of this artical claimed was one of the largest in the world.
March 20th, 2006 at 6:53 pm
[...] By now I’m sure that all of you have read the UT tunnel story. When the story surfaced, Mark e-mailed me because he is doing a documentary on the UT tunnels. He wanted to interview me, which I was happy to do. [...]
March 26th, 2006 at 1:57 am
DUDE! i went in the tunnels like a couple months ago… i never knew there was a cult following around them… damn i could have been suspended!….PS: hey my friend is doing a news story for the journalism department and was hoping to interview the dude that wrote all of this… so if you could like put your email down or something or sometype of contact info… i would appreciate it.
April 13th, 2006 at 3:20 am
Very interesting, I thoroughly enjoyed this. =)
April 14th, 2006 at 5:04 am
We should all be careful of what we say and post on the internet. It is important to realize the world that we live in today and that giving out information on how easy it is to get into the tunnels under UT might not be such a good idea.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:33 pm
Wow… I am a senior at UT and a couple of years ago someone mentioned the tunnels to me. A friend of mine that works at Gregory told me that her boss said something about thier existence in front of her and we were all like, woah! I dont know when you were there and when this happened, but you guys have balls! UT is creepy enough at night on land. You know on September 11th, Jenna Bush was escorted off campus secretly through the tunnels. Just another interesting fact. I give yall much props cause every knowing student at UT wants to see the sacred tunnels. Hook em
Oh, and I didnt want to go here either, USC rejected my ass but I am still having an awesome time here!
-JJ
June 4th, 2006 at 10:15 am
Terrorists not knowing about utility tunnels? My school is better because it’s larger? People thinking the utility tunnels that run under nearly every campus (including Disney World) are secret? Trespassing then wanting to sue a TV station? And I thought G.W. was the biggest idiot from Texas… It seems to be the official state hobby.
June 24th, 2006 at 7:28 am
Ah, the nostalgia. When I read this it made me dig out that probation notice from 24 years ago, and those pictures we took in the tunnels.
We were actually caught on our second trip down. Someone at a Physics Department picnic told us the way in: the control panel in the Welch elevator had been sufficiently loosened so that you could pull out a screw, swing out the panel, and trip the keyswitch to let you go into the basement. In the basement there was a chain-link gate, but the lower hinge had been rendered easy to remove, so you could (slightly) swivel the whole gate on the top hinge and the lock on the other side and crawl under.
We got in about five hours of exploring the first time. The second time we were dead-ended at a gate (trying to remove the hinges) when we were corraled by campus police (they actually yelled “freeze!”…scared the shit out of us). We dropped our tools behind the steam pipes and never recovered them.
We got probation, but really no other fallout.
July 9th, 2006 at 11:18 am
I miss my home.
\m/ Hook ‘em.
July 17th, 2006 at 11:58 pm
anyone wonder why pink hearts are the background?
July 18th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
…it’s because Tynan is THAT secure in his masculinity.
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:41 pm
LOL! I was just talking with my co-workers about the tunnels today and thought I’d go on line to see if I could find some pics. A few years back I was an administrator at UT (fairly high up, as a matter of fact) but like all academics in my younger days I was a sneaky little shit at well. When I first started working over there someone told me about the tunnels and I couldn’t resist getting a look. But I had no “official” reason for going down there. Then one day I realized I could get a master facilities key - through my job - that would let me into about eighty percent of the locked doors under the campus. I was hooked!
I spent hours under the campus wandering around at night. And although I worked there, I still had no official business in the tunnels so if I were caught I would have been tossed out on my ear. So, needless to say, it was pretty thrilling to wander around down under there.
You guys didn’t seem to get into the really old tunnels. There’s actually some that appear to have been built in the early 20th century that are quite creepy. I’m not sure what they were used for prior to HVAC.
I have worked at UT in some years and I still miss crawling around under the campus.
August 19th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
I went into the UT tunnels in the early 80’s with a guy who lived in our dorm (Jester) - he had been down dozens of times, and liked to show off by taking groups of people down. I remember the access was a street level metal hatch near the center of campus, not far from the student union building. It wa