underground tunnels seattle tour

Underground Seattle: Visit The Subterranean City Hidden Under Pioneer Square

Explore the underground pathways that were built in Seattle more than 120 years ago.

A hidden gem for tourists that enjoy paranormal and unique experiences. Certainly one of the most unusual tourist attractions in Seattle is the Bill Spiedel underground tour, which visits a subterranean city built under the Pioneer Square neighborhood after the Great Fire of 1889.

A historic walk through these interconnecting tunnels will change your perception of Emerald City forever.

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The story behind underground Seattle

The city’s first neighborhood hides the remnants of a fascinating underground world. Under restaurants and shops, you will find an entire network of subterranean hallways, corridors and basements. Buried for decades, these abandoned spaces have become a popular tourist attraction and a real-life history museum of Seattle’s past.

The structures were constructed after the Great Seattle Fire on June 6th, 1889, a fire that destroyed more than 25 blocks of stores, homes and workshops. Soon after, city leaders decided that all new structures had to be built of stone and brick instead of wood and it was ruled that the streets would be raised 22 feet higher. New buildings made the ground level a basement and others simply left their businesses on the underground floors.

A historian and columnist for the Seattle Times, Bill Spiedel, took notice of the subterranean ruins. He mounted a citizen campaign that restored some of the tunnels to their authentic state. Finally, in 1965, he began doing an Underground Tour for any tourists and locals that would like to time-travel to the 1900s.

Where: 614 1st Avenue, in Pioneer Place Park, Pioneer Square, between Cherry and James Street.

Tour info: The tour is 75 minutes long, the underground can be rugged, so don’t hesitate on using comfortable shoes.

You can buy tickets online from Bill Spiedel’s official website and also by phone or on-site.

Featured image from Shutterstock.

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A Comparison of Seattle Underground Tours

There’s another Seattle beneath your feet and it’s possible to explore it now on one of these fascinating underground tours.

(Photo: Getyourguide.com)

Seattle was given its first burst of life as a product of one of the many gold rushes that pulled prospectors and hopeful future millionaires west into the North American continent. A sleeping timber town before that, and previously Native American for 4,000 years before that, the city has undergone a rapid expansion in the last 120 years, with some elements of the older neighborhoods being covered over with newer developments. Tours exploring this oft-unseen side of the city are a great way to take a deeper dive into Seattle life.

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

In 1889, the Great Seattle Fire turned the entire downtown business district to ash and ruin. Rather than destroy everything entirely and start again, the new city was rebuilt on top of the old, and some of the remains are open to exploration on this intriguing and entertaining 75-minute walking tour. Underground highlights include Doc Maynard’s Public House, plus a look at the tunnels beneath Pioneer Square. This tour is regular, starting on the hour between 10am and 6pm daily, with extra tours in summer. From $22 per person.

Book at Undergroundtour.com

Beneath the Streets Underground History Tour

Another portal to the paved-over past of Seattle is this history-focused, hour-long tour. The underground portion of the tour takes you to explore three tunnels and four blocks of the city that once was, and still is to a certain degree, buried away beneath the current Pioneer Square. Learn all about how Seattle came to be, how it came to burn, and how it came to be rebuilt. This tour runs around seven times a day throughout the year. From $30 per person.

Book at Getyourguide.com

Seattle Underground Donut Tour

A very different underground to the above two tours is the Underground Donut Tour of Seattle, which is literally above ground and figuratively alternative, in that nobody else is running tours to sample delicious treats like this in Seattle. You’ll stop by four different, top-quality donut purveyors, with tasting samples at each stop. This two-hour tour also acts as a good exploration of Seattle’s best dining spots, including Pike Place Market. From $40 per person.

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Seattle's Highest Rated Underground Attraction!

Beneath the Streets offers boutique tours dedicated to providing authentic and unique guided explorations through the historic underground passageways of Seattle’s original neighborhood, Pioneer Square.

Our ONE HOUR walking tours are led by fun, professional, and seasoned tour guides who live and breathe Seattle history. We never use scripts and enhance the guest experience with insider tips and local favorites!

Extra tours added most days.   Walk-up space often available.

     10:00am - 5:00pm

  Seven Days a Week

$26 * Plus taxes

Tours are ONE HOUR in length departing multiple times daily

_________________________

--  After Hours: Red Light District Tour  

Adults only tour with a focus on the "underside" of underground history. Humorous  discussion about  prostitution, gambling, drinking and vice. 18 yrs +

 6:30pm  Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays

$28* Plus taxes

 75 minutes in length

__________________________

* 15.35% tax added to all sales

Operating Hours

The Queer Underground History Tour

Celebrate Pride

Click here  to see schedule.

Adults only. 75 minutes. ​

$28 pl us tax

For parking information click here and enter 102 Cherry Street as your destination.

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour

Review Highlights

“ Dean did an amazing job of giving us the history of Seattle while making poop and sewing *wink wink* jokes. ” in 127 reviews

“ Had an early morning Tour but Adam made it really interactive and funny even when our energy was kind of low. ” in 106 reviews

“ Our tour guide, Jacob , was amusing and informative and made the history of Seattle interesting to us. ” in 47 reviews

Show more review highlights

Location & Hours

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614 1st Ave

Seattle, WA 98104

Cherry St & Yesler Way

Pioneer Square

Serving Seattle Area

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Amenities and More

About the business.

Bill Speidel's Underground Tour is a leisurely, guided walking tour beneath Seattle's sidewalks and streets. As you roam the subterranean passages that once were the main roadways and first-floor storefronts of old downtown Seattle, our guides regale you with the stories our pioneers didn't want you to hear. It's history with a twist! Following a short intro, we'll walk through historic Pioneer Square to three different sections of Underground--about three blocks in all. The tour ends in Rogues Gallery, the Underground Tour gift shop. Here you will find a mix of historic displays and an array of contemporary gifts showcasing Seattle's quirky character. You can get a memento of your Underground Tour experience at Rogues Gallery, a copy of Sons of the Profits, the book by Bill Speidel upon which the tour is based, or a Seattle souvenir or two. …

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Has the Underworld tour resumed? There do not seem to be tickets available no longer how far out I look on the calendar.

It has. We went in 6/27/23. I called and left a voice mail and they returned my call in a few hours and rebooted the system. Call the number in the website for more help but I think it was (206) 682-4646.

Has the Underworld Adults Only Night tour been discontinued?

No, not at all. We're gradually resuming all of our offerings as the pandemic abates. Stay tuned and we'll let you know when the Underworld Tour returns.

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2222 reviews

We enjoyed the underground tour, Andie was amazing, super knowledgeable and she made the tour fun! I would recommend this tour!

4.5 stars. We have Clay as our guide. He was very funny and knowledgeable. You get to learn about the history of Seattle in its early days. Walking underground is really cool. Knocked down half a star because the gift store is gone. I was looking forward to getting some souvenirs. Clay said after Covid they lost the suppliers. Hmmm on that one. During peak season please buy tickets online ahead of time. Highly recommend.

A date in my early 20s. A middle school field trip. Family visiting from out of state. These are the reasons I've taken this tour 3 times. If you take this tour then you're really taking Downtown Seattle 101 but in a fun and engaging way. I feel like some pre-reqs for becoming a tour guide is that you'd probably have a background in theater (theatahhhh!) and comedy. They do a pretty good job with storytelling, at least that was the case with my guide. You really need those skills if you're explaining the development of the city in a non-dry way. Summertime is good because you won't need rain gear. Off season is good too since it won't be too crowded. Good thing about being in Pioneer Square is if you want to continue learning about Seattle history you can visit the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park afterwards. It's about 5 blocks away and it's free.

We took the tour with a small group of adults. I had no idea about this history of the city. Our tour guide made the entire tour fun, informative and interesting. We all very much enjoyed our time. I don't want to give away any 'secrets' and definitely recommend taking a tour under the sidewalks of Seattle! On street parking. Reservations on line. Gift shop and museum at end of tour. Discount at dive bar nearby if you arrive early and ask at the check in desk 'where can I wait for my tour?' Restrooms available at the beginning of the tour, but once outside, there are no restroom stops for the duration of the tour. Plenty of toilets, but none you can use. You'll see. Enjoy!

Fun and informative history tour of DT Seattle. Adrian was a funny, kick-ass guide who kept it moving. If there was a disappointing part, there was a distinct lack of new vampires (see Patrick Whalen's "Night Thirst") but otherwise a throughly enjoyable journey through the past of Seattle.

Great tour! Highly recommend taking this tour if you visit Seattle! Informative and fun way to learn some unique history about Seattle! Our tour guide Audrina was great and made the tour lots of fun! Will recommend to others!

Andie was our tour guide and she was awesome!! Super genuine, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable of the history of Seattle. I feel like I gained a greater appreciation of the city and its history.

We had Andie as our tour guide and she was amazing. She had so much knowledge about how Seattle came to be and was so personable. We would highly recommend this tour if you are visiting Seattle. Great for all ages and an experience you will not forget!

Standing underground under one of the original skylights made many years ago! Really cool moment!

This tour was amazing!! Our guide: Adam, was so funny and kind to everyone. Our group loves this experience.

Second time being on the tour (after 5 years); I am having a lovely lady as my tour guide this time, she is sooo funny and so knowledgeable; but her voice was very quiet so it was almost impossible to hear her if we r not super near her. The tour size was huge so it was impossible to hear her at all for about 30 % of the time. Thus taking one star off. If u see there r no spots online, don't be scared, call them! They always have some open spots and will reserve tix for u!! Sooo fun.

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Underground Tour, Bill Speidel’s

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour is Seattle’s most unusual attraction, a humorous stroll through intriguing subterranean storefronts and sidewalks entombed when the city rebuilt on top of itself after the Great Fire of 1889. The 75-minute guided walking tour begins beneath Doc Maynard’s Public House, then spills into historic Pioneer Square, Seattle’s birthplace, before plunging underground for an exclusive, time-capsule view of the buried city. It’s the only way to tour the interconnecting tunnels of the world-famous Seattle Underground—don’t be fooled by imposters. All the while, tour guides regale you with sidesplitting stories our pioneers didn’t want you to hear. It’s history with punch lines! Tickets available in advance, online at undergroundtour.com and by phone at (206) 682-4646, or at our ticket counter at 614 First Avenue, in Pioneer Place Park, Pioneer Square.

• Address 614 First Ave, Seattle, WA 98104
• Phone (206) 682-4646

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The Underground Tour, Seattle – Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

Home | Travel | North America | United States | Washington | Seattle | The Underground Tour, Seattle – Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour

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Seattle is known for rainy weather and the Space Needle, but there is a lot more to this city than meets the eye. As a hub for Pacific-Northwest nature, urbanization, and counterculture, Seattle isn’t without its weird side. One of the best ways to experience the city is by taking  Bill Speidel underground tour .

The underground tour in Seattle  is one of the most popular activities today, but the history behind it goes back to 1889 when a great fire ravaged the city. After the destruction, the city had to undergo complete reconstruction, and, as a result, the former streets now sit beneath the modern downtown district.

When I first came to Seattle, I wanted to see the vast landscape and majestic mountains nearby. Yet, when I learned that there is a whole other side to this city, I was intrigued.

This  Seattle underground ghost tour  isn’t a typical haunted attraction. Lighthearted guides walk you through the  tour  of Pioneer Square’s subterranean depths, including old sidewalks, warehouses, and storefronts.

You’ll start at an 1890s saloon before embarking on a journey through the decrepit tunnels and passageways. Along the way, you’ll learn about the previous glory of old Seattle and visit the sites of former shops, houses, and pubs. The tour is equal parts eerie and entertaining, and something you don’t want to miss!

I’m glad I experienced this part of the city, and to help you plan your trip, I’ve this guide with everything you need to know about exploring  underground Seattle .

The history of the Underground Tour in Seattle, WA

The passageways you’ll traverse during  the Seattle underground tour  were once at ground level back in the mid-1800s.

On June 6, 1889, a young man tripped over a glue pot in a carpentry shop, igniting the Great Seattle Fire, which burned through the entire central downtown district. In less than a day, the blaze destroyed 25 city blocks.

However, the Seattle residents were steadfast in their commitment to rebuild. Work began almost immediately to reconstruct the city center, right on top of the burnt remains. Today, the buildings in Pioneer Square sit 20 feet above the 1880s  underground city of Seattle .

Of course, the former streets and alleyways fell into disuse and remained underground, nearly forgotten. In the 1960s, a  Seattle Times  columnist named Bill Speidel reignited interest in this area. After receiving a reader question about the underground ruins of Pioneer Square, Speidel began guiding people through the tunnels. From there, the tour grew and became one of the most unique attractions in Seattle. Now, anyone can take an  underground tour of Seattle ‘s old ruins!

What will you see on Bill Speidel’s Underground City Tour?

The underground tour of Seattle  starts in Pioneer Square. While today, the neighborhood makes up the southwest section of downtown Seattle, in the mid-1800s, it was the city center.

There are now several  Seattle underground city tours , including the  Bill Speidel underground tour , which begins on 1st Avenue, near Cherry Street.

Throughout the  tour , you’ll travel beneath Doc Maynard’s Public House and wind through the eerie passageways under Pioneer Square. The tour covers several ruinous blocks full of abandoned storefronts and remnants from the past, like old furniture and cutlery.

The guide will take you above-ground a couple of times, stopping at some historic structures before descending back underground. For example, you’ll stop at the Howard Building, which was one of the first major buildings in Pioneer Square.

You’ll also learn about the Klondike Gold Rush, the indigenous Coast Salish population, and Skid Row, where the city’s working-class lived and congregated. While some people consider this to be a  haunted Seattle underground tour , the ambiance is quite lighthearted and humorous.

As you continue your journey, you’ll see the ladders that residents used to traverse the underground and the new, elevated city streets, as well as the purple-glass pavement lights. You can also see restored artifacts that were salvaged from the 1889 wreckage, such as old machinery and public baths.

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour times

The  Seattle underground history tour  lasts anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes.

The Bill Speidel  Seattle WA underground city tours begin every hour, on the half. From April -September, the company operates from 9:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. From October – March, the hours are 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Also,  the underground tour in Seattle  will go on rain or shine, so dress accordingly!

Seattle Underground Tour Tickets

The  Seattle underground tour tickets  are affordable, yet the costs can add up for families. Kids under 6 are free, although they might not enjoy this type of tour.

I think the price is worth it, especially if you want to know more about  Seattle’s underground tunnels . I really enjoy the tour we took, and our guide was super helpful and willing to share with us so many interesting facts about the underground Seattle.

Please consider that this is a very popular tour, so I recommend purchasing your  Seattle underground history tour tickets in advance since your preferred time might sell out.

Who is Bill Speidel?

While you’re researching the  best Seattle underground tours , you’re sure to come across the name Bill Speidel. So, I think it’s a good idea to give you some background history of this influential man.

Bill Speidel was a columnist for the  Seattle Times . While he joined the paper in the late 1930s, his most notable work didn’t appear until the 1960s. In addition to his newspaper columns, he also wrote two books in 1967 and 1978. Most of his work focused on the history of Seattle’s early settlers.

Speidel was passionate about preserving the city’s history, especially Pioneer Square, which was quite rundown in his days. When a Seattle Times reader asked about the underground remnants of the square, it piqued Speidel’s interest. He investigated the area and then invited the reader to come and see what he found.

Well, that reader ended up bringing along 500 friends. Word spread about this unique  walking tour of Seattle’s underground , and more residents followed Speidel into these previously unexplored depths of the city. He began collecting a $1 fee from each visitor, and the rest is history.

Today, the  Bill Speidel Underground Tour  is one of the weirdest and most popular ways to learn about Seattle’s history.

FAQS about the Seattle underground tunnels tour

Still not sure about exploring the  underground in Seattle, WA ? Here is some more information to help you decide and plan your trip.

Is the Seattle Underground tour worth it?

Yes! This is a very different  tour of Seattle  that you won’t be able to experience anywhere else. Not only do you get to learn about the  Seattle underground tunnels , but you can walk through some of the remains.

How much is the Underground Tour in Seattle?

While the cost depends on the tour company, most  Seattle Washington underground city tours  are $30. The  Bill Speidel Underground Tour  is about $30, but that doesn’t include tips.

Is it necessary to book the Underground Tour in Seattle?

You can have a great time here without doing a  Seattle Underground City Tour . However, if you want to learn more about  Seattle’s underground history , this tour is a must-do.

Where can I book the Underground Tour in Seattle?

You can book the  Bill Speidel Underground Tour   here.

Is there parking for people who are going to do the Bill Speidel Underground Tour?

There isn’t a designated parking lot for the  Seattle underground tour . Instead, visitors should take public transportation since the bus and light rail stops at Pioneer Square LINK station.

Can you eat or drink during the Underground Tour in Seattle?

You can bring a covered drink with you, but food isn’t permitted during the  Seattle underground history tour . The tours start near Doc Maynard’s Public House, and many visitors stop there before or after their tour.

How long is Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour?

The  Speidel Underground Tour  lasts 1 hour.

That’s everything you need to know about exploring the  underground city in Seattle . If you have any other concerns, or you want to share your experience, leave me a comment below and I’ll get back to you!

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Underground Tour Seattle

Tour Review

Amazing, weathered ceiling to the street above…

Visit the spooky city that lies beneath Seattle’s present street level where you’ll learn how the Underground was created. The subterranean walkways are dry, but the history sure isn’t! Learn about Seattle’s very colorful past; how our Founding Fathers’ squabbling led to Seattle’s complicated street system, and how the solutions to our unique plumbing problems affected the town’s elevation.

Relax in Doc Maynard’s, a restored 1890’s public house (pub and nightclub), where you’ll hear the first part of the tour. From there, your guide will lead you along the sidewalks of Pioneer Square and into the areas below, which have been vacant since 1907.

The tour lasts 1-1/2 hours and is offered daily, year-round (check for seasonal dates and holidays).

• Operates (click for schedule / price info): Most days of the year; public tour times vary according to season.

608 First Avenue * Seattle, Washington 98104

General information: (206) 682-4646

Business Hours: seasonal, please inquire

Seattle’s underground tour is a unique activity on your visit…

Seattle’s Underground History

Before Microsoft, the rock of this Northwest city’s economy was sewing. The Gold Rush of 1897 turned Seattle into the major supply port for prospectors heading north and the population soared. There appeared to be an inordinate number of young women, without visible means of support, living in the down

town area– they listed their profession as “seamstress.” Nudge-nudge, wink-wink.

Rather than run the women out of town, Seattle’s political leaders decided to raise considerable revenue by taxing each prostitute $10 per month. Said the tour guide, “A stitch in time is two bucks.” In 1889, a fire started by an overturned pot of glue spread rapidly through the downtown’s wooden structures. Fire hoses lost pressure, and a human chain of seawater buckets reaching up from the coast was disbanded when stores of ammo in a hardware store began exploding. In the end, 33 blocks burned down.

Reconstruction was very quick and not very uncoordinated. Buildings were erected before city officials could implement their plan to elevate street levels nearest the water. Officials ordered the streets raised. Stone walls were erected on each side of the roadways and filled with whatever materials were available — fire debris, dirt from the hillsides, garbage, even dead horses — before the surfacing work.

Spooky tour corridors…

So for about a decade this was the situation: Many downtown Seattle streets were up to 32 feet higher than the buildings’ ground floors and the sidewalks around those buildings. Ladders were placed at intersections so people could climb up from one sidewalk, cross the street, and climb down to another sidewalk. As Airi pointed out, that was not an especially flattering way for ladies in long dresses to walk about with their shopping bags. It also wasn’t a good situation for men on drinking binges, 17 of whom died from falls. Bridges were placed over parts of some sidewalks and, eventually, complete sidewalks covered the old ones, which remained in use and were illuminated by skylights imbedded in the new walkways.

In 1907, a bubonic plague prompted the underground portion of Seattle to be condemned. Only illegitimate business still was conducted there, including a flourishing liquor trade during Prohibition. Rats became an overwhelming problem. To combat the nasty rats, the city took several steps, among them paying 10 cents for each slaughtered rat. Citizens needed only to bring in a rat’s tail for what in today’s currency translates to about $5. Inevitably, some people began breeding rats so they could claim the reward.

The preceding content is an editorial review of the Seattle Underground Tour based on editorial information collected by our organization. Information is updated regularly, so call for exact current schedules.

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5 Reasons To Go Underground For Seattle’s Most Unusual Tour

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Visitors with a curiosity about the other side of Seattle’s story need look no farther than a few feet below them, into the city’s notorious Underground.

Thanks to fascinating guided tours in the city’s historic Pioneer Square neighborhood, venturing beneath the streets is a fairly easy feat. For decades, Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour has been giving tourists a glimpse into Seattle’s colorful past — complete with stories of muddy streets, sinking buildings, non-existent sewage disposal, and ultimately, the devastating Great Seattle Fire of 1889.

As a frequent visitor to the Emerald City over the years, I was familiar with modern Seattle’s top attractions like the Space Needle , Pike Place Market , and Chihuly Garden and Glass . But as I was planning a recent return visit, I realized I had barely scratched the surface of Seattle’s early history as a logging town.

The Underground tour certainly helped to fill in the blanks, from Seattle’s start as a town built on a muddy tide flat, to the destruction wreaked by the Great Fire, and the development of the Underground as a fix for many of the early problems.

Here are 7 reasons to go underground for Seattle’s most unique tour.

1. Quirky History Of Seattle

Bill Speidel’s Seattle Underground Tour lasts about 75 minutes, and an enormous amount of information is packed into that time, all in an entertaining format. My tour guide threw in plenty of humorous stories about Seattle’s early history, including how the first steam-powered sawmill of the Pacific Northwest came to be located in Seattle, as well as the difficulties the pioneer city had disposing of its sewage.

Starting in a theater beneath Doc Maynard’s Public House in Pioneer Square , the tour also features a montage of early-Seattle personalities, including town founders David “Doc” Maynard, Arthur Denny, and Henry Yesler. Cardboard cutouts of the three men are arranged around the room, helping to bring their stories to life.

Tale Of The Great Seattle Fire

The Great Seattle Fire of 1889 was the impetus for the Underground, and the tour focuses considerable time on that devastating event. As relayed by my tour guide, at 2 p.m. on June 6, 1889, a 19-year-old carpenter-in-training burned the city down when he was melting glue in a pot. Halfway through the melting process, the young carpenter left the glue unattended for about 10–12 minutes. By the time he returned, the glue had come to a boil and began splattering onto the kindling that was lying all around.

Hours later, Seattle’s business district, which consisted mostly of wood buildings, was burned to the ground. Seattle opted to start over with stone and brick buildings, and the Underground was born.

Book Now on GetYourGuide

2. Walking Tour Through Historic Pioneer Square

Starting at Doc Maynard’s, the tour heads into Pioneer Square and under the neighborhood’s famous pergola archway. Known as the birthplace of Seattle, Pioneer Square offers a frozen-in-time look at the brick and stone buildings of downtown Seattle in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The cast iron and glass Pioneer Square Pergola was originally built in 1909 and served as a shelter for cable car passengers on the James Street and Yesler Way lines.

3. Underground Passageways And Storefronts

The Bill Speidel tour is billed as a “stroll through intriguing subterranean storefronts and sidewalks entombed when the city rebuilt on top of itself after the Great Fire of 1889.”

The tour delivers on that claim, taking the participants (there were about 20 of us in my tour group) down a series of stairs and into an area of narrow wooden walkways bordered by brick walls bearing vintage signs that read, “South End Steam Baths” and “Northern Hotel.”

Along the way, my tour guide explained the origin of the Underground. He told the group that after fire wiped out about 33 blocks of Seattle’s main business district in 1889, the city came up with the idea of building high-stone-retaining walls around the city blocks and then dumping dirt between them.

The tour’s website adds that the plan involved building walls on either side of the old streets, filling in the spaces between the walls, and then paving over the fill “to effectively raise the streets, making them one story higher than the old sidewalks that still ran alongside them.” Eventually, hollow tunnels were left between the old and new sidewalks, “creating the passageways of today’s Underground.”  

Book Now on GetYourGuide

4. Seattle Street Views

The Underground Tour includes several separate underground areas, as well as walks in between and along the above-ground city streets and alleys.

One of the highlights for me was walking amidst the vintage Seattle buildings, soaking in the history. I learned, for instance, that tour founder Bill Speidel spearheaded the preservation of the buildings of Pioneer Square , many of which had fallen into disrepair by the mid-1950s. Through letter-writing and petition campaigns, Speidel succeeded by 1970 in getting 25 blocks of brick and stone buildings in Seattle’s birthplace listed on the National Historic Register . Along the way, he founded tours to tell the story of Seattle’s Underground.

Pro Tip: One of the standout buildings in the area is the 38-story Smith Tower , an early Seattle skyscraper. Today, it offers tours and an elevator ride to its observation deck with sweeping views of the region.

5. Underground Museum

The tour concludes in the Underground Tour’s Rogues Gallery, which features photos of characters featured in the tour narrative, as well as Northwest memorabilia from Seattle’s early days.

The Underground Gift Shop offers souvenirs and books, including the Sons of the Profits , a book written by tour founder Bill Speidel, who died in 1988.

• Located on 1st Avenue in Pioneer Square, the Bill Speidel Underground Tour is just a few city blocks from the Seattle Light Rail Pioneer Square Station and is an easy 5-minute walk.
• As another option for underground guided tours in Pioneer Square, Beneath the Streets tours offers a choice of a family-friendly exploration of Seattle’s Underground; an adults-only exploration of the debauchery and vice of early Seattle; and a Queer History Tour.

Related Reading:

• 9 Amazing Things To Do In Seattle When It’s Raining
• My 6 Favorite Attractions To Visit With The Seattle CityPASS
• 14 Ways To Spend A Long Weekend In Washington’s Emerald City: Seattle

Cindy Barks is an Arizona-based newspaper reporter, freelance travel writer, and travel blogger. Her blog, NearandFarAZ gives readers an insider's view of the wonders of the U.S. Southwest, and a traveler's take on far-off locales from Panama to Hong Kong to the Czech Republic. Regardless of the destination, her goal is to find the perfect scenic hike, city walk, beach stroll, or road-trip jaunt, and bring it to life in her blog. Cindy's articles about outdoor adventures have appeared in numerous regional and national publications.

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Visit The Seattle Underground Tour

The Seattle Underground Tour takes tourists into the forgotten world of Seattle as it was in 1900 – “Seattle Underground (3726665129)” by Rennett Stowe

Deep withing the city of Seattle Washington lies an unexpected story. It all began in 1954 when Bill Speidel started touring folks through the tunnels and underground walkways left when Seattle lifted itself out of the mud… It is the story of how Pioneer Square became a historic landmark, and how the history of Seattle was salvaged from the wrecking ball.

If you are interested in bringing a group tour (or private event) please connect with their sales representative at 206-682-4646 extension 118.

It’s one of more than “10 Things You Must See and Do in Seattle.”

What You See On The Seattle Underground Tour

The Bill Speidel’s World Famous Underground Tour is a guided walking tour beneath the streets and sidewalks of current day Seattle. You’ll wander along what was once the main street level along the “ground-floor” storefronts while learning about all kinds of interesting trivia about old Seattle. You start out inside Doc Maynard’s Public House which is a restored 1890’s saloon. It’s been converted into the Underground Café and reportedly offers one of the best Bloody Mary’s in town by one Yelper.

Check out this great story on Mashable about Building Seattle was re-built – leaving the Seattle Underground behind.

From “Building Seattle” – 1905-1930: Seattle regrades, Mashable, August 18, 2015. 1909 – Image: Seattle Municipal Archives

Seattle Underground Tour Location and Contact Information

608 First Ave, in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, between Cherry Street and Yesler Way.

Phone: 206-682 4646

• Information: www.undergroundtour.com
• Eating and Drinking: www.undergroundtour.com/about/dining.html
• Sub Seattle Tour – The folks from Seattle Underground Tour also offer a “Sub Seattle Tour” which they promote as a “Humorous bus tour of offbeat neighborhoods and sights”

NOTE: There are affiliate links on some pages. If you click one of the links and purchase products, we earn a very small commission on your purchase, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for making this blog possible!

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Seattle Underground Tours: Urban Exploration

Welcome to Seattle, a city renowned for its beautiful skyline, ongoing tech revolution, and the birthplace of grunge music. But, there’s more to Seattle and that lies beneath the facade of its thriving surface. Adjoining the pillars of Seattle’s stunning skyscrapers, a hidden network whispers stories of the city’s past. As you journey with us through this piece, you’ll uncover hidden tales, winding alleyways, and historic courtyards deep under the city’s bustling streets. 

“When one thinks of Seattle, it’s the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, or the stunning views of Mount Rainier that come to mind. But beneath the city’s surface, lies a labyrinth unseen and often forgotten, full of architectural marvels and historic charm.”

Ready to delve deeper and unravel what lies below the Emerald City? 

Your Guide to Adventuring Beneath Seattle’s Streets 

Start by striding into the lesser-known, yet mesmerizing world of Seattle’s Underground. In the heart of the city, beneath Pioneer Square, a network of subterranean passageways awaits the urban adventurer like you: 

• The Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour : A guided journey that takes you through a sequence of interconnected tunnels, providing a glimpse of 19th century Seattle .
• The Beneath the Streets Tour : Focusing on small, personal groups, this tour invites you to explore restored spaces and exclusive areas , offering a more intimate look into underground .

From antique brick tunnels to remnants of old roads and shop fronts – each fold of this underground quilt adds to the rich tapestry of Seattle’s history. So lace up your boots, switch on your curiosity, and prepare for an exploration like no other!

Beneath the Surface: Unlocking the Secrets of Seattle’s Underground

You’re now embarking on a journey through a lost city, a subterranean labyrinth that many are unaware of, right at the doorstep of the bustling streets above. But before you leap into this epic urban adventure, there are some intriguing facts and stories that can significantly enhance your experience. So, gather around, intrepid explorers, for your history lesson begins here. 

Seattle’s unique geography and early development laid the foundation for this hidden world . The city was built on incredibly hilly terrain, and after the Great Fire of 1889, the decision was made to flatten the hills. But rather than waiting for these regrading operations to finish — an endeavor that took years — the residents and businesses quickly rebuilt. The result? An incredible two-tier city where the newly raising roads towered up to 22 feet above the old sidewalks. 

“Seattle’s people were quite the resilient bunch — they persisted, adapted, and thrived in a city being elevated right above their heads.”

Okay, quick stop for some essential gear check . Like any adventurer, you’ll need to be adequately prepared for this subterranean journey. Make sure to bring sturdy shoes for walking on uneven terrain, a warm layer as temperatures can be chillier underground, a flashlight to help in poorly lit sections, and of course, a can-do spirit ready to uncover secrets from the past! Let’s continue. 

With the city slowly rising above, you might be wondering how they accessed the new roads. Quite creatively, they built ladders to climb up to entrances of buildings and even used them to cross the streets! These relict ladders and sidewalks are still visible on the tour today, playfully nicknamed “Areaways.” 

So, what were these underground spaces used for? From storage spaces, restroom facilities, to what evolved into some pretty scandalous activities during the prohibition era—sounds enticing, doesn’t it? But more about that on the tour itself; we wouldn’t want to spoil all the surprises. 

Before we go, there’s one more fact you should know. The underground city was hidden away and forgotten for decades until the late Bill Speidel, a local historian, started public tours in the late 1960s. His tours, initially aimed at saving Pioneer Square from demolition, have now become one of the most exciting ways to learn about Seattle’s forgotten past. Take a moment to appreciate the legacy that has made this adventure possible for us today. 

Ready to descend? Be prepared to rediscover Seattle like never before.

Discovering Seattle’s Forgotten Past: Tales of the Underground Network

Imagine stepping into a dimly lit cavernous tunnel, the air thick with stories of bygone days. This is no ordinary journey – capture the thrill of stepping back in time and into the heart of Seattle’s forgotten past. The city’s underground network is a progeny of Seattle’s Great Fire in 1889. After the blaze consumed the city, Seattle embarked on a grand reconstruction project that essentially resulted in the city being raised one level, leaving a labyrinth of tunnels and rooms beneath. 

Subterranean Seattle , as the locals call it, is more than just the city’s foundation; it’s a time capsule. Come, let’s unlock its tales! 

Let’s begin with the Pioneer Building , one of the oldest and most fascinating structures in the city. This late 19th century edifice hides a web of passageways that once bustled with activity. Forgotten establishments, think old saloons and opium dens, echo eerie reminders of a past lifestyle far removed from our modern world. 

Walking through these hallowed subterranean pathways, one breathes in the heady perfume of history – a mix of dampness, old timber and brickwork, and time itself.

As we further navigate, we come across the remnants of the old city hall basement. Enveloped in semi-darkness, there’s a sense of gravitas that washes over you. Decades ago, this room must have echoed with the assertion of power and authority. 

• The Ghost Alley: A place with a history filled with tales of the supernatural, you may feel a shiver run down your spine as you navigate through this section of the underground.
• The Purple Store’s Basement: This whimsical spot doubles as both a storage area for the Purple Store upstairs and hosts one of the more colorful histories of Seattle’s underbelly.
• Ye Olde Curiosity Shop’s Basement: Full of peculiar findings from the past, this place suggests the city’s long-standing penchant for the unique and odd.

To truly immerse yourself in the narrative of lost Seattle, taking an organized tour is a promising option. The Seattle Underground Tour , for instance, offers a captivating journey through the network of forgotten passageways. It brings alive the fascinating tales of resilience, entrepreneurship, and a hint of rebel spirit that has always been at the heart of the city’s transformation. 

So, next time you find yourself in Seattle, why not indulge in some urban adventure beneath the streets? With every step, every whispered secret, you’ll find yourself transported to another era, walking alongside the ghosts of Seattle’s past.

From Subways to Speakeasies: Tracing Seattle’s Underground History

Let’s play time-travelers, and step back into the 19th century. Picture this: After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, instead of rebuilding the city as it was, the city’s residents decided to raise the street levels, providing an answer to the city’s insufficient sewage system. But what happened to the old city beneath? It is still there, eerily silent and mostly unseen, inviting the most curious of adventurers to uncover its secrets. 

The Starting Point: Pioneer Square  

Your journey into the depths of Seattle history begins at the heart of the city’s vibrant past, Pioneer Square. This was Seattle’s original neighborhood, boasting an array of establishments, such as hotels, bars, and brothels, that thrived beneath the streets when the city was raised. Although replaced by modern structures above ground, the remnants of this previous era lay beneath, locked away in time. 

The Seattle Underground tour in Pioneer Square gives you unparalleled access to these remnants. But before we delve into that, it’s worth taking a moment to appreciate the significance of our starting point. Soak in the sights of Pioneer Square and imagine the hustle and bustle of the past era. Are you ready to take the leap? 

• Step 1: Start by touring some of the underground storefronts that were once at ground level. Left in a state of preservation, these spaces give an intriguing glimpse into past eras, with storefronts perfectly intact and sidewalks still adorned with cherished skylights.
• Step 2: Notice the forgotten alleys that once were frequented by crowds. Even today, you can almost hear the echoes of past laughter and whispered secrets still echoing through them.
• Step 3: And lastly, venture to the underground passages that connected these establishments. Dark, mysterious and narrow, these passages whisper tales of past intrigues and furtive meetings.

While the journey through Seattle’s underground network is a thrilling tour back in time, it’s not for the faint-hearted. Surreal, chilling, and gritty memories may be evoked. But for those with a spirit of exploration and a sense of adventure, there are compelling narratives waiting to unfold, narratives that resonate with Seattle’s forgotten history.

Remember, it’s all about understanding Seattle from a deeper perspective. Celebrate the resilience and innovation of a city that refused to stay grounded even in the face of disaster. Nothing spells urban adventure like navigating the hidden underground network of Seattle – a unique experience etched with riveting history and unwavering spirit.

So, we dare you. Come down from those towering skyscrapers, step away from the bustling, modern streets and dive beneath the surface. Seattle’s historic underground awaits you.

The Labyrinth Below: Navigating Seattle’s Underground Maze

Imagine, for a moment, that you’re standing on the bustling streets of downtown Seattle. Amid the pulsating hum of the cityscape, a different call to adventure awaits beneath your feet, one that elicits an aura of the city’s faded past. Sounds like a premise from a fictional novel, right? But don’t be surprised, it’s right here in Seattle – an underground network of pathways and structures lost to time, waiting to be explored. 

With that spirit of urban archeology in mind, let’s delve deeper into the mysterious, enchanting labyrinth that is Seattle’s underground network. 

Steps to the Abyss 

From today’s bustling city streets, it’s hard to imagine a time when Seattle was a maze of narrow alleys and tottering wooden structures. The city we see now was built atop the Great Seattle Fire’s ruins in 1889. Old storefronts and sidewalks were buried, creating a layered time capsule. Today, these catacombs provide an intriguing journey through Seattle’s history. 

The Underground Tour: Unraveling Mysteries with Every Step 

The best way to understand and appreciate the underground labyrinth is through Seattle’s long-standing “Underground Tour.” Here, you’re not only exploring darkened corners but also recovering stories tucked away in forgotten alleys, hidden basements, and walled-up doorways. 

Each turn unearths a new layer of history: remnants of ancient Seattle, like the original Skid Road, Victorian Era establishments, even forbidden subterranean speakeasies of the Prohibition Era. The tour guides interweave these relics with colorful tales, making them come alive again. 

Rewriting maps 

While journeying beneath the city, the stark contrast between above and below will astonish you. Above, the city pulses with sleek high-rises and modern infrastructure, while beneath, you’re touching remnants of a bygone era. Picnic tables sit where wealthy merchants once negotiated deals. Ghostly shopfronts hide behind years of cobwebs. Every step takes you further back in time, effectively rewriting your mental map of Seattle. 

So, ready to embark on an urban adventure unlike any other? Your journey in Seattle’s underground maze awaits. Its twisted alleyways and hidden histories offer a chance to become an explorer, rediscovering a Seattle many have forgotten.

Ghosts of the Underground

As your exploration advances, you may come across whispers of the unseen—and it’s not just the sound of the light rail rattling above. Popular lore suggests that the underbelly of Seattle has its fair share of ghostly denizens. A myriad of urban legends and ghost stories have gained ground over the years about the Ghosts of the Underground . 

Haunted catacombs or not, these tales definitely add an extra layer of thrill to the adventure. Here are some of the most blood-curdling stories that have marinated through generations: 

• The lady in red: Call it a mere spectral illusion or the flicker of history, but numerous reports cite a mysterious woman dressed in red roaming the underground labyrinth’s corridors. As the legend goes, it is believed that she was a protective spirit who used to frequent the district during its early days.
• The unsettling crying baby: This is perhaps the most spine-chilling fact about Seattle’s underground network. Many visitors have alleged to hear sounds of a baby crying from unseen corners. Considered a tragic reminder of the city’s darker past, this spectral phenomenon continues to intrigue and unsettle in equal measures.
• The watchful shadow figures: Glimpses of shadowy figures watching from afar are another common paranormal claim, painting an eerie scene. It is hypothesized that these phantom watchers could potentially be the lingering energy of Seattle’s industrious pioneers.

Remember: don’t let these stories dissuade you from your adventure. They are a part of Seattle’s vibrant history and only add to its enthralling allure.

As you traverse the dimly lit corridors beneath the bustling cityscape, walking in the traces of time, it’s hard to shake off the sense of the uncanny. However, remember that these stories add more color to the underground city, making your adventure beneath Seattle a journey not only through space but also through time.

Your exploration into Seattle’s hidden underground network has been quite an adventure! You’ve delved deep into the city’s forgotten history, discovering tales whispered through the hollow chambers of deserted subways and clandestine speakeasies. It’s been a journey of discovery, filled with fascinating historical insights and a newfound appreciation for the city’s rich past. 

What began as an unassuming urban exploration evolved into a thrilling labyrinthine quest beneath the bustle of Seattle’s streets. Every twist and turn unveiled a new mystery; every dusty corner held the potential of unearthing a relic from a bygone era. 

Remember, though, the underground network isn’t just a collection of ancient structures—it’s an enduring testament to Seattle’s tenacity, innovation, and resilience in the face of adversity.

But don’t hang up your explorer’s hat just yet. The ghostly whispers of the past echo loudest to those who continue to seek , and it’s guaranteed that the labyrinth below has many more secrets awaiting your discovery. So, next time you tread the cobbled streets of Seattle, pause and give a thought to the hushed tales murmured beneath your feet. 

In the end, exploring Seattle’s enigmatic underground isn’t just an urban adventure—it’s an enthralling journey into the city’s heart. So go on, shine a light into the atypical, the overlooked, and the hidden. Who knows what secrets the shadows might yield? 

Here’s to your next adventure in exploring Seattle’s lesser-known annals. Happy adventuring!

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The Spooky Seattle Underground

The early American settlers of Seattle didn’t put much thought into city planning. Most of the town was at sea level, causing heavy flooding when the waters rose. Secondly, just about everything was made out of wood, making Seattle a massive tinderbox. It all came to a crux in June of 1889, when the Great Seattle Fire wiped out much of downtown, causing today’s equivalent of half a billion dollars in damages. In the aftermath of the restoration, city leaders decided to elevate the city streets by about 12 feet, leaving behind a network of underground tunnels that remain to this day. Once businesses left the tunnels for their new street-level storefronts, they became a seedy hangout for gamblers, sex workers, and drug users. Today, the Seattle Underground is mostly abandoned. Or at least, by the living. There are plenty of ghosts who haven’t left their spooky underground hangout behind. The tunnels are known for ghost sightings, particularly the old bank and a brothel called the Oriental Hotel. The most encountered spirit is Edward the bank teller, who was killed in a shootout. There’s also a woman who was killed behind the bank vault, as well as the apparitions of several sex workers seen strolling through the tunnels. There are several instances of ghostly apparitions having been caught on camera, and orbs of light are commonly seen floating around the tunnels.

Seattle’s Early History

Indigenous peoples have lived in the Puget Sound area for thousands of years. They know the layout of the land. They knew the area was prone to floods. So when the American settlers arrived and decided to build the lumber trading post that would become Seattle, they were too ignorant to consult with the locals before planning their city layout. Most of the downtown area was built on the beach, placing it right at sea level. As one can imagine, the early days of downtown were rife with flooding. Add in the fact that sewage treatment wasn’t really a thing back then, and you had a stinky problem washing right up at your feet.

The second big problem? Seattle’s city leaders at the time were a bit too resourceful. They took advantage of the lumber industry and built damn near everything out of wood. From the buildings to walkways to bridges, even the sewage pipes were made with hollowed-out logs. Seattle’s wet climate meant that it was probably a very damp environment, so nobody was thinking about fire. But still, these were the days before electricity. Chemicals like kerosene, turpentine, and pitch, all very flammable, were common inside buildings, being used for construction or fuel for lanterns. The city was a tinderbox. It just needed a spark.

The Great Fire of Seattle

In June of 1886, a fledgling carpenter put a pot of glue on the stove and brought it to a boil. He forgot about it, and the glue boiled over. It caught fire in a room full of sawdust, wood, and turpentine. Needless to say, the fire spread rapidly, and the room was engulfed in flames within the span of a few minutes. Flammable liquids caught fire and permeated the cracks of the building. Within a few hours, multiple city blocks were on fire. The wooden infrastructure helped the fire spread, causing explosions when the fire reached saloons and breweries. Just 24 hours later, most of downtown had been destroyed. After assessing the damage, city leaders began the plan to rebuild.

Birth of the Seattle Underground

The city’s two main issues were to be addressed in the rebuilding. Buildings were to be constructed out of stone to protect against fire, and the city streets were to be elevated to protect against flooding. Building brick houses is a breeze, but raising the city streets? The city planners had a difficult road ahead of them.

To raise the streets, walls were built separating the storefronts from the road, creating small alleyways. The streets were filled in with concrete piece by piece. Businesses still operated out of their lower-level storefronts, though they had already begun to build their upper-level storefronts as well. It was a strange time to live in Seattle, as pedestrians had to climb up and down ladders to go from the street to the store. Fully furnished businesses and adorned doorways hung 12 to 15 feet above the ground.

Once construction was finished, business owners moved up to the new street level. Some continued using the lower level for their shops, and others even operated their entire business from the Underground. In 1909, the city condemned the tunnels for fear of the bubonic plague, just two years before the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Expo. Businesses were forced to relocate. What remained were tunnels that were furnished with the leftovers of a past age. As with most abandoned areas in big cities, the Seattle Underground became a haven for the city’s homeless. Drug dens, gambling houses, and brothels flourished.

The tunnels were cleared out by the 1940s and remained mostly forgotten until the past few decades. Journalist Bill Spiegel played a big part in bringing attention to the tunnels when he started doing tours in the Underground in 1965. Today, the Seattle Underground is mainly a tourist trap, attracting history enthusiasts and ghostly tour groups. All sorts of items remain in the tunnels, from antique signage to random pieces of furniture. While it looks like it may have been purposely furnished to add an aura of authenticity, the reality is that everything in the Underground was there from the very beginning.

Ghosts of the Seattle Underground

Throughout the years, the tunnels underneath Pioneer Square have collected dust, dirt, random treasures, and of course, human spirits. Plenty of ghosts live in the Seattle Underground, some from the days when it was a sketchy hangout, others from way back when the tunnels were above ground. The two main haunted hotspots of the Underground are the old bank, and a former brothel called the Oriental Hotel. 

In the early days, Pioneer Square was rife with violent shootouts as police and businessmen fought for control of the city. Innocent bystanders were often caught in the crossfire. This is the story of poor ol’ Edward the bank teller. Edward worked at the city’s old bank, which at the time allowed 24/7 withdrawals for gold prospectors. He was shot and killed while working behind the teller’s cage, probably the result of the city’s ongoing feud, as it’s unknown whether it was a robbery or shootout.

Edward’s apparition has been seen near the teller’s cage of the old bank. He’s recognizable by his tall figure, suspenders, top hat, and impressively large handlebar mustache. His voice has been caught on EVP, and some tourists say they’ve been able to hold a short conversation with Edward. The ghost of a woman who was killed behind the bank vault has also been seen in the area. She’s been caught in a few photos, and tourists claim to have seen orbs and felt cold spots in the area where she usually appears.

The Oriental Hotel was once a brothel, where the “seamstresses,” code for sex workers, would provide their services. Some say they’re still working in the afterlife, as female silhouettes have been seen prowling the tunnels near the area.

The Seattle Underground has countless other ghosts hiding in its midst. Faces are often seen in the windows at the tunnel’s entrance. There’s the transparent apparition of a woman in an all-white dress who has been spotted in different parts of the tunnels. One couple caught another mysterious woman wearing a Victorian-era outfit while taking a selfie. Though the Seattle Underground has been long abandoned, its spiritual presence is alive and well.

Learn more about the haunted history of Seattle!

Welcome to the Pacific Northwest! PNW represent! Besides being a haven for outdoor recreation, there’s also a ton of ghosts and spirits hanging around. Get some fresh smoked salmon at Pike Place Market! The century-old market is home to several ghosts, including Princess Angeline, Chief Seattle’s oldest daughter. Her cabin stood where the market is today, and her spirit is often seen strolling around at night. Catch a show at the Moore Theatre. They say that the ghost of Mr. Moore can still be seen hanging around the theatre, along with his troupe of female performers. Want to spend a night at the Sorrento Hotel? It’s considered one of the most haunted places in the city, if not the entire state. This Italian-inspired hotel is home to the ghost of Alice B. Toklas. Besides being the creator of the oh-so-loved pot brownie, she also played a mean piano. Guests and staff of the Sorrento Hotel say they can hear Alice playing the piano in the penthouse suite on days when the room is empty. Before making your next visit, you should check out the top ten most haunted places in Seattle right here!

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A Little History

614 1st Avenue, in Pioneer Place Park, Pioneer Square, between Cherry and James Street. Take the James Street Exit from Interstate 5.

206-682-4646

Did you know?

The term “Skid Road” came from Pioneer Square

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The story of Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour begins in 1954. It really is the story of how Pioneer Square was saved, because the Underground Tour was the unanticipated product of this effort. By that year, Pioneer Square had fallen into such a state of disrepair few recognized it as the city’s birthplace. It occurred to Bill Speidel’s wife, Shirley, that Bill, a publicist, could do some pro bono work for an idea that had come to interest them both. “Why don’t you get Pioneer Square restored?” she asked him.

“I can do anything Shirley makes up her mind I can do,” Bill Speidel later recalled. He set about learning all he could about Pioneer Square, and plotted to reverse decades of deterioration and neglect. Seattleites knew so little hometown history that the existence of “passageways beneath the city” was a local rumor sensible people didn’t repeat.

“I poked around and said things to the newspapers like, ‘Behold!’ and ‘we must do something.’ They printed this stuff,” Speidel said, prompting a letter to The Seattle Times newspaper inquiring about rumors that the ruins of early Seattle lay underneath its modern-day streets in Pioneer Square. Were there tours of the passageways? In one of its popular columns, the newspaper referred the inquiry to Speidel. “We got 300 letters and a flock of telephone calls in the next two days,” from people who had read the column and wanted to take a tour, Speidel said.

“Well, there I was with 300 people dying to take an underground tour and no underground tours to offer,” he said. “And they weren’t just 300 people who dashed off a letter and forgot about it. They were 300 people who tried to call me every day.” So overwhelming was the response, he said, “it was easier to find out whether there was a buried city—which I sincerely doubted—than to stay in the office and take all that abuse.”

At about the same time, Speidel was struck by a little controversy that had cropped up at City Hall. “The Seattle City Council had voted ‘tops’ for topless go-go dancers because 25 protest letters were sent in. “I thought, what if I could get 300 letters sent in to the City Council demanding an ordinance designating Pioneer Square an historical site? Visitors on the tour could sign petitions. That would stop the ball-and-chain guys from knocking down more landmarks like the great old Seattle Hotel,” at First Avenue and Yesler Way, replaced now by what is known around the neighborhood as, “The Sinking Ship Garage.”

Speidel ultimately did find the remains of the city consumed in the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, a town founded on mostly soggy tideflats whose streets would, whenever the rains came, bloat deep enough with mud to consume dogs and small children.

After the fire, which destroyed some 25 square blocks of mostly wooden buildings in the heart of Seattle, it was unanimously decided that all new construction must be of stone or brick masonry. The city also decided to rise up from the muck in which its original streets lay. It was this decision that created the Underground: The city built retaining walls, eight feet or higher, on either side of the old streets, filled in the space between the walls, and paved over the fill to effectively raise the streets, making them one story higher than the old sidewalks that still ran alongside them.

Building owners, eager to capitalize on an 1890s economic boom, quickly rebuilt on the old, low, muddy ground where they had been before, unmindful of the fact that their first floor display windows and lobbies soon would become basements. Eventually, sidewalks bridged the gap between the new streets and the second story of buildings, leaving hollow tunnels (as high as 35 feet in some places) between the old and new sidewalks, and creating the passageways of today’s Underground.

Eight years after the fire, in 1897, the Yukon Gold Rush brought 100,000 adventurers through Seattle en route to Alaska. The resultant financial boom brought to Pioneer Square all manner of entrepreneurs, including barmen and gamblers, con men and madams. When the rush was over 10 years later, these slippery people stayed on and gave the area a bad name. Reputable businesses moved uptown, and Pioneer Square was quickly forgotten. The city’s birthplace lay virtually undisturbed, like the ruins of Pompeii, for nearly two-thirds of a century, before it occurred to anyone that it might be a good idea to preserve it.

“I guess about 600 people in all helped us establish the fact of the buried city,” Speidel recalled. Meanwhile, Speidel fed each discovery to the newspapers.

“Well, the news media kept whooping it up and it got so letters were coming in from as far away as Cairo—Egypt, not Illinois. Even the City Council was impressed and took a tour of inspection. Not out of vulgar curiosity, mind you, but in the civic interest.

“I frankly told them they were the hunk of meat hanging in the tree that I was jumping for, and if 25 letters could kill off topless dancers, 300 could get the neighborhood designated an historic district. “They laughed and nodded and said pleasant things in unison.” But they didn’t exactly a-go-go.

“Then in May, 1965, when the Junior Chamber of Commerce held its ‘Know Your Seattle Day,’ they persuaded us to conduct tours for one day at a buck a head.”

When Bill and Shirley arrived to give the first public tour, Pioneer Place Park, “was packed with people holding dollar bills. We took 500 people on tours that day.”

The Speidels soon scheduled public tours: The Underground Tour finally was opened to the public. Soon after, the mayor was presented with 100,000 names on a petition, and in May, 1970, the Seattle City Council adopted an ordinance naming 20 square blocks in Pioneer Square an Historic District. Later, Pioneer Square became the city’s first neighborhood to be so listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Speidel always was sure who should get the credit: “A lot of other people worked making it possible, but all I can say is, thank God for the go-go girls!”

America in the 1950s was a land of contradictions, torn between the values that won World War II and futuristic visions of an ideal world. The downtown cores of many cities were in decay. Families moved to the suburbs in pastel-painted station wagons, and commuted to work and school in all sorts of futuristic Detroit dream machines with big fins. The automobile reigned supreme. Freeways were needed. And parking lots. Raze the old, start anew!

It was government sanctioned devastation, but the idea that you could bulldoze blight, start ever-so-fresh, and live happily, sanitarily ever after, had the same sort of post-war appeal that led to Formica dinette sets and polyester underwear.

In the historical quarters, the infrastructure was not always sufficiently developed, but pharmacies were a must, although now it is possible to order medicines cheaper .

At the same time, ironically, Congress enacted the National Historic Preservation Act, the very tool to reverse this trend. The Preservation Act and related ordinances at the state and local levels, were designed to preserve historic character and ensure sensitive restoration in old neighborhoods. At the time, building owners in Seattle’s old Pioneer Square district were loathe to put a dime into their holdings because the buildings adjacent theirs might never see improvement, or could be torn down without warning and turned into monstrous concrete parking garages by the Seattle Central Association, a sworn enemy of any and all historic preservation, and whose members’ vision, Speidel pointed out routinely, “extended not quite to the tips of their noses.” A public relations campaign wasn’t about to change these guys’ views. Designation of Pioneer Square as an Historic District, however, gave preservation the credibility it needed to capture the interest of bankers. Now, recalcitrant building owners began to listen.

The city kicked in funds for upgrading public right-of-ways and public spaces. The Feds came up with a nice little tax-credit program for historic buildings, and—along with adventuresome tenants such as artists, architects, gallery owners, nightclubs and the Underground Tour—the preservation of Pioneer Square was underway.

Today, Pioneer Square and the Pike Place Market, a few blocks north, are Seattle’s famous old downtown neighborhoods. It’s difficult now to imagine how underappreciated they once were, or how close we came to losing each of them.

Big trees everywhere. Plenty of underbrush. Cliffs and streams. And a whole lot of mud. That’s where the city of Seattle sat.

When the region’s early settlers looked around them, Puget Sound was the only horizontal surface they saw for miles, except for the tideflats, which you could smell long before you got close enough to see them, according to hop farmer Ezra Meeker, the area’s leading promoter at the time.

Even so, Arthur Denny, pioneer and the first Seattle developer, so to speak, was hooked on the deepwater harbor of Elliott Bay, which he’d been measuring for weeks with a horseshoe and bits of string. In the 1850s, a town needed a deep harbor to be on the freeway of maritime commerce.

Denny’s nemesis was one Dr. David Swinson Maynard. Where Denny was uptight and frugal, Maynard was free-wheeling and generous. Doc Maynard had a sense of humor, Denny didn’t.

These differences fueled a long-standing tension between the two. Yet, when the teetotalling Denny contracted malaria, it was Maynard who saved his life. But here’s how: with laudnaum—a concoction of opium dissolved in alcohol. Furthermore, as Denny sunk under the auspicies of the medicine, Maynard opened one-on-one negotiations for property owned by Denny’s brother-in-law, which really wasn’t for sale. Well, Denny lived. And the real estate Maynard acquired, because he thought it would make a perfect downtown core, comprises a portion of today’s historic Pioneer Square.

One thing both men shared was the absolute determination to get a city going here. Twenty-five years after Doc got here, of the 208 businesses in Seattle’s first business directory, 196 of them were in Maynardtown, which in time became known as Pioneer Square. A lot of what Arthur Denny did well was to get rich: History remembered him. Doc Maynard was forgotten. Until 1978, when Bill Speidel wrote, “ Doc Maynard: The Man Who Invented Seattle .”

Where the land was not soggy from Puget Sound seepage, it was saturated by rainfall. After trees were cut and wagons passed through, it was one muddy mess. That’s when the filling began.

Early fill came from Henry Yesler’s steam-powered sawmill, which repaired potholes with what they had the most of: sawdust. Typically, Henry had discovered a method of looking like he promoted the good of the city while conveniently dumping his mill’s waste into nearby streets. Later we made him mayor.

Early entrepreneurs such as Yesler did lucrative business with folks in places such as San Francisco, who were willing to pay big for the trees we were trying to clear off our land. Ships coming to load timber had to carry weight, ballast, on the way up, usually in the form of rocks or land fill. Vessels were charged for dumping ballast off at the foot of Washington Street. So it was that the city got a little something on the side while helping early realtors make their own land from scratch. (And that, too, is how a good portion of Telegraph Hill, San Francisco, ended up in Puget Sound.)

The town’s proximity to sea level caused a new problem, literally, to rise up. In 1851, the same year the Denny party arrived, a fancy new device was introduced at the White House. It was called a “water closet,” and, boy, did these things take off in popularity. Even in the tiny frontier town of Seattle, indoor toilets became the rage.

By 1882, the city health commissioner, in his annual report, highlighted the fact that our sewers were operating at full blast, but it wasn’t a one-way river. Twice a day when the tides came in, the sewers flowed with it—backwards. Toilets became fountains!

With sawdust in the streets, buildings on stilts and toilets turning into geysers on a daily basis, Seattle was badly in need of remodeling. The perfect chance came on June 6, 1889, when Jon Back, a young Swedish carpenter’s apprentice in a shop at Front and Madison streets, let his glue boil over onto wood chips. The fire he started tore through downtown, devouring wood-planked streets and ticky-tacky wood buildings.

Firefighters were thwarted when the private water system—owned by three of the city’s leading citizens—proved to have not enough pressure to make the hoses effective. Desperate for another source of water, firefighters scrambled to the nearby shores of Puget Sound— and found the tide was out. The tide had them coming and going in those days.

By the time the fire was through, some 25 blocks of the central business district was gone.

Nevertheless, we think our fire was great. That’s why we call it The Great Seattle Fire.

“It was the biggest fire any city in the Pacific Northwest ever had,” Speidel would enthuse, “and the timing was right. “In a fire, timing is everything. If Tacoma (Seattle’s neighbor city just down the road) had had a fire, they’d probably have goofed up the timing. As it was, ours was just right. It was big news all over the world. It brought in about $120,000 in relief money and glory, because we were a brave little frontier town that had been wiped out and was manfully trying to rebuild itself.”

Along with financial relief, Seattle gained 17,000 new residents in her race with Tacoma for dominance of the region. In one fell swoop, the city rid itself of 30 years of ramshackle construction and poor planning—urban renewal before its time.

And, absolutely unintentionally, the “Underground” was created.

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A hostage in Gaza is rescued by Israel after 326 days of captivity

Israel Palestinians In this photo released by the Israel Prime Minister Office on Tuesday, Aug. 27, 2024, Kaid Farhan Al-Qadi, 52, right, who was held hostage by Hamas militants in Gaza sits in a room at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba, Israel. (Israel Prime Minister Office via AP) (Uncredited/AP)

BEERSHEBA, Israel — (AP) — Qaid Farhan Alkadi was alone underground Tuesday after 326 days of captivity in Gaza when Israeli forces scouring Hamas' vast tunnel network found and freed him.

“Suddenly, I heard someone speaking Hebrew outside the door, I couldn’t believe it, I couldn’t believe it,” Alkadi, 52, recounted from an Israeli hospital during a phone call with Israel’s president as his large Bedouin Arab family gathered around his bedside in a joyful reunion.

He was the eighth hostage to be rescued by Israeli forces since about 250 were kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack that ignited the war , and the first to be found alive underground. The rescue brought a rare moment of relief to Israelis after 10 months of war but also served as a painful reminder that dozens of hostages are still in captivity as international mediators try to broker a cease-fire in which they would be released.

Alkadi expressed gratitude during the call with Israeli President Isaac Herzog and urged his country's leaders to do everything possible to free the dozens still in captivity. "Work 24 hours, don’t sleep until they return. People are really suffering, you can’t imagine,” he said, according to a transcript of the call provided by Herzog’s office.

Alkadi was found in a southern Gaza tunnel where hostages were suspected to be alongside militants and explosives, according to the military. He was held in a number of locations during his captivity, according to Israel’s military spokesman, Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the rescue was part of the army’s “daring and courageous activities conducted deep inside the Gaza Strip.”

The military said it applied “lessons” learned during previous operations while rescuing Alkadi. Earlier in the war, Israeli troops who encountered three hostages inside Gaza accidentally shot and killed them, believing them to be militants.

Alkadi was one of eight members of Israel’s Bedouin Arab minority abducted on Oct. 7. He was working as a guard at a packing factory in Kibbutz Magen, one of several farming communities that came under attack. He has two wives and is the father of 11 children.

Israel believes there are still 108 hostages in Gaza and that about one-third of them are dead. Most of the rest were freed during a weeklong cease-fire in November in exchange for the release of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

Footage released by the Israeli military showed Alkadi moments after the rescue. Unshaven and wearing a white tank top, he is seen sitting and smiling with soldiers before boarding a helicopter to a hospital. He appeared emaciated but officials described his condition as stable.

His large family gathered at the hospital in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba to welcome him home.

One of his brothers held Alkadi’s infant son, who was born while he was in captivity and had not yet met his father, the brother said.

“We’re so excited to hug him and see him and tell him that we’re all here with him,” a family member who gave his name as Faez told Channel 12. “I hope that every hostage will come home so the families can experience this happiness.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also spoke with Alkadi by phone soon after he arrived at the hospital. He said that Israel would rely on rescue operations and negotiations to bring the remaining hostages home.

“Both ways together require our military presence in the field, and unceasing military pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

Referring to Netanyahu by a traditional Arabic nickname, Alkadi thanked the prime minister for enabling him to see his family again, according to a video of the call provided by Netanyahu’s office.

Alkadi reminded Netanyahu that “there are others waiting.” To which Netanyahu replied, “we haven’t forgotten anyone, just as we haven’t forgotten you.”

Hamas-led militants abducted some 250 people during their Oct. 7 attack in Israel in which some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 40,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, who do not say how many were militants. It has displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people from their homes and caused heavy destruction across the besieged territory.

Israeli airstrikes continued on Tuesday across the Gaza Strip, and Palestinian officials said at least 18 people, including eight children, were killed in the attacks.

Two previous Israeli operations to free hostages killed scores of Palestinians. Hamas says several hostages have been killed in Israeli airstrikes and failed rescue attempts. Israeli troops mistakenly killed three Israelis who escaped captivity in December.

Mazen Abu Siam, a close family friend waiting at the hospital, said the family was overjoyed to hear the news, but they were still praying for a cease-fire.

“We are waiting for a deal for one year," Siam told The Associated Press.

The United States, Egypt and Qatar have spent months trying to negotiate an agreement in which the remaining hostages would be freed in exchange for a lasting cease-fire. Those talks are ongoing, but there has been no sign of any breakthrough.

Netanyahu has faced intense criticism from families of the hostages and much of the Israeli public for not yet reaching a deal with Hamas to bring them home.

Hamas hopes to trade the hostages for a lasting cease-fire, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza and the release of a large number of Palestinian prisoners, including high-profile militants.

Last week, after the Israeli military recovered the bodies of six hostages in southern Gaza, Israel's military spokesperson, Hagari, said the army was working to gather more intelligence for rescue operations. But he added that "we cannot bring everyone back through rescue operations alone."

Lidman reported from Jerusalem. Julia Frankel contributed reporting from Jerusalem.

Follow AP's war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The Evening

The special counsel filed revised charges against trump.

Also, Israeli forces rescued a hostage from Gaza. Here’s the latest from the end of Tuesday.

By Matthew Cullen

Federal prosecutors today issued a new version of their indictment accusing Donald Trump of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. The revised document stripped out some charges in order to help it survive the Supreme Court’s recent ruling granting former presidents broad immunity for official acts in office.

The filing from Jack Smith, the special counsel, came just days before he and Trump’s lawyers were scheduled to provide the judge overseeing the case with proposals for how to assess the Supreme Court ruling. It is not yet clear how today’s charges will affect those proceedings.

In the new filing, Smith’s team removed all the allegations regarding Trump’s attempts to strong-arm the Justice Department into supporting his false claims that the election had been rigged against him. Those efforts could be considered official acts under the Supreme Court’s ruling.

But much of the old indictment, which was filed last year, remained untouched. Trump is accused of overlapping conspiracies to defraud the U.S., obstruct the certification of the election at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and deprive millions of Americans of their rights to have their votes counted.

For more: Keep track of all of the criminal cases against Trump .

The presidential election is 70 days away. Here’s the latest from the campaign trail.

Trump asked R.F.K. Jr. to join his transition team

Donald Trump plans to name his former campaign rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Tulsi Gabbard, a onetime Democrat, as honorary co-chairs of his presidential transition team . The team will help Trump select the policies and personnel for a potential second administration, according to a campaign senior adviser.

Both Kennedy and Gabbard spent most of their public lives as progressive Democrats. But Gabbard and Kennedy recently endorsed Trump after accumulating followings among right-wing voters.

For Kennedy, the transition role comes at the end of long journey from prominent environmental activist to a supporter of Trump , who has called climate change a “hoax.” His independent campaign was once viewed as a potential spoiler for Democrats. Now, they see his association with Trump as another chance to portray the Republican candidate as “weird .”

Here’s what else to know:

Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, will sit for an interview with CNN on Thursday .

Both Trump and Kamala Harris embrace tariffs as a way to protect American industries. But their approaches differ .

Will Harris’s lead in the polls last? Our chief political analyst explained what we know .

What would you like to know about the election? Send us your question and we’ll take it to our reporters.

Israeli forces rescued a hostage from Gaza

Israel’s military announced today that it had rescued an Israeli citizen who had been abducted during the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7. Officials said that Israeli soldiers had found him by chance in an underground room during a sweep of a Hamas tunnel network in southern Gaza.

Israeli officials identified the man as 52-year-old Farhan al-Qadi , who is a member of the country’s Bedouin Arab minority and the first Israeli Arab hostage to be rescued alive since October. More than 100 hostages remain in Gaza, at least 30 of whom Israeli authorities presume to be dead.

A rare mosquito-borne virus has the Northeast on alert

One person has died in New Hampshire after contracting Eastern equine encephalitis, a mosquito-borne virus, and two others in the Northeast have been infected. Heath officials in the region urged residents to take precautions between dusk and dawn, when mosquitoes are most active. My colleague Amanda Holpuch explained what to know about the illness, and how to avoid it .

More top news

Ukraine: Russia extended for a second day a far-reaching bombing campaign targeting Kyiv and other cities.

China: President Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, arrived in Beijing for talks .

Brazil: Wildfires are roaring across the Pantanal, the world’s largest wetlands and one of the most biodiverse area on the planet.

Education: Pro-Palestinian activists running the University of Michigan’s student government are refusing to fund campus groups unless their divestment demands are met.

Alaska : A violent landslide in Ketchikan killed one person and injured three.

Health: Eli Lilly announced that it would start selling low doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound in vials, at a far lower price than it does its pens .

Music: The British group Oasis announced a comeback tour.

TIME TO UNWIND

Tim burton revisits ‘beetlejuice’.

It has been more than 30 years since the film “Beetlejuice” cemented itself as a cult classic. Now, the cast has reunited for “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” which will debut at the Venice Film Festival tomorrow. We talked to Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara and Tim Burton about the first film , their ghost comedy’s afterlife and that iconic “Day-O” scene.

“It was like falling back into it, like no time had passed,” Ryder said.

For more: Here’s how the festival in Venice became an “Oscar launchpad .”

A whistle-stop tour of America

Amtrak’s Empire Builder route offers slow and scenic journeys between Chicago and Seattle. Most riders watch the country’s heartland pass by through a window. But our writer wanted to actually experience the tiny towns of North Dakota, Montana and Idaho. So he got off at six stops that most people have never heard of, and found a few remarkable places .

Dinner table topics

A signature look: If Liza Minnelli’s jewelry could talk, it’d have countless stories to tell .

Riffing on the master: The pianist Robert Levin is not afraid to improvise during his Mozart performances .

Green music: The British band Massive Attack believes it can set the gold standard for environmentally friendly concerts .

Skate moms: These women have found community while picking up skateboarding , falls and all.

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

Cook: Make this prosciutto and melon salad on a hot summer day.

Laugh: Adam Sandler has a terrific new stand-up special .

Watch: “Only Murders in the Building” returns today with a bunch of celebrity cameos .

Read: New York is huge. These books help cut it down to size .

Dress: Don’t be scared to wear your flip-flops — even in New York City.

Organize: Wirecutter has tips for decluttering your inbox .

Compete: Take our quiz to see how well you know classic novels that got bad Times reviews .

Play: Here are today’s Spelling Bee , Wordle and Mini Crossword . Find all of our games here .

ONE LAST THING

Where italian tennis stars eat in manhattan.

Every year during the U.S. Open, Via Della Pace, an East Village trattoria, is buzzing with Italians. The restaurant, which is dotted with Italian soccer and tennis memorabilia, has become the go-to hangout spot for visiting Italian tennis players because it reminds many of them of home.

The owners, in turn, do whatever they can to make the establishment as comfortable as possible for the players. That includes turning off the air conditioning, which many Europeans prefer to forego, even on warm nights.

Have a homey evening.

Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — Matthew

Philip Pacheco was our photo editor today.

We welcome your feedback. Write to us at [email protected] .

Matthew Cullen is the lead writer of The Evening , a Times newsletter covering the day’s top stories every weekday. More about Matthew Cullen

There's An Abandoned Subterranean City & Tunnel System Under Seattle, And Yes, You Can Visit

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The Seattle Underground is one of the most unusual (and eery) attractions in the United States. It is a network of underground passageways and basements in Pioneer Square. Believe it or not, part of Seattle is built on top of an older burnt-out Seattle. The old Seattle was gutted by fire and lies abandoned beneath the streets.

Did you know there are also hidden and abandoned speakeasy tunnels underneath Los Angeles ? Exploring abandoned tunnels and catacombs can be one of the most enjoyable parts of exploring a city. On the other side of the country, see here for if there really are tunnels underneath New York City .

What Is The Seattle Underground?

The Seattle Underground is located at ground level when the city was first built in the mid-19th century. But later the streets were elevated. Pioneer Square was built mostly on filled-in tidelands and had the problem of being flooded. After the Great Seattle Fire of 1889, buildings were required to be made of masonry, and the town's streets were raised one to two stories higher. The higher elevation had the extra benefit of that the sewer stopped backing up at high tide (ugh).

• 1889: The Great Seattle Fire

The sights here are intriguing as they are bewildering. See subterranean storefronts and sidewalks entombed beneath the city. See how a new Seattle was literally built on top of the old Seattle.

After the streets were regraded, pedestrians needed to climb ladders to get back to the sidewalks in front of the buildings. The streets are now generally 12 feet higher than before - but in some places nearly 30 feet higher. But then brick archways were constructed next to the road surface, then the gaps were covered with pavement lights. In the end, it meant that the old city had been covered and lost beneath the new ground level of the city.

Related: The Paris Catacombs Are The Final Resting Places Of Six Million People, And You Can Visit Them

As the buildings were reconstructed after the fire, the old ground floor had become an underground floor. So they reconstructed the buildings so that the building's second floor would be the new ground floor.

For a time the old ground floor continued to be used. Merchants carried on business on the bottom floors of builds that had managed to survive the fire, and pedestrians continued to use the old - now underground - sidewalks lit by the pavement lights above.

• Condemned: In 1907 (Out of Fear Of The Bubonic Plague)

But then in 1907, the city condemned the Underground. Oddly it was condemned out of fear of the bubonic plague. And so the now buried part of Seattle became abandoned and left to deteriorate (or used for storage).

All this hidden and abandoned space under the city became tempting accommodation for the homeless, for illegal gambling halls, for opium dens, and of course in the days of the Prohibition - the speakeasies.

Visiting The Subterranean Seattle

One of the leading tour providers is Bill Speidel's Underground Tours. They provide 75 minute guided walking tours of the city beneath the city. One can really see a time-capsule view of this buried city.

Today only a small portion has been made safe and is open to the public. Bill Speidel's Underground Tour has been showing curious tourists around this odd part of Seattle since 1965.

• Tour Duration: 75 Minutes
• Caution: Watch Out For Impostors Selling Fake Tickets (There's Only One Way To Tour The Interconnecting Tunnels)

Tip: This Is Downtown Seattle So Parking Is An Issue, Better To Take The Bus Or Light Rail

Related: This Is How You Can See The Roman Catacombs While You're In Rome

Tours And Hours

Tours Schedules

Tours start on the hour every day (including public holidays and weekends).

• April to September: 9 am to 7 pm

Peak Season: Extra Tours Every Half Hour June-August

• October to March: 10:00 am to 6:00 pm

Holiday Season: Christmas Eve: 10:00 am to 1 pm; December 26-31, 9 am to 6 pm

Cost of Tours

• Adult: $22.00 (Aged 18 to 59)
• Senior: $20.00 (Aged 60 And Over)
• Student: $20.00 (Aged 13-17 or with A Valid College ID)
• Youth: $10.00 (Aged 7-12)

But that's not all they offer. Want to look for ghosts or see the paranormal? Then they have a tour for that too!

• Combo Ticket: $50 - Underground Tour and Underground Paranormal Experience Combo Ticket

One can buy the ticket online or by phone in advance up to two hours before the start time. Alternatively, just rock up and purchase the ticket in person at their ticket booth. For this, it's first-come, first-served so it is recommended to arrive early. For more information and bookings check out their website .

Seattle is a stunning city to visit, while the Seattle Space Needle may draw one's gaze up high, don't forget that some of the best that the city offers is beneath one's feet.

Next: 20 (Epic & Intimidating) Tunnels We'll Want To Close Our Eyes For When Traveling Through

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