For those who have lived or worked on the campus of Gallaudet University may have heard of stories of underground tunnels snaking beneath the campus. Tunnels that could be accessed from above. Tunnels that were rumored to snake as far as to the Capitol grounds. Gallaudet University isn't alone. Georgetown University (founded in 1789) located some 5 miles away directly west have their own set of underground tunnels, even connecting to Washington, DC.
If any graffiti drawings were done in the past they may have been painted over a long time ago. Unless somebody took pictures of those drawings then we'll know it's true. If tunnels do exist and people have accessed those tunnels need to come out and tell their stories in the effort to preserve the little known history of Gallaudet University.
Though many of the tunnels are now said to be boarded up at the ends (thus would not lead to downtown Washington), the student body at Georgetown has long been fascinated by the importance of the tunnels and where they can lead to. The adventurous students search the school looking for entrances to the tunnels, hoping to travel through them to see where they may lead. There are rumors of many entrances to the tunnels, but the most popular of them seem to be from Healy Hall.
There are doors on the side of the building that are always open, and lead directly into a maze of tunnels. Upon entering, you will see a lot of secret society type drawings on the wall. The tunnels from Healy seem to end at a broiler and contain heat pipes all along the way, which lends credence to the theory about heat pipes. Though other tunnel entrances are said to go much further into the city, the farthest I have heard of someone traveling is 3 blocks from the main gates of campus.The "secret society type" mentioned in the article would be the fraternities. Greek letters of fraternities drawn on the tunnel walls. It would be expected to find graffiti in abandoned or little used tunnels. Washington, DC is known for some of their hidden tunnels. Just like the one under Dupont Circle located some 3 miles to the west of Gallaudet University.
Few are likely to know what lies beneath them: more than 75,000 square feet of tunnels that haven’t been open to the public in 15 years.There's even an underground tour of the tunnel under Dupont Circle. And a video of a vision of turning DuPont Underground into something else.
To access them isn’t simple: The only way the public gets there is through a tour led by the Arts Coalition for the Dupont Underground, which has permission from the city to lead groups to the site it hopes to redevelop. And the only pathway to enter those tunnels is by walking down a narrow underpass where cars and buses whiz perilously close by. Upon entering the tunnels through a nondescript door, visitors are greeted by a cloud of darkness and stale musk. Welcome to the Dupont Underground.The tunnels – which run N Street to S Street – originally served the city’s streetcar system from about 1949 to 1962. Since then, the tunnels have been virtually unused, save for a short-live food court called Dupont Down Under that opened in 1995 and failed spectacularly, closing the following year. Today, on a tour led by flashlight, visitors see little more than graffiti, signs indicating station exits, and rail tracks that haven't been used in a half-century.
Gallaudet University's own tunnels are believed to be connected between different buildings used by maintenance workers though I cannot really know for sure if this is true. Some say that the manhole near the library accesses the tunnels below. Some even believe manholes around campus are rigged with an alarm system so if anybody attempts to lift the heavy steel cap an alarm will go off notifying the campus police.
There are stories of the past that Gally students climbed down a few of the manholes around campus just for the heck of it and make graffiti on the tunnel walls like using their Greek organization's Greek letters. The big rumor is that these supposed tunnels that lurk beneath the campus of Gallaudet University can reach as far as to the U.S. Capitol .
There are stories of the past that Gally students climbed down a few of the manholes around campus just for the heck of it and make graffiti on the tunnel walls like using their Greek organization's Greek letters. The big rumor is that these supposed tunnels that lurk beneath the campus of Gallaudet University can reach as far as to the U.S. Capitol .
If any graffiti drawings were done in the past they may have been painted over a long time ago. Unless somebody took pictures of those drawings then we'll know it's true. If tunnels do exist and people have accessed those tunnels need to come out and tell their stories in the effort to preserve the little known history of Gallaudet University.