In the second episode of the Bruno Brief’s series on myths at Brown, Producer Sonya McNatt speaks with Finn Kirkpatrick, Arts & Culture editor and Bruno Brief editor, about his reporting on the now closed-off tunnels that run underneath Brown’s campus. What’s the deal with these tunnels? What are their histories? And what’s the status of them today?
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Sources:
Brown Daily Herald — March 15, 2007
Archaeology of College Hill and Brown University
The New Yorker: “Peculiar Institutions”
New York Times: “Providence Tunnel Opened”
Art in Ruins: East Side Train Tunnel
Providence Daily Dose: “East Side Cultist Riot 1993”
Providence Daily Dose: “East Side Tunnel Inspires New Russom Album”
Providence Police 1994 Documentary by Josh Oreck and Ivan Hurzeler
The Brown Daily Herald — May 1, 1985
Finn Kirkpatrick
The following podcast episode draws some of its reporting from articles previously published by The Brown Daily Herald, The New Yorker, Brown University’s Encyclopedia Brunoniana, The New York Times, Art in Ruins, The Providence Journal and the Providence Daily Dose. This episode also uses audio from a 1994 documentary directed by Josh Oreck and Ivan Hurzeler. All of these sources can be found linked in our episode description.
[ambient tunnel noise]
Sonya McNatt
On last week’s episode, we discussed the history and current state of secret societies on Brown’s campus. In it, we learned that underneath some of these organizations’ buildings, there are tunnels connecting them with other spots on campus. What’s the deal with these tunnels? What are their histories? And what’s the status of them today? I’m Sonya McNatt, this is The Bruno Brief.
Finn Kirkpatrick
A quick note before we begin: While the tunnels we’re about to discuss are mysterious and exciting, going into the East Side Railroad Tunnel is considered trespassing, and students at Brown should be aware that tunnels running underground campus are off-limits to students with unsafe conditions inside. In 2007, Brown’s director of facilities management noted that “the pipes are hot, there are sharp objects, and students could get seriously hurt.”
[ambient tunnel noise]
Sonya McNatt
Arts and Culture editor and Bruno Brief producer Finn Kirkpatrick recently dove into the history of this topic. So Finn, tell me what you found.
Finn Kirkpatrick
With just a quick Google search, you will discover that Brown is teeming with tunnels that exist just below many buildings on campus. In a March 15, 2007 issue of The Herald, it was reported that the majority of these underground passageways began appearing during the University’s major property expansion from the 1940s to the 1960s. There are four main tunnels underneath Brown’s campus, below Wriston Quadrangle, Andrews Hall, Keeney Quadrangle and the John Hay Library. The tunnel below Andrews is the oldest of the four, and it is connected to Champlin Hall and the Verney-Woolley Dining Hall. These tunnels were mainly meant for maintenance purposes though students would use them for transport, most commonly during winter. The Wriston tunnels were used as potential bomb shelters during the nuclear war paranoia of the 1960s.
Sonya McNatt
But rumors began surrounding what some were using these tunnels for. Tunnels underneath Brown and the broader Providence area have had speculations of their purpose ranging from transportation of alcohol during prohibition to more sinister accusations of sexual assaults and slave trading. No concrete evidence of any of this actually occuring was found. Still, this goes to show how these tunnels have been able to capture the imagination of students, and these rumors only deepen their mystery. But there is still reason to believe that these tunnels present some form of a hidden past. Finn, can you tell us about what happened in 1929?
Finn Kirkpatrick
A document published by Encyclopedia Brunoniana on student customs mentions a 1929 riot in the East Side tunnel, now known for taking buses from Thayer to North Main street. This “riot” was composed of freshmen of the class of 1932 intending to burn the black ties that they were made to wear. The event started at the Arcadia Ballroom, a now demolished dance hall, and the route to the burning was meant to go through the tunnel. After a fight with police at the ballroom, they made their way to the tunnel, which was blocked off by police at both ends and, eventually, the dean. A song to the tune of “Did Your Mother Come From Ireland” was written in commemoration of the event. A part of it went:
Did you hear about the Riot?
Just before, it was so quiet,
Then the boys of ’32 marched down the Hill,
And before we reached the Tunnel,
Just like water through a funnel,
To the old Arcadia ballroom we did mill.
Sonya McNatt
While the tunnels below Brown’s campus are ripe for theorizing about what really happened down there, much of that theorizing has never been able to go beyond the myth stage. But just east of campus, a tunnel with a confirmable rich history exists for people to explore today. Opened on November 15, 1908, the East Side Railroad Tunnel was used as a way to connect the old Union Station to East Providence via a line constructed by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. In 1937, the tunnel ceased passenger operations, converting to freight use only, until that eventually closed in 1981. In the aftermath of its ultimate closure, some people started getting creative with what they could use the tunnels for.
Finn Kirkpatrick
The first appearance of students taking over the East Side Railroad Tunnel for their own pleasure comes in an issue of The Herald published May 1st, 1985. In a profile of local industrial bands, a group known as “Shithaus,” composed of RISD and Brown students, are mentioned putting on wild performances in the tunnel. The band referred to this performance as a “fire ritual” with one of its members, James Joaquin ’87 speaking on the event: “We handed out propaganda to the audience, pieces of artwork that we did, and the whole idea in each piece was to present conflicting information … It was kind of a parody on a lot of the stuff you see going on … it was an attempt to control the audience.”
And these tactics seemed to work, with Evelyn McDonnel, the author of the article writing: “Their music and stage presence is threatening. Its very loudness prevents you from escaping.”
[ambient tunnel noise]
Sonya McNatt
This set the tone for what the future of the tunnel would look like, as its subterranean position made the space apropos of underground countercultural movements happening during the time. The most dramatic instance of such came eight years after the Shithaus performance on May 3rd, 1993, where a party led to police showing up, causing arrest and injuries.
[ambient riot sounds from police documentary]
Finn Kirkpatrick
The party was themed around the pagan tradition of May Day, which caused the police to label the gathering as “satanic.” The tunnel was filled with 200 to 300 people, mostly Brown and RISD students, and was full of fires and kids beating drums, with some even in costumes and masks. Around 1 a.m., police were made aware of the gathering by RISD security guards, which prompted them to go in to clear out the tunnel. Carrying clubs and pepper spray, they were ready to flush out the tunnel by any means necessary.
Sonya McNatt
But students didn’t take too well to these threats. Pushing back on the advances of the officers, students resorted to brute force, which the police then matched. One officer was struck with a large piece of asphalt that caused him to need 63 stitches. When the police tried to arrest two students in the tunnel, including one wearing a mask who refused to stop beating a drum, attendees of the gathering shook the police car they were in the back of, causing the police to be unable to drive away. In total, eight students were arrested and seven officers reported injured. Along with the injuries multiple vehicles were damaged by a variety of thrown objects including bricks, asphalt and beer bottles.
Finn Kirkpatrick
A 1994 documentary on the Providence Police Department partially investigated this party by following the police conducting the raid and interviewing several attendees.
[Audio from a 1994 documentary on the Providence PD]
Student 1: “You want an ulterior opinion? This is my ulterior opinion, I’ll tell you what happened. I’m back there, standing there, these guys are drumming, the cops come in to bust it. There’s one kid with a big thing on his head … he wouldn’t stop drumming … Some other guy comes slam-dancing around, basically knocks the cop, pretty much obviously on purpose, just slams into the cop.”
Student 2: “Hey dudes! They were homeboys, they were punk rockers and they all got down together man!”
Finn Kirkpatrick
In the aftermath of this disturbance the tunnel was completely covered up by steel walls, now only accessible by a metal door that has, over the years, been going back and forth between open and welded shut. Though gatherings have continued in the tunnel, they have admittedly been of a much tamer nature. It became a place where people would just hang out and maybe hold a drum circle.
Sonya McNatt
But the legacy of the East Side Railroad Tunnel lives on. Art installations and albums commemorating the event have been released by creatives with personal attachments to it. There have also been talks about restoring the tunnel back to a usable state, but up to this point, those efforts have been fruitless. Now, the tunnel sits abandoned, with its door propped open — with a whole underground history inside waiting to be explored.
[ambient tunnel noise plays over Finn]
Finn Kirkpatrick
The two ends of the tunnel are now filled with water. So much so that the only walkable part of them is on either side of the railroad tracks, which is now essentially a balance beam. Though eventually the tunnel dries up and becomes more easily traversable.
Finn Kirkpatrick
The walls are completely littered with graffiti along the entirety of its one-mile length. The ground is mostly gravel and there are occasional reminders of the activities that once went down in there. This includes charred circles on the ground, a pile of discarded blunt wrappers and even a decomposed car chassis.
Sonya McNatt
Thank you for listening to this week’s episode of the Bruno Brief. For more myths on campus, tune in next week to learn about the history and current status of Brown’s reputation as a liberal institution and whether those characterizations are justified.
This episode was produced by Finn Kirkpatrick, Jacob Smollen, Liana Haigis, Carter Moyer, and me, Sonya McNatt. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe to The Bruno Brief and leave a review. Thanks for listening.
[ambient tunnel noise outro]
Clarification: This podcast has been updated to add additional information about safety conditions inside tunnels and guidance surrounding them.
