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Really just basements. The Shanghai Tunnels, less commonly known as the Portland Underground, are a group of passages running underneath Old Town/Chinatown down to the central downtown section of Portland, Oregon, United States. The tunnels connected the basements of many downtown hotels and bars to the waterfront of the Willamette River. They were built to move goods from the ships docked on the Willamette to the basement storage areas, which allowed businesses to avoid streetcar and train traffic on the streets when delivering their goods.
However...
If you’ve ever heard Portland referred to as the Forbidden City of the West and wondered why, a visit to the Shanghai Tunnels could clear things up for you. Then again, it could just raise more questions about a legend that persisted for over 150 years.
If you aren’t familiar with shanghaiing, it refers to the capture and illegal sale of able-bodied men to sea captains in need of crewmen. Unscrupulous (to say the least) middlemen kidnapped men and sold them off to captains for as little as $50 a head. These poor men were then forced to work on ships bound for the Orient with no pay. According to legend as well as some historical data, men were shanghaied in Portland from roughly 1850 to 1941. Things were supposedly at their worst during Prohibition.
It almost sounds too bizarre and horrific to be little more than a myth or legend, but shanghaiing did take place. It was a practice that occurred in Portland as well as other locations along the West Coast. What is questioned is the means by which it was carried out in Portland, and the relationship if any between the Portland Underground and shanghai practices.
The Shanghai Tunnels or Portland Underground consist of tunnel passages linking Portland’s Old Town (Chinatown) to the central downtown area of Portland. The basements of many downtown bars and hotels were linked to the Willamette River waterfront through the tunnels, allowing supplies to be moved from ships docked there directly to basements for storage. Although many residents used to doubt it was true, the catacombs snaking beneath the city do in fact exist.
Since the mid-19th century, stories have been told about shanghai practices in Portland. Not only men but women, too were warned to take care against being drugged or kidnapped and hauled off for sale. Women were allegedly shanghaied for use as prostitutes rather than ship’s laborers. Although other ports along the West Coast including San Francisco are said to have been centers of shanghai activity, Portland’s underground tunnels are claimed to have made the practice much more manageable and wide-spread than in other areas.
According to those theories, victims were either drugged, kidnapped while intoxicated or simply knocked out, then dropped or dragged into the tunnels through trapdoors called deadfalls. Once in the tunnels, they were locked in specially designed prison cells and held captive until they were shipped off as slave laborers.
Portland Headline, 1908- During Prohibition, it is said that bars moved their operations underground, as well, making it easier than ever for unsuspecting victims to be shanghaied. Some researchers estimate that as many as 1,500 people a year were shanghaied through Portland’s Underground. Entire scenarios about the practices and experiences of the shanghaied in the tunnels have been created and elaborated on over the years.
The catacombs beneath Portland do exist and the stories almost sound plausible, but is the legend true? What evidence exists to support the allegations that these tunnels were used for shanghaiing? Is there any evidence at all?
You can take a tour aimed at demonstrating the validity of the Shanghai legend and decide for yourself, but so far the evidence does appear to be scanty to say the least. You can imagine that what is there, could have been created any time rather than during the 19th century. The persistent oral history of the legends is somewhat convincing, but remember historians don’t doubt shanghaiing took place in port cities of the West, including Portland. What they doubt is the connection between the tunnels, the basements of hotels and bars, and the kidnapping.
There is no historical record or evidence of shanghaiing being practiced in the tunnels from the time period it is said to have taken place. In fact, the earliest mention of a connection between the practice of Shanghaiing and the tunnels dates from the 1970s. Historians assert that even in the event of a massive cover-up effort, it is unlikely there would be no evidence of the practice whatsoever from the era when it was supposedly at its peak.
Evidence may finally be forthcoming, and if it is as convincing as promised, it could settle the question about Portland’s Underground once and for all. Michael P. Jones is the founder of a group offering tours of Portland’s Underground and is a proponent of the Shanghai Tunnel theory. He claims to have obtained undisputable evidence of the practice that will be revealed in a forthcoming book. The evidence supposedly consists of documents, photos and other proof of Shanghai activity.
Until the book is released or other proof surfaces, the legend of Portland’s Shanghai Tunnels remains just that – a myth individuals must decide about for themselves. Being able to explore the legend and form your own opinion is of course what makes the Shanghai Tunnels so appealing. If proof finally does come out confirming the story, it’s doubtful it will make the legend any more or less interesting than it already is.
One question that will probably come to mind on your visit to Portland’s Tunnels may haunt you more than what you believe you see. If history already confirms that shanghaiing took place in Portland, why on earth wouldn’t the tunnels have been used as a means of transporting the kidnapped?.
One of the great vintage painted signs on the Portland Outdoor Store building.
P.S. Sarcastic thanks to whoever thought they were "adding" to this piece of art by tagging it...
At around two o'clock today I saw some beautiful cloud formations and wanted to try a black and white photograph that captured those formations inspired by this great photo on David Gn's photostream. Unfortunately by the time I got downtown the clouds had moved off to the south.
I decided to take a walk anyway and captured this shot as the sun was setting behind the skyline.
I've been busy with a couple of other photography related projects so I've slowed down posting new HDR shots but I'm collecting more photos than I'll probably ever be able to process.
Enjoy!
This image was submitted for the Image Wizards and OpenCamp Vibrant Photo contest!
The Portland Head Light is the oldest lighthouse in the state of Maine. The original tower was lit by whale oil lamps on January 10, 1791. It sits on a head of land at the entrance of the primary shipping channel into Portland Harbor. The light station is now automated, and the tower, beacon, and foghorn are maintained by the United States Coast Guard, while the former lighthouse keepers' house is a maritime museum. [Source: Wikipedia]
The waves were fantastic on this day and I took hundreds of shots making it difficult to choose which I like best. I am fond of the washing machine foreground of this one. Comments welcome.
Portland, ME
These cars (with the name of a narrow gauge railroad that operated in Maine between 1908 and 1935) belong to the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum. The museum is not open for the season yet, but their equipment was sitting around anyway.
Portland
The fine bay of Portland and nearby Cape Bridgewater were indirectly named by Captain Grant in 1800 on the Brig named Lady Nelson. Grant explored this part of the coast a year or so before Matthew Flinders and Nicholas Baudin. James Grant was receiving his orders from the Duke of Portland and so Governor King in Sydney named the bay Portland after looking at Grant’s maps. Nicholas Baudin, the French explorer also named the area and called it Terra Bonaparte. After Major Thomas Mitchell’s explorations in 1836 his Australia Felix region became known as the Western Districts (of NSW). From 1803 some American whalers established summer whaling camps along Portland Bay but there was no permanent white settlement until Edward Henty arrived here from Launceston in November 1834. His brother Francis arrived to settle in December 1834. Thus began the white settlement of Victoria almost a year before Fawkner and Batman settled on Port Phillip Bay. (John Fawkner and John Batman also moved from Launceston because of the land shortages there with Fawkner settling in August 1835 near Hobson’s Bay and Batman in June 1835 near the Yarra although he personally did not settle until April 1836.)
Edward Henty landed with 13 cattle, 4 bullocks, 5 pigs, 2 turkeys, vines, plants, seeds, and apple and pear trees. Francis arrived with dairy cows and Merino sheep a month later. In 1836 Major Mitchell called in to the Henty’s property where Portland now stands. Henty had already explored inland by then and he had discovered Darlots Creek and Lake Condah. Three of Henty’s pastoral runs were near the later town of Merino. The Hentys also earnt income from whaling but Edward did not even begin any whaling until 1836. Edward built his first house on what is now Bentinck Street. This was swept away when the town was surveyed in 1840 by Charles Tyers the government surveyor. By this time Edward and Francis had been joined by their other brothers Richard and John. It was a Henty son (Richard) who was the first white male born in Victoria and Edward Henty was the first to move inland in Victoria when he moved to near Merino in 1837. But many now assert that the first white settlement (not permanent or farming or pastoral settlement) in Victoria was by William Dutton with his fishery (sealing) and whaling station near Portland in 1833. Dutton had camped here in a temporary house for summer months since 1828. He also had whaling camps on Kangaroo Island. He did not spend all the year at Portland but his whaling camp was a permanent structure. Dutton also had early whaling camps at Port Fairy. When Edward Henty arrived in November 1834 Dutton was already there and assisted Henty to get established. But does this Dutton claim really detract from Edward Henty’s claim to be the first permanent white settler on the land in Victoria?
The Henty brothers had illegally squatted on land and despite having 60 acres under crop, sheep grazing at Merino, two houses in both Portland and at Merino and 53 whites living on the land (46 males including employees and 7 females) Governor Gipps of Sydney was not impressed. The Henty brothers claimed compensation for their development of the land and a grant of some of the land. Thus began many years of legal battles between the government and the Henty brothers. Gipps decided to send Police to Portland to remove Henty from the land but this never happened. In 1843 the government softened and gave a grant of 83 acres at £2 per acre; town acres at £100 per acre; and compensation of £118 for their buildings, including the house which was destroyed to create Bentinck Street. The Henty brothers declined this offer and the dispute continued. Eventually the Henty brothers got legal leases and they purchased freehold land. Merino Downs station is still in the hands of Henty descendants.
Government land in Portland was sold in 1840 with 70 town blocks being purchased immediately and many surrounding “suburban” blocks. Pastoral leases for inland areas were authorised from 1839. By 1842 the town had a temporary Presbyterian, Anglican and Wesleyan Methodist churches, a cemetery, a newspaper, a school house, hotels ( the Commercial Inn, the Portland Hotel, the Portland Inn and the Steam Packet Inn), a jetty and commercial enterprises. Customs duties were levied on the port trade. The main street along the foreshore Bentinck Street was named after the family name of the Dukes of Portland. The Customs House was completed in 1850; the Court House was built 1845; the Catholic Church 1848; the Presbyterian Church 1849; the Botanical Gardens began 1854; the Anglican Church 1856; a tramway to Heywood opened 1860; the Town Hall opened 1865 and a new Wesleyan Church opened 1865. In terms of population Portland grew quickly with around 1,200 residents in 1851 and around 3,000 by 1854. Today Portland has 10,700 residents.
As the major regional port railway lines from the interior were especially important to Portland. The tramway to Heywood opened in 1860 but soon became a railway line. The Portland Railway Company was formed in the town in 1872 and they raised funds for a railway to Hamilton and another to Coleraine. The company folded one year later. But the government built a railway line to Hamilton in 1878 and in 1889 they proposed a railway to the Wimmera - Horsham and Mildura. The first section of the railway from Hamilton to Horsham opened in 1911 to Cavendish and the line only got to Horsham in 1920! Meantime a rail link to Mt Gambier across the border was demanded by the residents of both Portland and Mt Gambier. The SA government opposed the idea and resisted for many years. The rail line was first suggested in 1900 and the Victorian government did a survey for the line in 1901. But it was 1912 before the two states agreed on rail lines crossing the border at Mt Gambier and at Pinnaroo. Work started on the line from Heywood to Mt Gambier in 1914. The line finally opened in October 1917.
a not-very-well-merged panorama, made from 10 photos, of the video studio that I helped set up last year. It's an extremely cluttered place so I thought it would be a good panorama but 360 makes it pretty hard, especially when using a flash.
Autumn retreated for a day leaving Portland Bill basking in a warm, sunny summers day and looking beautiful.
A walk out here listening to the ocean is so good for the soul!
The Isle of Portland is a tied island, 6 kilometres long by 2.7 kilometres wide, in the English Channel. The southern tip, Portland Bill lies 8 kilometres south of the resort of Weymouth, forming the southernmost point of the county of Dorset, England. A barrier beach called Chesil Beach joins it to the mainland.