When chatting with Dan at happy hour the other day, our conversation turned, as it often does, to traveling and exploration. He turned me on to this blog, a remarkable collection of photos and stories documenting adventurous people exploring abandoned, private, or otherwise inaccessible historic places around the world.
The specific post that he was telling me about concerned the London Post Office Railway - a now sealed-off system of subway stations and tunnels once used to shuttle mail around the city. It reminded me of a story I once read about an abandoned, pre-Metro subway system in DC, though I couldn't recall the details.
A little googling led first to this Washington Post story about the Mole Way, which turned out to be an old April Fool's joke (a fact I did not come to understand until I was almost ready to drop everything at work and go hunting for abandoned stations this afternoon). But, eventually, I came across this series of photos posted in a forum about an old station and series of trolley tunnels beneath Dupont Circle. This is what I was looking for, though it is significantly less extensive and cool than its British counterpart. Apparently some investors tried unsuccessfully to turn it into a food court in the 90's and now a group wants to convert the space to an art gallery.
The concept of urban exploration has always fascinated me. A city, with its landmarks and grid of streets and richly documented history, presents an accessible canvas on which to compare the past to the present. Roaming around DC with a camera (and some snacks) has always been one of my favorite weekend pastimes. Discovering a blog like Silent UK appeals to this same intrepid part of my personality - with much less walking, to boot.
The specific post that he was telling me about concerned the London Post Office Railway - a now sealed-off system of subway stations and tunnels once used to shuttle mail around the city. It reminded me of a story I once read about an abandoned, pre-Metro subway system in DC, though I couldn't recall the details.
A little googling led first to this Washington Post story about the Mole Way, which turned out to be an old April Fool's joke (a fact I did not come to understand until I was almost ready to drop everything at work and go hunting for abandoned stations this afternoon). But, eventually, I came across this series of photos posted in a forum about an old station and series of trolley tunnels beneath Dupont Circle. This is what I was looking for, though it is significantly less extensive and cool than its British counterpart. Apparently some investors tried unsuccessfully to turn it into a food court in the 90's and now a group wants to convert the space to an art gallery.
The concept of urban exploration has always fascinated me. A city, with its landmarks and grid of streets and richly documented history, presents an accessible canvas on which to compare the past to the present. Roaming around DC with a camera (and some snacks) has always been one of my favorite weekend pastimes. Discovering a blog like Silent UK appeals to this same intrepid part of my personality - with much less walking, to boot.