User:Hourick/tunnelexpansion

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The Houston Downtown Tunnel System is a system of tunnels about twenty feet below Houston's downtown street system. The first link was built in the 30's by Ross Sterling to connect two neighboring buildings he owned, as he was inspired by the tunnel system at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Soon after, Will Horwitz, an entertainment entrepreneur, connected three of his vaudeville and movie theaters to save on air-conditioning.^[1] The system is longer than six miles, and forms a network of subterranean, climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways that link ninety-five full city blocks.

Today's Tunnel is a series of underground passageways which, with above-ground skywalks, link office towers to hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, retail stores, and the Theater District. Only one building, Wells Fargo Plaza, offers direct access from the street to the Tunnel; otherwise, other entry points are from street-level stairs, escalators, and elevators located inside buildings that are connected to the tunnel. Most of the tunnel system is located in the western half of downtown Houston.

1 Discontinuous portions
2 Tropical Storm Damage
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Discontinuous portions

The Harris County tunnel at the far north side of downtown is not connected to the rest of the system by either tunnels or skywalks. This portion connects Harris County courts, jails, and associated buildings totaling ten blocks. Six blocks of the St. Joseph Medical Center is connected via skywalks at the southeast corner of downtown near the Pierce elevated.

Other parts not connected to the main tunnel system are the skywalk connections between the Hilton-Americas Hotel and George R. Brown Convention Center, the skywalk connections at the Toyota Center, and at the Houston Public Library.

[edit] Tropical Storm Damage

In 2001, Tropical Storm Allison flooded some portions of the tunnels and prompted the installation of submarine-type doors to seal off the tunnels if a substantial rain event happens again. ^[2]