The Houston tunnel system is a system of tunnels 20 feet (6 m) below Houston's downtown street system. The system comprises approximately 7 miles (11 km) of tunnels and forms a network of subterranean, climate-controlled, pedestrian walkways that link 95 full city blocks.[1] It can be compared to similar systems in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Montreal and Toronto. 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.[2] It was stated by architectural historian Stephen Fox that the first idea for making the underground tunnels a true tunnel system came when the Bank of the Southwest Building was "linked by tunnel to the 1010 Garage and the Mellie Esperson Building" in 1961.[3]
Today's Tunnel is a series of underground passageways that, with above-ground skywalks, link office towers to hotels, banks, corporate and government offices, restaurants, retail stores, and the Houston Theater District. Portions of the tunnel itself contain gift shops, newsstands, banks, flower shops, copy centers, dry cleaners, and food courts similar to what one would find in a major shopping mall. These shops and services are widely and heavily used by the local office workers, and also by tourists. 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 the various buildings that are connected to the tunnel (access is allowed to the general public into these buildings with few restrictions, during normal operating hours, in order to reach the Tunnel).
In fact, most of the retail areas of the Tunnel are located in the basement portions of these buildings, as connected together by the common passageways. While walking through, one can determine which building s/he is in by the unique signage and/or architectural design of that building, as well as the wayfinding system and maps in use in the entire Tunnel (an example of which is shown to the right). Most of the tunnel system is located in the western half of downtown Houston.[4] The tunnel is generally open only during weekday business hours.
The tunnel system has been criticized for its numerous amount of stairways, especially in the northern portion, that make wheelchairs impassable in regards to some locations. Bob Eury, the director of the Houston Downtown District, stated that, "These areas haven't been made ADA-compliant because it would be difficult or impossible to put in ramps and still leave enough headroom for pedestrians."[5]
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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 10 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.
This is a partial listing.