... I can’t help but notice the utter stillness that envelops me as I descend the only staircase leading to the City Market Catacombs... As we walk through the 20,000-square-foot expanse of brick-arched passageways, the exposed dirt floors crunching under our feet, [the tour guide] explains to me that the subterranean chambers are all that remains of Tomlinson Hall, a once sprawling music hall that opened in 1886 and later succumbed to a fire in 1958. (The only above-ground vestige of the original structure is a single archway.) The setting is spooky, but Manterfield is quick to point out that despite the name, the catacombs never held remains – at least not of the human variety. “See those hooks attached to the archways... Those were used for hanging meat to dry.”
May 10, 2018
The catacombs of Indianapolis.
"Beneath Indianapolis’ Bustling City Market Lies a Forgotten Underground Expanse" (Smithsonian).
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27 comments:
Dry Aged beef must be hung from a hook in a temperature controlled place for 30 days. The best ones are called well hung.
ATL has an Underground that was first the train tracks and loading docks that the city grew up around. The entire RR became bridged over by crossing streets that morphed into solid buildings over 5 tracks. ATL is a RR Port City. Trains have been replaced by Planes and automobiles...lots of them. But long Intermodal Freight trains now carry Chinese stuff too.
ATL traffic has become heavier and faster in the past year of Trump Boom. It feels like the old City that was "Too Busy To Hate."
Indiana Landmarks, a preservation organization, gives tours.
One picture? Hardly the best use of the internet's infinite page.
Sounds like a T Waits song.
Hang on St. Christopher they threw me out on the rails
Been too long in Missouri wastin time in their jails
I'll find a new friend up-country, who'll let me one of her rooms
Or I'll go hide with one eye open, in the Indy catacombs.
Joshua Barker- I've wondered that myself. Someone once told me it's dirt and dust settling over time, building up layers and layers of earth over ancient civilizations.
Joshua Barker and MayBee,
The depths on some of these under-city catacombs are more than I would assume. Sometimes it is hundreds of feet in relatively stable areas of the world.
Defies my comprehension how volatile the world can be.
Joshua, I don’t have an answer to your question but it’s amazing how common this is, even in the modern day. Old 19th century Seattle is now underground. Most of the rivers that used to run above ground through London are now buried far beneath the streets. There was some significant flooding in Chicago recently when some of its old tunnels and streets were breached.
How do all of these old cities end up underground? No idea - but they do, all the time.
I assume Althouse is traveling which is why moderation is frozen.
Can the local Christians hide out there?
"I assume Althouse is traveling which is why moderation is frozen."
No. The software is malfunctioning. I'm trying to work around it. Only a problem with older than the current day posts. It's a big hassle for me.
Travel does not affect moderation! But in any event I'm not traveling, and if I were, I would not talk about it.
Just a Minute
Lived in Indianapolis for many years. Loved going to the old market but didn't know the underground existed. Indy is a wonderful city especially in May! The Indy 500 is an incredible experience and the whole month is dedicated to it.
If you visit Seattle, you might be able to find a like place.
Those are just tunnels, these are real cat combs.
Ann Althouse said...
The software is malfunctioning.
In addition to their fancy software, Google also seems to produce some of the worst software around. I think because it's written to maximize their income, not to optimize the "user experience", and their semi-monopoly doesn't help.
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