Archaeologists Probe Secret Tunnels in California

Associated Press ^ | September 27, 2007 | Unknown

[decimon]

FRESNO, Calif. — Tunnels run beneath Chinatown in Fresno, Calif.: brick-walled passages that were once home to people and activities that couldn't be mentioned aboveground.

Rick Lew knows, because he walked the passages as a child, entering through a trapdoor in his grandfather's liquor store.

"There was a nightlife you couldn't see from the streets," he said.

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As late as the 1950s, when Lew was a boy, Chinatown was still thriving — both its respectable establishments and as its shadier side.

He remembers visiting the underground world with his father, first passing though a dark basement before descending into a lit tunnel with an arched roof and enough space for two people to pass by each other. There were people there he recognized from the neighborhood. And then there were the glamorous women whose images remain seared in his memory decades later.

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[decimon]

And then there were the glamorous women whose images remain seared in his memory decades later.

Seared.

[Tijeras_Slim]

They musta been cambodian chicks.

[cmsgop]

So this is where Margret Cho lives.......

[MarineBrat]

They may have discovered the secret FreeRepublic catacombs!

[Brilliant]

“But to many others, the lace-work of tunnels sprawling under the city was just another tall tale from Fresno’s days as a Western railroad town and a hub of gambling and prostitution.”

Those of you who know it better, what’s it like today?

[decimon]

GGG ping?

Gee, I don't know. The archaeologists found "Blam was here!" plastered all over the place.

[willgolfforfood]

That would be a fun place to be, when the big one starts shakin’ the place up.

[2banana]

And today you can get all your vices above ground - with no shame...

[MHGinTN]

I wonder if there’s a Hsu factory down there?

[decimon]

That would be a fun place to be, when the big one starts shakin’ the place up.

She's retired now.

[decimon]

They musta been cambodian chicks.

Hey, if you're up river anyway...

[Larry Lucido]

And it was Christmas. In 1968. Nixon was president. Almost.

[biscuit jane]

quote from the article:
“Hattersley-Drayton hopes someday Chinatown and its
excavated tunnels might be developed for heritage tourism, bringing some income to what is now an impoverished area.”

---

Sounds great ! ...Let’s vacation in Fresno and visit the
underground tunnels !

[blam]

"So this is where Margret Cho lives......."

Could be. I did see her skit about her parents owning a sex shop or some such....

[SmithL]

Fresno?

[blam]

"The archaeologists found "Blam was here!" plastered all over the place."

[art_rocks]

Dude, he said glamourous woman.

[colorado tanker]

ROTFLMAO!

[saganite]

Bah. I saw all this documented in that great historically accurate movie, Big Trouble in Little China.