D.P. Underground Infrastructure

[John Dolva]

A thought as a tangent to the ''Great Concrete Retaining Wall Spat'' :

Dallas site:

''91-042 Trunk Sewer Line, 1924

One typescript contract

1/8th linear inch.

Scope and Content Note:

Collection consists of one contract authorizing J. P. Stephenson to construct a sewer trunk line to

City of Dallas and Dallas County jointly-owned Union Hospital and Woodlawn Hospital. Union

Hospital was opened in 1907 and was commonly referred to as the Pesthouse on account of its use

for treating smallpox and other contagious diseases. Woodlawn Hospital, for tubercular patients, had

its origin in the Tubercular Sanitarium built by the city and county at Record Crossing in 1913. J. P.

Stephenson was superintendent over the city-county hospital system that includes what is now

Parkland Health & Hospital System.''

''Blueprint reproductions of engineering plats showing the location of core borings to accompany

an engineering report on road paving and construction in several parts of the City of Dallas,

including Oak Cliff, downtown, and Love Field. The core boring work was subcontracted to the

firm of Myers, Noyes and Forest, Engineers, by the City of Dallas Office of the City Engineer

and audited by the firm of Schoolar, Bird & Company.''

http://www.ci.dallas.tx.us/cso/archives/Fi...es/95-022f.html

........

http://www.kennyconstruction.com/about/company-history/

''That fluke disaster saw the Chicago River crash into long dormant underground coal tunnels which still connected virtually all the commercial and retail buildings in Chicago's Loop.''

Another site mentions ''a little publicised'' ''privately built'' ''mish mash'' of tunnels under downtown.Dallas.

Another, a mention of a tunnel that led to the Dallas Jail basement.

_________________________

The point of this is not to revive the sewer hypothesis at all, but to find as much as possible about the underground infrastructure of dealey Plaza to answer such questions as ''Were/are there tunnels that connect the basements of various buildings?'' ''Do any imagery, diagrams, photos, exist of the TSBD buildings basement?''.

[John Dolva]

''a tunnel that led to the Dallas Jail basement.'' part of the storm drain networked crawled, I think by John Judge, why would there be a storm drain grate there? Maybe for if someone leaves a tap on.

I wonder, assuming all the inlets along the street were contiguously interconnected, and one can reach the Jail Basement by an adult, can/could (absent any ''blockages'') also reach the TSBD basement and the PO, Terminal Annex basements, in fact any of the surrounding buildings, and perhaps through a much larger networks inlets and outlets, navigate through much of downtown and even further, perhaps even Parkland, which the Stephenson connection may indicate as possible, Love Field, who knows?

Anyway I find the (presumably newer) mish mash of tunnels (because they are in two articles that mention them described as little publicised and little information presented and unknown) interesting.

____________

It's funny too as I once worked on restoring extensive WWII tunneling that is practically unknown, or was then. We were preparing sections for opening to the public, though that was mostly when we got sick of playing blackjack or someone whistled, (just kidding, we slaved our guts out, practically falling into bed after a days work!). And then, living in Sydney and gradually becoming aware of living in many places over large extensive underground tunnels and huge gothic water storage chambers, plus in central old sydney the tunnels that connected buildings across the street for coal, and quite possibly used for much more interesting activities.

edit:edit

Edited January 26, 2010 by John Dolva

[Jack White]

''a tunnel that led to the Dallas Jail basement.'' part of the storm drain networked crawled, I think by John Judge, why would there be a storm drain grate there? Maybe for if someone leaves a tap on.

I wonder, assuming all the inlets along the street were contiguously interconnected, and one can reach the Jail Basement by an adult, can/could (absent any ''blockages'') also reach the TSBD basement and the PO, Terminal Annex basements, in fact any of the surrounding buildings, and perhaps through a much larger networks inlets and outlets, navigate through much of downtown and even further, perhaps even Parkland, which the Stephenson connection may indicate as possible, Love Field, who knows?

Anyway I find the (presumably newer) mish mash of tunnels (because they are in two articles that mention them described as little publicised and little information presented and unknown) interesting.

____________

It's funny too as I once worked on restoring extensive WWII tunneling that is practically unknown, or was then. We were preparing sections for opening to the public, though that was mostly when we got sick of playing blackjack or someone whistled, (just kidding, we slaved our guts out, practically falling into bed after a days work!). And then, living in Sydney and gradually becoming aware of living in many places over large extensive underground tunnels and huge gothic water storage chambers, plus in central old sydney the tunnels that connected buildings across the street for coal, and quite possibly used for much more interesting activities.

edit:edit

It is a common practice in large cities to connect buildings by pedestrian tunnels

under streets. I know of many in Fort Worth and Dallas. Several hospitals connect

various campus buildings underground for several blocks. It is VERY COMMON to

connect JAILS to COURT BUILDINGS by tunnels to avoid public transport of jail

inmates in an outside environment. THERE IS NOTHING SUSPICIOUS about tunnels

connecting downtown buildings.

Jack

[John Dolva]

So what's really the point of this. It may prove fruitless.

However, IF these secreted underground passages did exist, (as I know they DO exist in places, with most people totally unaware of them. For reasons. Particularly during the time of settlement and early growth to full establishment, as in the case of Dallas was basically Dealey plaza, if you can get hold of one, check out a list of buildings that WERE there, before architects and engineers became infected with Funkis) , if they did indeed exist under parts of Dealey Plaza??? Could one shoot from one building and quickly get to the TSBD building basement and make way to sixth floor to scatter evidence and then just blend, this is assuming that blending is best done by being already part of the furniture, but there are other ways too. An accomplice, a safe ''house'', moments of guaranteed movement and times of waiting. I wonder sometimes about the second floor. Am I right in remembering that it was Truly who went ahead and declared the second floor clear, with that then taken as being so, for some time.

[John Dolva]

As I want to bump this while not flooding in the many great postings lately:

Barb, you've got a wicked sense of humour. Straight to the point.

Jerry, superb.

Lee, the pattern of the blood on the shirt matches that on Kennedys back. So the wiping down was far from thorough and quite apart from she being just a nurse in the hierarchy of things, part of the washing down was removing the shirt, after it having been cut up the front to prep him, and bagging it. She could have seen the hole in the shirt just as likely as or perhaps more so than on Kennedys back. Or both. Either way, lots to clean up and lots of people to defer to.

Pat, interesting, very interesting, he sounds a bit ... odd. Good that you highlight it publically imo.