Shanghai tunnels

Portland’s so-called Shanghai tunnels, more accurately the Old Portland Underground, formed a network of passages beneath Old Town Chinatown and toward the historic business district, linking hotel and tavern basements with the Willamette River waterfront. Built as a practical freight system in a busy river port, they let goods move from ships directly into basement storage without street-level congestion. Although Portland had a history of shanghaiing and nineteenth-century newspapers reported underground passages and crime, historians have found no evidence that these tunnels were used to kidnap sailors. Instead, the legend grew through doubtful stories, later tours, and tourism, leaving the tunnels suspended between working history and local folklore.

Portland, Oregon · United States