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Old 04-22-2009, 10:26 PM
 
Location: Palmer
2,519 posts, read 6,993,147 times
Reputation: 1395

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Quote:
Originally Posted by emilybby View Post
If anyone's from Palmer, I'm hoping you could help me out a little bit. I live in an OLD building in Palmer. It was probably built 50-60 years ago. Well, last night I discovered that there was a basement type thing. It's a little room, then 2 sets of stairs going down. At the bottom of those stairs, there's a big open room (it kind of looks like an old, not finished basement), then, if you look to your right, there's a light on & it's a LONG tunnel leading to other buildings.

I can't find anything about it on Google, but I did ask someone about it. They told me that it used to be an old ventilation system in the 60's. He advised me not to go down there because of drug paraphernalia, & there was gangs that went down there. I didn't quite understand if he was telling me not to go down there because of gangs or because there was once drugs down there. He also told me people have disappeared down there.

All of this is built into my house. I live in an apartment next to the Palmer Bar. There isn't any doors to open except the one that goes to outside, then there's a long hallway, then stairs.

If someone could help me out, that would be awesome. I really want to know where I'm living & what that tunnel is all about.
Let's see, the Palmer Bar is on Alaska Street isn't it? I didn't know the tunnels went that far. I'm not entirely sure how the tunnels went but most of the original buildings were built in the late 30s and were heated from a central boiler with tunnels connecting the buildings. The tunnels are still there but I have never ventured down to them. The Borough Building is one of the first buildings and others are connected to them. I don't know where all the tunnels go.

I plan to do a lot of features on Palmer this summer on my website. Everything from the Palmer Fling to the different cool businesses in Palmer like Vagabond Blues, the Valley Hotel, and the Noisy Goose Cafe.
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Old 04-22-2009, 10:29 PM
 
Location: Bliss Township, Michigan
6,424 posts, read 13,165,930 times
Reputation: 6902
Cool, I look forward to reading your website this summer Marty.
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Old 04-22-2009, 10:57 PM
 
Location: alaska
471 posts, read 1,320,624 times
Reputation: 345
anybody watch "The Ghost Whisper"? There are tunnels under that town too!
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Old 05-15-2009, 02:17 AM
 
2 posts, read 5,244 times
Reputation: 10
I will go with you and a couple of others from my work will go too - I am in wasilla and never heard of this until today
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Old 05-15-2009, 03:08 AM
 
Location: Haines, AK
1,121 posts, read 4,470,324 times
Reputation: 681
Default utilidor

Hate to kill the "ghost whisperer" buzz for you, but it's probably a utilidor.

Utilidor = utility + corridor, as in underground corridor for utilities such as power, steam, water, sewer, etc. They were fairly common back in the old days, particularly in military and government facilities that shared a common steam boiler plant which was used for space heating, hot water, etc. They were also useful for short-distance travel when heavy snow closed the roads, which was more common in the old days before multi-million dollar snow-removal budgets and 300hp ten-ton plow trucks became the norm.

Some places still have a bunch of them around (Whittier, for example) that are mostly used for electrical power conduits and often for long-term storage, though certainly not DRY storage, as you've found out. Most places that still use them lock them up to prevent mischief and keep curious people out of trouble. Common hazards include aging hi-voltage/current electrical lines, high-temperature steam/hot water pipes, and especially asbestos. You can usually assume that anything that's white/off-white colored and fibrous looking is asbestos based, especially when it's used as heat insulation like on old steam pipes

Remember that back in the 40's and 50's asbestos was a wonder-material; lightweight, corrosion resistant, heat-proof, and cheap. They used it everywhere; for insulation, fireproofing, siding, ceiling panels, floor tiles, you name it. Most older building have the stuff tucked away somewhere, but usually under layers of more modern material that keeps it from crumbling and getting into the air which presents a hazard. This is not the case in most old utilidors. Since the only people that are SUPPOSED to be wandering around down there are utility workers and maintenance personel, it's rare that any asbestos abatement work has been done there. It's still very expensive to have abatement work done, so it's reserved for the portions of old buildings that are normally occupied...which usually doesn't include utilidors. Also remember than exposure to asbestos dust leads to a particularly ugly type of lung cancer, look up mesothelioma for more information.

My advice would be to stay out of utilidors unless you have a good reason to be there, and idle curiosity isn't a good reason. It's not worth the risk of sucking an unknown amount of aged asbestos into your tender and irreplacible lungs, despite how interested you are.
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Old 05-15-2009, 05:10 PM
 
Location: Wasilla, Alaska
17,823 posts, read 23,342,332 times
Reputation: 6541
Many northern states built tunnels between buildings to make travel between them during the winter easier. The University of Minnesota, for example, has tunnels that connect all the buildings on campus, for example, even though they are not used much these days, if at all. I have also seen these same types of tunnels used to connect various government buildings in Wisconsin.

Considering more than 200 familes were relocated to the Palmer area from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in 1935, it may be that they constructed these tunnels for the same purpose - to make traveling between buildings during the winter easier. Just an educated guess.
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Old 05-15-2009, 05:39 PM
 
Location: Palmer
2,519 posts, read 6,993,147 times
Reputation: 1395
Rotor Head...you are right...that's exactly what they are. Utilidors.
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Old 06-03-2009, 12:44 AM
 
1 posts, read 3,534 times
Reputation: 10
I've lived in Palmer for a few years, and I've heard stories about the "Palmer underground". I've heard that there's an entrance near the police station. I was told about cults performing ceremonies down there, blah blah... most likely not.

The neatest thing I heard about it was that there's a bowling alley down there.

I'm not sure if it's just utilidors or what, but there's allegedly caverns caused by one of the big earthquakes. Never been down there and I'm not sure if it's just an urban legend, but it's definitely intriguing.
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Old 06-03-2009, 01:06 AM
 
Location: Homer Ak.
243 posts, read 483,137 times
Reputation: 130
Darn. Another one of guido's safehouses has been compromised!
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Old 06-03-2009, 01:08 AM
 
Location: Casa Grande, AZ
8,685 posts, read 16,752,567 times
Reputation: 10335
Quote:
Originally Posted by socal4now View Post
Darn. Another one of guido's safehouses has been compromised!
He gets around...when you least expect...
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