What’s Behind the Wall?
Bob Diamond, an NYC engineer-turned-urban explorer, really wants to know:
(Via Scott Spencer, mwah.)
The footage we’re watching aims to raise funds and support for The Tunnel, a documentary film project that could potentially solve one of America’s most notorious mysteries. Behind the wall in question may lie an overturned (but otherwise perfectly preserved) locomotive from the early 1800’s, as well as missing pages from the diary of John Wilkes Booth, naming all of the conspirators involved in Lincoln’s death. No one can know for sure unless The Tunnel’s production team is able to convince state and local officials to let them excavate, with the tape rolling. (No easy task, that.)
“At the heart of The Tunnel is a story that delves into mysteries, engineering feats, murders, and cover-ups. Some of the stories are completely true, some of them merely urban legends yet to be proven. Interviews with experts and modern day explorers will offer insight into the tantalizing traces of facts and fiction. There is no shortage of secret societies, bootleggers, pirates, mobsters, ghosts, and even Nazis in the Tunnel’s rich past and this story will shine new light on all the heinous details. One thing is certain – the tunnel is as much a physical place and place in history, as it is a doorway into a labyrinth of discovery.”
Tiny little hairs standing up on the back of your neck? Me too. Think it all sounds too juicy to be true? Maybe. Maybe not. Aren’t you dying to find out for certain? Put the word out. This is a film project worth supporting.*
Links of possible interest:
- Brooklyn Rail’s webpage about Atlantic Ave
- The Tunnel: The Underground Homeless of New York City (Architecture of Despair)
- Dark Days
- The Horror at Red Hook by H.P. Lovecraft
- C.H.U.D.
*That is, unless you’re a New York taxpayer whose morning commute takes you under Atlantic Ave, in which case, you’re probably screaming “NOOOOOOO!”
August 28th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
A hA! Totally fascinated- though I AM a NY taxpayer whose commute to Manhattan takes me under Atlantic Ave. eeeek !
August 29th, 2009 at 9:53 am
Oooo neat!
August 29th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Damned tasty mystery!
August 29th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
A very interesting subject.
However the formal crutch of leaning on the highly stylized editing techniques of Errol Morris to gain legitimacy is disgusting. It shows a lack of confidence on part of the filmmaker in both their subject and their ability to find an appropriate means to present them.
This isn’t “in the spirt of”. This is formal robbery.
August 31st, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Wow! I don’t care whether they find the train or not, I just want to see what’s on the other side!
A. Jennings’ post above me is pretty on the spot, but not enough that I’d not still buy that documentary. I love creepy old tunnels under cities!
To me the most fascinating ones though are the Paris Catacombs,
August 31st, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Damn right Badluck! It seems as if a lot of people nowadays don’t appreciate the fun of discovery.
September 3rd, 2009 at 7:56 am
i was there last year. this guy is a stellar storyteller; he paints a really great picture of what the new york city rivers were like 200 years ago. apparently the hudson was so swarmed with ships that you could basically cross it by hoppin’ upon the decks like a giant game of frogger. there were tonnes of river pirates too, and there are rumors of river pirate traysure hidden behind that mysterious tunnel wall.