Underground

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

  

Chinese laundry, Shamrock Card Room, Empire Ice Cream Parlor, Empire Meat Market, Prohibition Card Room, Duck Pin Bowling Alley, opium dens, Stella Darby and her working girls, and tunnels.  This is just a bit of what we saw today taking the Underground Tour here in Pendleton.

Our one and three quarter hour underground tour began above ground watching a video that explained a bit of the history of Pendleton

and the discovery of these underground tunnels and retail businesses that existed and ran about four square blocks  under the city from the river to the railroad tracks.  The underground was discovered when potholes began appearing in the downtown city streets in the 1980’s.  When they tried to fill them in, it was discovered that a whole little city of legal and illegal businesses had existed below ground connected by tunnels.   In the 1800’s there were two Pendleton’s, one above ground and one below.  The entire system no longer exists but a portion of it has been restored and run by a non profit organization.

The long and short of the story is that after the railroad was completed, the Chinese (who had been doing much of the building), were no longer welcome in town and/or on the streets of the city.  To facilitate the curfews and abuse, underground tunnels were built under the city and residences and  businesses of all kinds began to spring up there.  Our tour included only about a block or so of this once extensive system and we had a very knowledgeable and interesting young lady as our guide.

Tunnel

Closeup of wall built by Chinese

Metal tile ceiling found underground

Glass panels in sidewalk above to bring in light

Chinese living quarters underground

Bathroom in underground

Hop Sing Laundry

Shamrock Card Room

Bar in Shamrock Card Room

Pint ice cream carton

Empire Meat Market in the day

Empire Meat Market Underground

Window into an opium den

Finished with the underground, we walk around the front of the building to the “Stairway to Heaven”, 32 stairs that go to the upper floor of the building  to the famous “Cosy Rooms Brothel” run by Madam Stella Darby.  She ran the Brothel from 1928 to 1967 when she retired.  Stella paid her girls more than most working girls earned and taught the girls to budget money and save so they could escape the life as soon as possible.   This was the last brothel to close in the city.  All the others were closed in 1953.  Our tour here included the parlor where gentleman waited to see one of the girls, Stella’s own apartment, the “working rooms”, chapel, kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, and the girls personal bedrooms.  Much of the flooring and wallpaper is original.  

The "Madam"

The Hallway leading to the Working Girl Roooms

Gentlemen's Waiting Parlor

Sofa in the Madam's Private Living Room

The Working Girls Room

Brothel Kitchen

Brothel Laundry Room

Working Girls Private and Personal Bedroom

While the price of the tour was a bit high, $15 each, it was well worth the cost and very interesting.

Tomorrow we leave here for a 95 mile trip south to Baker City, OR where we will spend almost another week seeing the sites.  This is our ninth day of smoky air and we are hoping that we will find cleaner air further south.