New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City

By Julia Solis

Book Overview

Did alligators ever really live in New York's sewers? What's it like to explore the old aqueducts beneath the city? How many levels are beneath Grand Central Station? And how exactly did the pneumatic tube system that New York's post offices used to employ work?

In this richly illustrated historical tour of New York's vast underground systems, Julia Solis answers all these questions and much, much more. New York Underground takes readers through ingenious criminal escape routes, abandoned subway stations, and dark crypts beneath lower Manhattan to expose the city's basic anatomy. While the city is justly famous for what lies above ground, its underground passages are equally legendary and tell us just as much about how the city works.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415963109
• ISBN13: 9780415963107
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.3" x 10.9"

Customer Reviews

Fascinating views of what's underneath Manhattan

I've always been interested in the infrastructure (especially subway tunnels) beneath Manhattan and the surrounding area. I had wondered whether there were any books about this particular subject and was surprised to find numerous choices. The description and reviews of this particular book sounded the most interesting; I was not disappointed. An easy and very enjoyable read.

Loved it!

I'm not gonna write a review, but just let you know that I thought this book was brilliant, and hard to put down for a general underground enthusiast and lover of NYC and the subway. Very well written by a woman with an obvious passion for what she does.

An Underground Romp

Julia Solis' New York Underground is a playful romp beneath New York City, exploring its secret tunnels, basements, labyrinths and other mysterious subterranean passages. Solis appears to be an intrepid and fearless explorer, as she probes underground lairs which most people would not even wish to visit in the realm of dreams (especially in dreams). Of course, the essential irony to New York Underground is that the underground exists at all. New York City is envisioned as a place of verticality, as the colossal drive to move people up and beyond the ground. Solis' book shows that there was no less an impulse to carry Manhattan downward. From grand projects to bring fresh water to the city, to shelters for the homeless, Solis shows how New York's underground spaces have been vital to the growth of this most vibrant city.

The Truth May Be Stranger Than Fiction

This is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about the Tunnels under New York City. Solis gives interesting accounts of the history behind each kind of tunnel and her own experiences exploring them. She warns that while popular fiction on this topic may be overly romanticized, she sticks solely with the FACTS. However, even thought I am a BIG fan of one such fictional account of the people living below New York City, the '80s TV series "Beauty & the Beast," I was still very much intrigued and amazed by her "real life" stories. Great pictures of the Tunnels found throughout the book as well.

Essential reading

This is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of New York. Great photos and lots of stories of unknown events in the underground to hold your interest.