There are certain stories you hear over and over when it comes to Nashville history, some unverifiable, some obvious legend. None are more persistent than the rumors that downtown Nashville is laced underneath with tunnels.
Well, as part of WPLN's awesome "Curious Nashville" series, Tony Gonzalez has been trying to get to the bottom of the legend. I won't spoil it for you, but he finds both more than many people thought he'd find and less than I think many of us hoped for. It's awesome.
Peering through it, we see a brick room, or hallway, maybe 20 feet long. It’s a mix of big stones and bricks — including an arched ceiling — and the walls reveal the shapes of several possible passages.
Argh! This is so great! I'm thrilled that, finally, someone has done this and I'm so jealous that Gonzalez got to tackle one of Nashville's biggest mysteries and find actual interesting things!
I'm especially curious about the cadaver tunnel, but after listening to Gonzalez's reporting, I kind of had the sick suspicion that the tunnel probably wasn't for bringing cadavers into the building but for dumping what was left of them into the sewer. But until that wall comes down, we won't know.
Gonzalez also has a few YouTube videos of his adventures and a few pictures up on Instagram, if the podcast isn't enough for you.
