Exploring Underground Tunnels of Los Angeles & The King Eddy

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Beneath Los Angeles are a network of tunnels used to sneak alcohol during the prohibition era.
Written and Produced by: Bethany Guerrero
Cinematography and Visual Effects by: C. Drew Unser

CAMERA GEAR AND SETUP (AFFILIATE LINKS!!)

Special Thanks to: Chris Kasten

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

All video and images utilized under Educational Fair Use:

Anti-Saloon League Museum

Los Angeles Examiner Collection, USC Libraries

[Toklineman]

A friend of mine and his wife enjoy doing open houses, not to buy building they could not afford anyway, but to see the architecture, decor, etc. in the DC area. They went to one in a Maryland suburb about five years ago that had a huge living room two storeys high; the bedrooms were on the second story and had a walkway all around overlooking the main area below. The owners had been living there for several years until they needed plumbing work done. As plumbers will, they bashed in walls to find the source of the leak. In a hall closet by the front door, they found the pipes needing repair, along with a staircase going down. The owners knew the house had a basement, but only under the rear half; this basement not only took up the entire front half of the building, but continued out under the entire front lawn: in that cave was both a bandstand and a bar. Another bar was in the part under the house. The place had been a speakeasy in the 20s. Dancing under the lawn where the neighbors could not hear the band, serious drinking in the front basement, and other entertainment upstairs. Gentlemen occupying couches in the living room cast their eyes heavenward, not for salvation, but to take their pick of ladies of negotiable horizontality strolling around the walkway above. Yes, it was the 20s' answer to the one-stop shopping center for sin.

[PilotVBall]

You should see the underground tunnels in Charlotte, NC. They connect all the bank HQs to the Federal Reserve Bank. A few tunnels have doors that still connect to the old mining tunnels that run all over downtown Charlotte. Those doors are rarely opened and only serve to drain the tunnels in case of flood, which has never happened.

[howdy]

I used to work security that ride bikes in that district.. the Historic Core BID (Green shirts) Our command post was next to The Last Book Store and it had underground tunnels. We once walked down there and saw old bank vaults. It was creepy, we got a bit lost and when we went up the wrong staircase, we ended up being inside The Last Book Store. Furthermore, I knew a guard that worked the at Alexandrea Hotel on 5th and Spring, above the Down N' Out bar and he said that the tunnels underneath that hotel were creepy and haunted. Same for the business on Broadway street, they have underground tunnels.

[iamjackalope]

There are a number of houses up in the Hollywood hills that have tunnels that connect to other houses. There were also a number of ships that would leave out of long beach and sail out 20 miles off the cost so people could drink. Floating speakeasy's.

[MFDOOMASKOH]

I’ve explored many tunnels with my father around the old bank district area. (4th and main st) Many of them are sealed off to the public, but these historic buildings are a city of their own. FYI, many of these building around the district connect to King Eddy’s saloon.

[notlzrd]

Can you please do the Diddy tunnels next? 😂

[longbeachhippy]

Basement of the Cecil Hotel has great history. Plus a secret hatch to go under the basement even further. I love working in this spooky ass building

[Colt]

You guys would LOVE the history of Azusa Street. The events that happened there made an impact that is far reaching around the world and still remaining to this day.

[yekaesh]

These tunnels actually ran all the way through 12th street under the public works building, but it has since been sealed and concrete poured in. Businesses used to use them back in the day to transport money because they kept getting robbed on regular surface streets.

[rjr]

Love old History like this.Thanks for the tour....

[briansmith]

Very cool! Took that elevator many times while researching a couple biographical articles I had published almost 2 decades ago. I well recall spending hours amongst those dusty shelves poring over old court records. Thanks for the memories.

[happyfacetv]

Why is this not a netflix show already ??

[brillblonde]

Just re-watched this oldie but goodie, and WOW, what an interesting episode. Beth is great in her interview, BTW. So interesting to think about the prohibition era and what went on at the King Eddy and elsewhere. Excellent quotes, too. Thanks for another informative and fun episode!

[wangqingyue]

I will be the first one who watched this video just because the current concern of nuclear war. This tunnel will save lives!

[brandonmckissic]

This is my new favorite episode for this season's Oddity Odysseys. WOW! I learned a bunch and was entertained at the same time. Loved the interview and connection between King Eddy's, too. The reference to the underground access between City Hall and the underground tunnels blew me away! Back in the day, this underground world was thriving. I had no idea. Thanks for another GREAT episode!

[johngerraughty]

Love your videos! Have been watching them all back to back. I got a good laugh when Drew went left looking for the escalator at 12:23 when he was standing right in front of a sign showing the escalator was to the right.

[johnpotter]

At the end of my senior year at Pasadena High School in 1967, I went to a beer party following an awards banquet. We went to a California-Spanish house on the north side of New York Drive, in Altadena. It was empty of furniture and was owned by one of the kid's families. One of the gang asked to have the host "show Potter the basement". He took us to a master bedroom, opening a large, cedar-lined walk-in closet. He moved a hidden lever and the floor hinged up, revealing a staircase. This led to (really, this wasn't a dream) a series of brick-walled and paved walkways, open to the underfloor structure. One led to a full-height vault door, open, and showing a wood-paneled room with empty shelves. Another led to a barred, covered tunnel and the last led to the rear of the house. The host explained that this had been a secret gambling casino for the Altadena Country Club, due south of the house. The barred opening led to a tunnel that ran down to the Club, since filled in about 50' down. When the family bought the house, they removed a layer of carpeting in the master bedroom, showing indentations in the old carpet where the roulette table legs had stood. We went back up and continued the party. It all had to have been real, I guess.

[ThunderboltWisdom]

At 4:53 is one of the locations used in the movie They Live. You can't miss that big circle in the wall.

[nathanm]

4:25 anyone see the guy in the corner of the hallway

[brillblonde]

Awesome shots here and episode. Feels like you are part of the exploration of the tunnels and the discovery of how it all fit together back in the day. So glad that you two didn't get trapped in the elevator! Thanks for bringing light (literally) to the prohibition era. Really fascinating.