College of William and Mary
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(60 votes)
Published: Jun 02, 2000 12:00 a.m.
Viewed 1980 times |
My first two jaunts are among my favorite memories at William and Mary. Numbers in parenthesis refer to the tunnel map.
It took me three years to finally explore the steam tunnels. After some discussion with my friend ’A,’ we decided to go out late one evening in the dead of winter. So after gearing up and piling on our warm clothes, we headed towards the ceramics building (58) where ’A’ had been told of an entrance. Alas, someone was working in the studio.
Undaunted, we walked around, scoping out gratings, manholes, and the like, eventually making our way towards Dupont (not on map). Searching for a rumored entrance at Dupont, we prowled around the building outside and in. Unfortunately, we found nothing, but did manage some infiltration work- gaining access to several locked rooms in the basement that held the dorm’s elevator, water, and heating equioment.
We worked our way back to the ceramics building. Finding it deserted, we entered through a hidden, perpetually unlocked door in the back. (On the circle side, behind some bushes and trees, next to the garden area in the rear). We stealthily entered and made our way to the kilns. A large tunnel greeted us on the far wall [towards the rear of the campus center (53)]. We entered this large tunnel, hearts racing as we wondered what lay ahead. Following this tunnel for a short distance, we came to the origin point of the tunnel system: the steam plant (57). Hearing human activity in the steam plant, we quickly walked back to the kiln area and followed the pipes to where they entered the wall. (This spot is noted as a circle on the steam line.) Opening a small door, we peered inside. Tight fit- room to stand, but one would have to shimmy sideways for a good distance. We entered, but neither of us like the idea. With our bulky clothing and healthy respect of 200 degree pipes, a hasty escape in the event of a steam problem or cop alert was out of the question. Faced with this lack of adequate escape options, we left the tunnel and after several frightening minutes of a possible cop alert, we scurried over a fence not meant to support more than 50 pounds and evac’ed the area, vowing to return.
I ventured out again in a few weeks time with ’D.’ Finding the ceramics building in use, we walked about discussing strategy and finally settled on using the most conspicuous entrance known: the big, steaming grate and door system just behind the boxwoods & wall on Ancient Campus. Yeah, that’s right, the fairly well-lit area right near the Jamestown Road crosswalk. (noted as the circle just above the 52) Lo and behold, the entrance was open. So quickly jumping the wall, we made our descent.
The scent and smell, the whole atmosphere was incredible. It instantly reminded me of being onboard a warship. Hoping to find the connection with the ceramics building, we headed in a direction that went towards the road. Somewhere, we ended up turning right (I do think that there was a southern fork that likely led to the ceramics building.) and following a relatively comfortable tunnel. Coming across as large wall, we made out marks and moved on. The first ladder/manhole feature we came to lay right next to the Ewell Circle / Jefferson Hall (49) bike rack (the dot at 87). Turning a corner, we shone our lights down a very long and narrow tunnel that appears to run just alongside Jefferson. It was the most cramped, unnerving, uncomfortable, and exciting stretch- forcing us to walk on pipes suspended from the ceiling, to dodge pipes and supports, and to walk in a crouched position for roughly 100 yards. Incidentally, the rumored Jefferson basement entrance was not found.
We continued, moving towards a dim light ahead. The tunnel turned right and forced us to press on through 5 or 6 yards of the nastiest mud I had encountered in quite a while. The shrill sound of escaping steam greeted us at a left turn (I didn’t signify this on the map) and we entered a large (relatively) well-lit space with a concrete floor. We found a door on the right that lead right into Barrett Hall’s (48) eastern stairwell! We could not believe this; all the false rumors about ’good’ tunnel entrances and there’s one that offers easy, unlocked access. The area under Barrett was huge, a perfect place for a party and was strewn with cans, newspapers, flyers, and assorted detritus from earlier decades. We also noted that access to this area could be gained via several of the ventilation screens at the dorm’s ground level. Leaving the large space beneath Barrett, we entered a low, dark, and hot tunnel and walked to its terminus. We opened a small metal access door and entered the eastern stairwell of Chandler Hall (47), right near the laundry room. Happy to be breathing fresh air and in desperate need of water and bladder relief, we trudged up the stairs and entered the first floor’s hallway. Several people were laying about having a late-night gab fest and looked a bit surprised as we walked past them caked in mud and grime and most likely smelling a bit off. We felt like victors, now aware of a whole world about which most other students know nothing.
After a quick rest, we decided to re-enter the tunnels at the Jamestown Road grating. We made the descent and headed north towards old campus. This was a big sucker of a tunnel- fairly wide at times. We found the oft-mentioned manhole near the Ewell Hall (5) posting board, then pressed forward. We passed a spur on the right that headed towards the Wren Building (1) and headed towards Tucker Hall (10). Soon we came to a section with standing water that we gauged to be at least at ankle level. Not wanting to deal with wet boots in the middle of winter, we turned back and took the Wren spur. Taking this spur required crawling over a small section of uninsulated pipe. Passing this obstacle, we moved down the very cramped and wet tunnel, eventually entering the famed basement of the Wren. This place was full of all sorts of goodies, like the locked door we peared through into the ROTC uniform room and various markings, messages, and drawings left by fellow tunnelers through the ages. We found the large metal door that was erected to protect the chapel crypt from the vandalism that has occured there since the War Between the States... and yeah, it’s unpenetrable. The coolest part of this basement was peering out the ground level ventilation windows onto Ancient Campus. We also found a door that is located just below the main door of Wren, hidden from view by the stairs that lead to the main entrance and by the flanking shrubs. This door seems to be perpetually locked and we could not unlock it from the inside.
After poking about the Wren’s basement for a while, we decided to call it a night. We worked our way back to the Jamestown Road entrance, popped out and over the wall and celebrated our successful explorations of the steam tunnels.
WARNING! Be advised that steam tunnel exploration can be dangerous and may result in physical harm. It is also a punishable offense at the College, as stated in the Student Handbook. |
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 | Apr 13, 2005 9:01 pm -
I’ll try it! |
 | Dec 17, 2005 11:28 pm -
sounds crazy make me want to explore tunnels |
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