NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Boring Company’s Music City Loop might be Nashville’s most talked-about tunnel right now, but it’s far from the only noteworthy infrastructure just under the city’s surface.
In reporting on the Music City Loop, News 2 took a step back to learn about Nashville’s other tunnels — namely, utility tunnels — and underground infrastructure that helps keep the city going. From the Nashville District Energy System and Metro Water Services to Nashville Electric Service and more, here’s a look at what lies just below the surface.
In 1951, Nashville Banner photojournalist Doug Underwood photographed a brick tunnel that appeared to lie near the State Capitol building. A short article accompanying the photo held in the Tennessee State Library & Archives said excavation workers uncovered the tunnel under Sixth Avenue between Gay Street and Charlotte Avenue. The article went on to mention that State Capitol historians were “unable to determine when the tunnel was built or for what purpose.”
Jeff Sellers, Director of Education & Public Programs for the Tennessee State Museum, told News 2 it’s believed the tunnel once connected to a pump house found on the northwest corner of Capitol Hill. Sellers explained that in the early 1900s, a pump house and retention pond had been built to help heat and cool the building with steam. He thought the workers referenced in the article were possibly construction workers digging the foundation for what would become the Cordell Hull State Office Building…