By now, most of us are aware of the abandoned, once-forgotten subway stations and other underground wonders hidden beneath the streets of cities around the world. There are even entire cities beneath cities, like Seattle’s Underground. But what about the more obscure secret spaces right under our noses, that we may pass every day as we go along our routines, never knowing of their existence? You could be walking over a reproduction of the Holy Land, a beautiful Art Deco time capsule, a secret canal or a (literally) underground drag racing strip without having a single clue.

Secret Entrance to the White House

(images via Elliot Carter, Atlas Obscura)

Residents of Washington. D.C. probably walk or drive past this unremarkable alleyway all the time, never paying particular attention to the vehicles that go in or come out. But it’s actually a secret back door to the White House created in the 1940s, and the only reason we know that is through archival newspaper reports from the time, when it was just a matter of relatively yawn-worthy public interest. Perhaps the Secret Service would rather we didn’t know about it, especially since they have installed a bulletproof kiosk into the wall at the entrance for their own staff. The secret route winds around the block, into an IRS building and ultimately empties into a subterranean granite vault built during World War II. No doubt, it’s just one of several such routes, and though it’s low-key public information, you probably don’t want to march right up to the H Street entrance unless you’re looking to get some special Secret Service attention.

Lower-Lower Wacker Drive Under Chicago

(images via: Chicago Reader, digiwonk)

Some people call it the Bat Cave. Others, the Magic Road. You need a special pass card to gain entrance at either end, which makes it feel exclusive to those who zip through its cramped quarters full of concrete pillars. Lower Wacker Drive, which first opened in 1926, is unknown to many Chicagoans, while those who’ve been aware of it for decades roll their eyes at every person who thinks they ‘discovered’ the ‘secret’ passage designed for service vehicles and convention buses. Many skyscrapers along the route open directly to Lower Wacker Drive at basement level for deliveries and garbage trucks. But many a proudly in-the-know Chicago resident may still be unaware that there’s actually a Lower Lower Wacker Drive, built in 1975 for parking and storage. Most people only find out about it when their vehicle is towed to a notoriously hard to access impound lot located on this level. Others who live in the skyscrapers nearby may just wonder if they’re losing their minds when they hear the echoes of the illegal drag racing that goes on along this subterranean route every weekend.

Chattanooga’s Secret Underground City

(images via: picnooga)

There’s a whole other Chattanooga under the current Chattanooga, and nobody knows why. When you descend into the basement levels of many old businesses built in the 19th century, you’ll find windows and doors that lead nowhere, evidence of a lower level that disappeared underground when the city built up its roads between 1875 and 1905. Some people think they did this to avoid flooding from the Tennessee River, while others believe they may have thought it would help stop the spread of infectious diseases like cholera that ravaged residents at the time. It’s hard to really get a sense of the size and scale of this forgotten layer, because it’s almost entirely located on private property. Documentation of construction at the time is almost non-existent, so there’s no digging through archives to solve the mystery. Historians don’t even know where the city got the soil to fill it all in. Naturally, the owners of some of these structures have turned them into tourist attractions with various kinds of tours, and legends of ghosts have proliferated.

A Hidden Stream Beneath Indianapolis

When it’s mentioned in the novel Underground Airlines by Ben Winters, the subterranean river called Pogue’s Run under Indianapolis seems fictional like everything else in the story, which imagines a reality in which slavery in America was never officially abolished. But it’s actually real, running under the city for two and a half miles, a popular destination for urban explorers, who often traverse it by bike. It’s dark and dank, infested with terrifyingly robust rats and gigantic insects. It was directed under the city back when urban streams were essentially open sewers, and mostly hidden under structures like an old parking lot that was removed in the ‘90s, revealing a stretch of it to the public. It lies beneath the only stretch of the city that isn’t perfectly gridded and symmetrical, its own proportions screwing up the plan, and ends where the canal converges with the White River.

Catacombs of Washington

(images via: Mr.TinDC, Lawrence OP, David, Flickr CC)

Of all the many secrets that can be found beneath street level in our nation’s capital, this complex of dim passages might be one of the strangest and most unexpected. Guests who want to explore it enter through a dramatic ‘secret’ gated entrance located near the pulpit of a Franciscan monastery. What they’ll find inside is an almost Disney-like recreation of ‘The Holy Land,’ full of fake graves and reproduction grottoes cast from aggregate cement. The Catacombs of D.C. were created by the monks for North Americans who can’t afford to take a trip overseas. For all the fakery, there’s one grave that’s actually real, containing the skeleton of a seven- or eight-year-old child believed to be a martyr from the second century.

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Secret Spaces 12 Architectural Easter Eggs Hidden Under Our Noses

As the world moves away from the Industrial Age and deeper into the Information Age, the relics of our former industries can been seen aging and abandoned.  Often, older industrial buildings and sites are so polluted with the materials once used or made there that the locations can’t be used for much else.  Since they can’t be used, they simply sit and gather the layers of time that make them fascinating until they are demolished, repurposed, or completely forgotten about.  These abandoned factories, mills and mines have served their useful lives and now stand silent.

Port Mulgrave Mine, United Kingdom

(images via: Phill D.)

In the late 19th century, Port Mulgrave mine supplied iron ore for a brief time.  The mine’s existence was responsible for the construction of the nearby harbor, which helped transport the ore until the nearby railroad was eventually linked up with the rest of the country.  Today, the Port Mulgrave mine is partially collapsed and none too safe to venture into – but this brave photographer took some incredible pictures out of the deserted tunnels.

Cascade Pass, Washington

(images via: Darren Jacobson)

Cascade Pass is a popular hiking destination in Washington state, and some truly breathtaking views await hikers.  There are some surprises, too, like this abandoned mine nestled in the rocks.

Delco Manufacturing Plant, Rochester, New York

(images via: Industrial New York)

Rochester was once a booming industrial city.  But when the area’s industry began to wane, there were plenty of old factories left hanging around.  The Delco Manufacturing Plant changed hands a few times after its heyday, but still ended up abandoned in the end.  Today, one of the three buildings has burned down and the other two are frequently used for illegal activity.

Millenium Mills, London

(images via: Dereliction)

The last of the remaining major flour mills in London, Spiller’s Millenium Mills is look back into the history of the city.  The building and the land on which it is situated have been the setting for countless movies and television shows.  Developers have been in talks to turn the area into part of a 5,000-home waterfront development project.

Carondelet Coke Plant, St. Louis, Missouri

(images via: Ecology of Absence)

This coke plant in St. Louis wasn’t the type that provides syrupy caffeinated goodness to keep you going through your workday.  The coke produced here was a type of fuel derived from coal.  When the EPA named coke plants among the most carcinogenic types of industries, the plant was closed and abandoned.  A case of unpaid taxes caused the property to revert to the city’s ownership in 1987.  It was only 19 years later that a buyer was found for the 40-acre contaminated property.

Abandoned Paper Mill, Location Unknown

(images via: Maraid)

The most mysterious abandoned places are those that seem to have been abandoned in a hurry.  This paper mill, apparently located somewhere in Britain, was deserted with belongings in lockers and dishes still on the canteen table.  Was it a chemical spill that caused the workers to flee?  Or did the owners simply not care to remove the company’s posessions from the building when they closed up shop for good?

Abandoned Jute Mill, Angus, UK

(images via: 8333696)

This jute mill in Angus was similarly ditched seemingly in mid-shift.  Rolls of jute lay all around and machines remain parked as if their operators just popped out for a cup of tea.  Boots and jackets still adorn the interior.  The only signs that this isn’t a working factory are the mildew, dirt build-up and general decay adorning some parts of the site.