Underground river

There are numerous references to an underground river flowing beneath downtown Birmingham. The Birmingham News' Walter Bryant collected several reports in a 1975 article:

• An office in the vicinity of 5th Avenue North and 22nd Street advertised "Mystic Underground River" excursions during the 1880s and 1890s.
• Access to an underground stream near Highland Avenue and 23rd Street South was sealed by the city in the early 1900s.
• A spring surfaced at 5th Avenue South and 22nd Street.
• Construction of the Tutwiler Hotel (1914) was delayed by the need to add steel beams to the foundation in order to span the river's cavern.
• The Florentine Building (1927), which was planned as a 10-story building, only went to 2 stories because of the presence of the underground stream.
• The Federal Reserve building's 1957 annex was beset by foundation flooding. The excavation was pumped out continuously during construction.
• Construction of the Daniel Building (1967) was delayed as engineers searched for areas of solid bedrock on which to erect caissons.

Reference

• Bryant, Walter. "Underground river helped shape city". (November 27, 1975) Birmingham News.