Underground river: Difference between revisions
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* Construction of the [[Tutwiler Hotel (1914)|Tutwiler Hotel]] ([[1914]]) was delayed by the need to add steel beams to the foundation in order to span the river's cavern. | * Construction of the [[Tutwiler Hotel (1914)|Tutwiler Hotel]] ([[1914]]) was delayed by the need to add steel beams to the foundation in order to span the river's cavern. | ||
* The never-completed [[Roden Hotel]] at [[5th Avenue North]] and [[18th Street North|18th Street]] was limited to a single-story basement because of groundwater. | * The never-completed [[Roden Hotel]] at [[5th Avenue North]] and [[18th Street North|18th Street]] was limited to a single-story basement because of groundwater. | ||
* The [[Florentine Building]] ([[1927]]), which was planned as a 10-story building, only went to 2 stories because of the | * The [[Florentine Building]] ([[1927]]), which was planned as a 10-story building, only went to 2 stories, partly because of the expense of shoring the foundation. | ||
* The [[Federal Reserve building]]'s [[1957]] annex was beset by foundation flooding. The excavation filled with clear water and was pumped out continuously during construction. | * The [[Federal Reserve building]]'s [[1957]] annex was beset by foundation flooding. The excavation filled with clear water and was pumped out continuously during construction. | ||
* Construction of the [[Daniel Building]] ([[1967]]) was delayed as engineers searched for areas of solid bedrock between limestone cavities on which to erect its caissons. | * Construction of the [[Daniel Building]] ([[1967]]) was delayed as engineers searched for areas of solid bedrock between limestone cavities on which to erect its caissons. |
Revision as of 12:15, 16 October 2007
There are numerous references, some fictional, some not, to an underground river flowing beneath downtown Birmingham. UAB geology instructor George Brockman attested to the presence of a below-ground stream downtown. The floor of Jones Valley consists primarily of limestone, a relatively soft sedimentary rock which is easily worn and shaped by eons of water flow.
A writer named Joe Mulhatton visited Birmingham in 1883. He read an account of a small flowing stream discovered by a well-driller in the city and subsequently expanded it into a sensational report of a huge river flowing beneath the city and endangering the entire area. His fictional report first appeared in the Louisville Courier-Journal, but was picked up by other newspapers soon later. Among Mulhatton's claims were that the city rested on a "crust" of stone only a few feet thick which had been broken open during construction of a large building. He claimed that many buildings had collapsed and that the City Hall had settled 4 feet on one corner into a widening fissure.
A fantastical report in the May 29, 1886 edition of the Birmingham Age, under the cryptic byline "H" tells the story of a covert voyage in a stolen boat under the city, the discovery of Steve Renfro's hidden counterfeiting operation, and surfacing into the Warrior River.
Walter Bryant collected several less fantastic reports in a 1975 Birmingham News article:
- Early settlers were supposedly informed by Native Americans that an underground stream ran the full length of the county.
- 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 12th Avenue South was sealed by the city in the early 1900s because it posed a danger to children.
- A spring surfaced at 5th Avenue South and 22nd Street and was utilized for drinking water, and later as the site of an ice manufactory, until it disappeared.
- 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 never-completed Roden Hotel at 5th Avenue North and 18th Street was limited to a single-story basement because of groundwater.
- The Florentine Building (1927), which was planned as a 10-story building, only went to 2 stories, partly because of the expense of shoring the foundation.
- The Federal Reserve building's 1957 annex was beset by foundation flooding. The excavation filled with clear water and was pumped out continuously during construction.
- Construction of the Daniel Building (1967) was delayed as engineers searched for areas of solid bedrock between limestone cavities on which to erect its caissons.
- Numerous downtown structures are said to use underground water, reached by wells, as part of their cooling systems.
Reference
- Walsh, William S. (1892) Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J. B. Lippincott Co., p. 473
- Bryant, Walter. "Underground river helped shape city". (November 27, 1975) Birmingham News.