The heavy metal doors clang back and one by one people toting flashlights climb down into the darkness. Are they miners? Spelunkers?
No, just subway enthusiasts, eager to see one of Cincinnati's great urban legends.
Legendary, yes, but the Cincinnati subway is no urban myth. It's as real as $6 million and three years of construction could make it. Cincinnatians voted for the project in 1916; in 1920 workers dug down to the old Miami and Erie Canal under what is now Central Parkway. They worked until the money ran out in 1927, completing two miles of subway.
Over the decades, the forlorn tunnels gathered dust and graffiti, disturbed only by the installation of a water main and a Cold War fallout shelter. The subway was Cincinnati's buried mistake.
Think of it as buried treasure instead, contend the docents of Cincinnati Heritage Programs, an outreach of the Cincinnati Museum Center. Cincinnati Heritage asked the city for permission to lead subway tours, taking responsibility for safety in a dark world of drop-offs and nonexistent handrails. Using flashlights and patrolling platforms since 2001, the volunteers have welcomed 600 visitors into the city's forgotten lair.
The next tours are April 16 at 9, 10 and 11 a.m., and include a slide presentation by a city engineer and a guided tour into five blocks of the tunnel to nowhere. Tickets are $50 for Cincinnati Museum Center members, $55 for nonmembers. For reservations, call 513/287-7031 by April 1.