They're not for public use and are behind locked doors, but for those that can use them, they come in handy when it gets super cold.

The over head skywalk is the only public way to navigate through downtown Grand Rapids when the weather dips into the single digits, but there is an underground system of tunnels under DeVos Place that allow workers to move about quickly and warmly in the chilly depths of winter.

This video from 2015 shows Steve Zaagman getting a tour of the tunnels, and I love how he keeps making jokes and the tunnel guy is not the least bit amused.

Tunnel Guy is super serious. There is no fun inside the tunnel.

Some facts that emerge about the tunnel in the video:

  • The tunnel was built during the Depression to transport food to Welsh Auditorium.
  • It's a half mile long, and includes part of the DeVos parking garage, and runners use the lower level of the garage to work out in the winter.
  • There are people who work in the tunnel, and even have offices down there.
  • Pumps keep water out of the tunnel.
  • There are no ghosts in the tunnel.
  • There is a tunnel underneath Monroe Street that the public can use, but few know it's there.

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