One of the most recognizable landmarks in Columbia is a 50-by-75-foot mural on the wall of what used to be the AgFirst Farm Credit Bank at Marion and Taylor streets. The mural was painted by local artist Blue Sky and is titled “Tunnelvision.” The mural depicts a tunnel leading to a beautiful sunset view and is so realistic it looks as though a car could drive right through it.
Anyone who lives in Columbia has driven past “Tunnelvision” and been captured by its mystery, by how easy it appears to just turn left, leave Columbia and enter the mural’s strange world. However, once the mural becomes just a normal part of your driving route, it’s easy to forget how mysterious it once was. Blue Sky says the idea came to him in a dream, but perhaps he had a subconscious reason why tunnels were on his mind. Columbia has more mystery than you might think.
Columbia has an underbelly. Actually, not unlike a cow, it has several underbellies. Below the city’s streets are a series of tunnels. Whether secret or public, still open or closed up, the tunnels are there and we walk over them every day.
There are actual tunnels and there are rumored tunnels, proved explanations and conjecture. Much of the history about the tunnels was trapped inside when the tunnels were closed off, leaving us modern-day Columbians to speculate about their purpose. Though the general public may not know much about Columbia’s underground, there are groups of explorers who are always trying to find a way down.
Anderson Burns, a former reporter for ABC Columbia, has a web series called “Hidden Columbia” in which he explores lesser-known stories and places in Columbia. His videos brought awareness to the forgotten tunnels and sparked interest in reopening them. Burns went looking for the tunnels in the name of journalism, but many Columbia tunnel-goers admit to just looking for trouble.
On Reddit and other blogs, users post stories about what they call the “Columbia Catacombs.” These so-called catacombs are service tunnels beneath USC, some of which are still open and serve as steam tunnels for USC’s energy facilities. Most of the tunnels, however, are now closed. Entering them is grounds for expulsion from USC. But after reading so many stories, it’s hard not to want to lift a random manhole on campus and see if it leads to the tunnels.
Back in the '60s, the tunnels were a popular exploration site for USC students. Online, users recount their underground adventures: fraternity brothers drunkenly wandering the tunnels, kids dropping acid in the tunnels and even secret parties in the tunnels. Whether the majority of the student body knew about their existence, the catacombs have been a big part of USC's culture and history since the university's founding. There's even an urban legend about the Columbia catacombs — the "Third Eye Man." First spotted in 1949, the "Third Eye Man" is rumored to live in the USC utility tunnels, where he eats live chickens. The man supposedly has silver skin and a small third eye in the middle of his forehead. Reported sightings of the "Third Eye Man" have been printed in The Daily Gamecock several times. There have been no reported sightings since the catacombs were sealed.
Burns rediscovered tunnels at Riverfront Park, which were built in the early 1800s and were supposedly used by horse-drawn carriages. Today, the tunnels that aren't boarded up with bricks are hidden almost completely hidden by foliage, but the wooden floor of the tunnels is still intact. Though it's impossible to know now, these tunnels were rumored to lead all the way to the Statehouse.
The Hidden Columbia crew also exposed the tunnels underneath Five Points. It is unsure if these tunnels connected to any of Columbia's other tunnel systems at some point. Now, they are a popular spot for graffiti artists. One choice graffiti reads, "We will open the eyes of those who are ignorant."
Informed locals tell of secret tunnels beneath the Statehouse and Bull Street Asylum, but so far, there is no evidence of their existence. Still, it's intriguing to entertain ideas of a whole, connected tunnel system underneath Columbia.
While we go about our daily lives at school or work walking around the city, there's a whole forgotten history under our feet.
Maybe even a creature who eats live chickens.
Maybe even mole people — no, definitely mole people. We don't have any evidence to the contrary.