Beneath Vassar campus lies a labyrinth of winding tunnels...or so the legends say. The question of the existence of secret tunnels has captivated the imagination and attention of Vassar students long before students were a little too interested in things that were "underground."
The imagined purpose of these tunnels has evolved and changed over the last 80 years from the mystical to the practical and convenient.
In the 1930s, rumor had it that tunnels were used for sinister purposes."We had heard vague stories of catacombs under Main, but we didn't know that there are so many tunnels under the campus that you can travel all over from one hall to another through them," writes a reporter in the 11.05.32 issue of The Miscellany News.
By the 1970s the stories about the tunnels had changed into ones that resemble those that circulate the campus rumor mill today. "They were not built to protect turn-of-the-century Vassar women from the elements," wrote Nancy Frank, explaining a popular myth about the tunnels in 1979. "I've heard that they built the tunnels so that earlier Vassar women didn't have to walk in the snow," said Nathan Hoston '13.
Despite the popularity of the story, other Vassar students were closer to the truth. "I've heard from some people that they were built to move coal from building to building for heating but aren't in use anymore and are now sealed off," said David Gonzales '14.
While abandoned tunnels would undoubtedly provide a delightful haven during the cold Poughkeepsie days, in actuality the tunnels are still in use, but for a purpose that's mutually exclusive with a quick way to make it from Noyes to Sanders classroom.
"There is a network of tunnels between the buildings, but these are only big enough for steam pipes," Special Collections Assistant Dean M. Rogers wrote in an emailed statement. "The steam comes out the Central Heating Plant and it goes through the pipes in the tunnels to all the buildings on the campus proper, so not the athletic facility or to the buildings across the street," explained Manger of Mechanical Services and Building Trader Dave Bishop.
At the height of the use of the Central Heating Plant, 14 miles of tunnels took steam to the building and 20 miles of tunnels took gas to light the campus's buildings. With the addition of new houses and academics buildings, a new coal pocket was added to the plant in 1902 to store additional coal used for heating and the production of gas, with another coal bunker added in 1921.
Notably, in 1912 the use of gas fell out of style for lighting as electricity became the new craze. Lord and Co. was commissioned to build a new powerhouse as a part of the plant, which allowed Vassar to produce its own electricity until 1955 when the Board of Trustees recommended that the College begin buying their electricity from a local producer.
The boiler room is the only part of the plant which still retains its original purpose, with other notable parts being repurposed as the Susan Stein Shiva Theater and the Hallie Flagan Davis Powerhouse Theater.
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