It may come as a shock to some, but not all of Vancouver’s history sits above ground.
In fact, one of its most fascinating relics was designated as part of the Canada Post Office route back in the 1950s.
The Canada Post Plant spanned over multiple city blocks; however, a massive, 2,400 foot long tunnel was constructed beneath it receive and deliver mail from a nearby train station.
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Specially, the tunnel ran from the city’s main post office, located on West Georgia Street between Homer and Hamilton streets.
From there, it travelled underground and ended at a former CPR train station that is now the Waterfront SkyTrain station. The tunnel had two conveyor belts that transported the mail from arriving trains to the main post office.
Canada Post Office
While it was an amazing structure, the tunnel’s time was short-lived. In fact, it only operated until the 1960s; mail stopped being sent by train, and so it no longer served its purpose. After that, the mail was delivered by trucks.
As a result, the spooky underground route sat vacant for years. With that being said, it came to life after some time, as it was used as the bone-chilling set for a number of Hollywood movies and TV shows.
In addition, many people rented it out for Halloween parties. Indeed, staring into the lengthy dark abyss gave visitors the jitters, and therefore made an ideal spooky setting.
Originally designed by McCarter & Nairne, the original 19th century post office is a point of pride for the City of Vancouver; however, the tunnel was eventually filled in due to safety concerns.
Interested in more history of Vancouver? Be sure to check out these fascinating photos of Granville Street from 50 years ago! Also, check out the SkyTrain car that Princess Diana rode in back in Expo ’86!
