1859 Jan | Feb 2018

travel spotlight
Travel Spotlight
Buried Treasure
written by Sheila G. Miller
PENDLETON, LIKE MANY old cities,
has a sordid secret.
Underneath its city streets, it hid
tunnels and a red light district built
at the turn of the twentieth century.
Discovered when potholes started
showing up on the streets in the
1980s, the tunnels were used in the
early 1900s primarily by Chinese living
in Pendleton to avoid interactions
with locals, and other people taking
part in less-than-legal activities.
Pendleton Underground Tours is a
nonprofit that started giving tours of
the tunnels in 1989. The tour provides
historical context to the dark side of
Pendleton, including bootlegging,
prostitution and gambling. It also
tells the story of the Chinese who
lived in Eastern Oregon and helped
build the state to what it is today.
The two-hour tour requires
reservations and runs all days except
Sundays and Tuesdays.
pendletonundergroundtours.com
Courtesy of Pendleton Underground Tours
Dan Parnell
Don Bracker
Don Bracker
98 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2018