Erickson's Saloon card room
Historical Context of the Shanghai Tunnels
Portland, Oregon: A City's Shady Past
At one time, this great city that we know today as Portland, Oregon, was a river town whose beginnings we often look upon as being nothing more than a humble Victorian settlement. However, in reality it was considered the most dangerous port in the world because of the Shanghaiing Trade. Stopping for a drink in such notorious establishments as Erickson's Saloon, the Snug Harbor Saloon, and the Valhalla Saloon, people became unsuspecting victims who found themselves beneath the streets in tunnels and being carried out to the waterfront and sold for "blood money". Portland, Oregon, the Victorian-refined "City of Roses" along the Willamette River, earned the reputation of being the "Shanghai Capital of the World" because of the uncontrolled shanghaiing of unsuspecting men. These men, primarily sailors, loggers, cowboys, sheepherders, those who worked on the river, and others that lived a wanderlust life, and who played just as hard as they worked, found themselves victims of the worst skullduggery imaginable. Thousands of them found themselves in the clutches of shanghaiers and crimps who either forcibly grabbed them off the streets, slipped knockout drops in saloon, pool hall, and gambling parlor drinks. They were hauled out of opium dens and houses of prostitution, or cleverly dropped through deadfalls (trapdoors) that were conveniently situated in a wide array of vice establishments. Women, in early Portland's history, had to also be cautious when venturing into certain areas of the city. They were warned not to go to dances and to stay out of restaurants, saloons, and other establishments of the evening, They, too, became victims of this shadowy part of the city's history, and found themselves being carried or dragged through this infamous network of wharf-rat-dominated shanghai tunnels, and, unfortunately, sold into white slavery. Like a speck of dust, most of these women just seemed to vanish and were never heard from again. The victims were held captive in small brick cells or makeshift wood and tin holding cells until they were sold to the sea captains. A sea captain who needed additional men to fill his crew notified the shanghaiiers that he was ready to set sail in the early-morning hours, and would purchase the men for $50 to $55 a head. Knock-out drops were then slipped into the confined victim¹s food or water. Unconscious, they were then taken through a network of tunnels that snaked their way under the city all the way to the waterfront. They were placed aboard ships and didn't awake until many hours later, after they had crossed the bar into the Pacific Ocean. It took many of these men as long as two full voyages --- that's six years --- to get back to Portland.
All along the Portland waterfront, from the North End (today's Old Town, Skidmore Fountain, and Chinatown) to the South End (today's southwest downtown area), "Shanghai Tunnels" ran beneath the city, allowing a hidden world to exist. These catacombs connected to the many saloons, brothels, gambling parlors, and opium dens, which drew great numbers of men and became ideal places for the shanghaiers to find their victims. The catacombs, which snaked their way beneath the streets of what we now call Old Town, Skidmore Fountain, and Chinatown, helped to create an infamous history that became cloaked in myth, superstition, and fear. With the cooperation of police, politicians, and big business leaders, these riverfront neighborhoods became more notorious than the Barbary Coast. The Shanghaiing Trade was not just confined to Portland's Downtown. Instead, it existed along the waterfront in a network of Shanghai Tunnels, with some areas more extensive than others.
Oral tradition has kept the history of the Portland Underground alive. Today, 150 years after Shanghaiing began at this former stumptown along the Willamette River, you can still view the secrets of the past, venture through the Shanghai Tunnels and cast your sights on a history that has been nearly forgotten and buried. Tours given by the Cascade Geographic Society reveal the stories of shanghaiers and crimps who, at one time, controlled West Portland, East Portland, Albina, Northwest Portland, Lair Hill Park, Corbett, St. Johns, Linnton, Brooklyn, Lents, Kenton, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sucker (today's Lake Oswego), and other waterfront towns and nearby communities. During the heyday of shanghaiing, a minimum of 1500 people per year were shanghaied out of Portland. The remnants of Portland's infamous history of the Shanghai Tunnels and the Portland Underground, are still with us. The stories have lingered, along with the rubble, the trapdoors, the secret entrances, and the catacombs that still extend their presence beneath the sidewalks, streets and buildings. So join the Cascade Geographic Society and view the remnants of these infamous secret catacombs that earned Portland such a dubious reputation. See the surviving artifacts of this shocking history of shanghaiing. Explore this formerly hidden piece of Portland and the West Coast's maritime heritage.
Portland, Oregon: A City's Shady Past
At one time, this great city that we know today as Portland, Oregon, was a river town whose beginnings we often look upon as being nothing more than a humble Victorian settlement. However, in reality it was considered the most dangerous port in the world because of the Shanghaiing Trade. Stopping for a drink in such notorious establishments as Erickson's Saloon, the Snug Harbor Saloon, and the Valhalla Saloon, people became unsuspecting victims who found themselves beneath the streets in tunnels and being carried out to the waterfront and sold for "blood money". Portland, Oregon, the Victorian-refined "City of Roses" along the Willamette River, earned the reputation of being the "Shanghai Capital of the World" because of the uncontrolled shanghaiing of unsuspecting men. These men, primarily sailors, loggers, cowboys, sheepherders, those who worked on the river, and others that lived a wanderlust life, and who played just as hard as they worked, found themselves victims of the worst skullduggery imaginable. Thousands of them found themselves in the clutches of shanghaiers and crimps who either forcibly grabbed them off the streets, slipped knockout drops in saloon, pool hall, and gambling parlor drinks. They were hauled out of opium dens and houses of prostitution, or cleverly dropped through deadfalls (trapdoors) that were conveniently situated in a wide array of vice establishments. Women, in early Portland's history, had to also be cautious when venturing into certain areas of the city. They were warned not to go to dances and to stay out of restaurants, saloons, and other establishments of the evening, They, too, became victims of this shadowy part of the city's history, and found themselves being carried or dragged through this infamous network of wharf-rat-dominated shanghai tunnels, and, unfortunately, sold into white slavery. Like a speck of dust, most of these women just seemed to vanish and were never heard from again. The victims were held captive in small brick cells or makeshift wood and tin holding cells until they were sold to the sea captains. A sea captain who needed additional men to fill his crew notified the shanghaiiers that he was ready to set sail in the early-morning hours, and would purchase the men for $50 to $55 a head. Knock-out drops were then slipped into the confined victim¹s food or water. Unconscious, they were then taken through a network of tunnels that snaked their way under the city all the way to the waterfront. They were placed aboard ships and didn't awake until many hours later, after they had crossed the bar into the Pacific Ocean. It took many of these men as long as two full voyages --- that's six years --- to get back to Portland.
All along the Portland waterfront, from the North End (today's Old Town, Skidmore Fountain, and Chinatown) to the South End (today's southwest downtown area), "Shanghai Tunnels" ran beneath the city, allowing a hidden world to exist. These catacombs connected to the many saloons, brothels, gambling parlors, and opium dens, which drew great numbers of men and became ideal places for the shanghaiers to find their victims. The catacombs, which snaked their way beneath the streets of what we now call Old Town, Skidmore Fountain, and Chinatown, helped to create an infamous history that became cloaked in myth, superstition, and fear. With the cooperation of police, politicians, and big business leaders, these riverfront neighborhoods became more notorious than the Barbary Coast. The Shanghaiing Trade was not just confined to Portland's Downtown. Instead, it existed along the waterfront in a network of Shanghai Tunnels, with some areas more extensive than others.
Oral tradition has kept the history of the Portland Underground alive. Today, 150 years after Shanghaiing began at this former stumptown along the Willamette River, you can still view the secrets of the past, venture through the Shanghai Tunnels and cast your sights on a history that has been nearly forgotten and buried. Tours given by the Cascade Geographic Society reveal the stories of shanghaiers and crimps who, at one time, controlled West Portland, East Portland, Albina, Northwest Portland, Lair Hill Park, Corbett, St. Johns, Linnton, Brooklyn, Lents, Kenton, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sucker (today's Lake Oswego), and other waterfront towns and nearby communities. During the heyday of shanghaiing, a minimum of 1500 people per year were shanghaied out of Portland. The remnants of Portland's infamous history of the Shanghai Tunnels and the Portland Underground, are still with us. The stories have lingered, along with the rubble, the trapdoors, the secret entrances, and the catacombs that still extend their presence beneath the sidewalks, streets and buildings. So join the Cascade Geographic Society and view the remnants of these infamous secret catacombs that earned Portland such a dubious reputation. See the surviving artifacts of this shocking history of shanghaiing. Explore this formerly hidden piece of Portland and the West Coast's maritime heritage.