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Oregon’s Portland Underground is a network of tunnels that were once used to hide and transport kidnapped sailors. Because ships in the harbor of Portland were always in need of sailors, many captains had to get their shipmen in any way they could, which often involved abduction and virtual slavery, a process called “shanghaiing”. Once on sea, captives were unable to flee and had to work if they wanted food and water.
Portland bartenders often satisfied this demand by kidnapping drunken patrons. The drunken men were shoved through trap doors known as "deadfalls”. After they fell down below the street they were confined in cells before being sold to the ships. One of those bars is the aptly named Shanghai Bar on Ankeny Street on the waterfront. The Shanghai Bar is partly built into one of the tunnels, which gives the bar a…special atmosphere. |
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