Many people think that they have seen everything that there is to see in Puerto Rico and that there is no place on the island that they haven’t visited. However, contrary to what you may think, Puerto Rico has much to offer. There so many natural beauties and historical places hidden on this island that you would have to go on an adventure for weeks, maybe months, to try to discover those hidden treasures. Many of these hidden locations are beneath us and we would not know, like the underground tunnels in the town of San German.
The Tunnels of San German, which are really called the Manzanares’ Sewers, are not just any regular sewer, but one full of stories with secrets that only a few people know. The Tunnels of San German are an architectural and engineering work extremely important for the city. The construction of the tunnels began in the early 19th century; approximately in the year 1835 when Mr. Pacual Antongiorgi expanded a bridge that existed on Cruz Street. This construction was the beginning of what is today the Tunnels of San German. Throughout the years, different sections of the tunnels were built under the streets of Luna, Carro, Esperanza and many others. Even the Railway Company of Puerto Rico were involved in the construction, since they covered the section where their railways would go through. According to history, the construction was completed by the year of 1950, when the Vivoni brothers built the final section of the tunnels, which was made under Santiago Street.
The tunnels were built with bricks from several factories in the town of San German, one of these factories was Hacienda Cruzada de la familia Garcés where they made bricks and tiles. Today, the grounds of this factory are used for the benefit of an university called: Urbanización Reparto Universidad.
Tunnel Composition
The construction of all the sections that makes the tunnels are due by the citizens of the town. Each time a farmer came back to town, he built a piece of the tunnel to establish their homes on top of it and avoid any havocs produced by nature. For example, avoiding flooding produced by torrential rains. San German is a town located on the southern area of the island, and also located near the town is Mount Ancones: a hill where the Manzanares’ Creek is located. Hence the same of the tunnels, “Manzanares’ Sewers”, was given. Once it rains, this creek would produced massive water that caused flooding along its path. Therefore, the farmers decided to take action and began building the tunnels, to which they never thought it would last so many years. The construction of these tunnels are a very important stage in the history of San German, as they marked the beginning of the development of urban and population growth.
Currently, the Tunnels of San German are part of the National Register of Historic Places in the USA, thanks to an investigation by Luis Pumarada, Miguel Cruz and Edwin Albino in 1987. It is thanks to them that we have the privilege to know a little of the history of the town of San German and the lifestyle of the farmers in the 19th century. To know more details about this journey, you can access the page of the Research Institute for the conservation of natural resources and environment of the University of Puerto Rico in the town of Mayaguez (PRWRERI).
The Tunnels of San German are composed of different brick vaults that travel throughout the town. Due to the length of the town and the dangers of entering the tunnels, they are not open to the public. The vault inside the tunnels are consisted of various sizes, to which it requires the person going in needs to pay close attention to the infrastructure. There are narrow halls that allows a comfortable walk, there are others where you would need to crouch and other halls where you would need to crawl in order to pass. In addition to the danger to walk through these halls, there is another factor that you would need to be aware of, and that is the darkness. The tunnels are completely dark and it is forbidden to use candles, fire or electrical items to light the way. The reason for the prohibition is because the tunnel run through gases that have not yet been completely identified and there is a possibility that it could cause a fire. Last but not least, inside these tunnels you can experience a temperature about 5ºF above the temperature that you can experience in the town therefore, an approximate 10 to 15 minutes inside the tunnels are sufficient to begin experiencing symptoms such as fatigue and excessive sweating.
There is no doubt, Puerto Rico is an island that guards many secrets and mysteries that only few people know. Watch our experience inside the tunnels here:
References:
Ramón Vázquez, San Germán tour guide.
Pumarada O’Neill, Luis, Cruz Arocho, Miguel. Study and Recommendations on the San German Vaulted Brick Tunnel Storm-Sewer System. 1988. Retrieved from http://prwreri.uprm.edu/publications/Study%20and%20Recommendations.pdf
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