Part 5/14:
Even in these early days, Boston’s wealthy residents engaged in underground construction, creating short carriage ramps and chambers beneath estates, some brick-lined tunnels still existing today beneath Beacon Hill and the North End. These private excavations hinted at the city’s potential to develop underground infrastructure, a notion later reinforced by projects like the 1640s Mil Creek Canal, which connected the Charles River to the harbor through underground waterways, lasting over 150 years.