The Steam Tunnels of NCSU: Part 1
It’s fairly common for universities and government agencies to have a network of steam pipes (such as the ones that feed the state government buildings), and NCSU is no exception.
I’ve heard about them off and on over the years, and have always been intrigued by the thought of a subterranean network of secret tunnels, rooms, and machinery hidden below the surface.
Despite the number of words left on walls in the photos here, most of the network consists of nondescript pipes and passageways connecting various parts of campus.
There are several stenciled works denoting various groups that have traveled here over the past few decades. The earliest date I saw was 1985 as seen in the stenciled piece above, but I’ve been told there are some that date back to the 1950s.
I’d like to give credit and thanks to uliveandyouburn for showing me around this surreal and hidden network.
UPDATE: For more photos of the the Steam Tunnels, check out Part 2.
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John Morris
Raleigh Boy
Devin McKim
Sid Fowler
uliveandyouburn
Adrienne Taylor
Ian F.G. Dunn
Ben Spiker
Paul Friedrich
10/13/2008
This is just awesome, John! Getting into the steam tunnels was one of the first campus “urban legends” I heard about when I came to NC State as a freshman in 1969. And I’ve been trying to find out about them ever since. I love that graffiti! Great photos, good job!
10/15/2008
Interesting. When I was at another University in the mid 70s I had a student job where I was able to access the tunnels. I had also been intrigued by the notion but mostly they are dank wet musty places with no real excitment. Besides steam they also channel chilled water for the A/C and shuttle your electricity, telephone and internet … cable sometimes too all across the campus.
Just be careful that you don’t trip into one of those 13,000 volt panels that ominously hum as you pass them (especially since the floor in front of it is probably wet). THAT might be exciting. Just remember, they are restricted because they are not safe places to hang around in when you don’t know what you are doing.
10/16/2008
My name is still there these years later!
10/16/2008
I used to be an engineer for the school (responsible for the utility piping) and I’ve yet to be in a more hot, humid, and stanky place during the summer – just be careful down there, it’s definitely not all that safe since some of the steam pipes are ancient. There was so much dust in there that I had to get used to walking with my eyes closed. I could literally walk from the steam tunnel all the way to Nelson without opening my eyes. Luckily though, they’ve renovated the piping in recent years and redone the lighting. I think it’s neat to observe the different years through a backdrop like this. Industrial archaeology, almost.
10/16/2008
thefensk – I did notice a few humming panels, and steered quite clear of them. Although ‘excitement’ isn’t the word I would use, it was certainly a thrilling experience for me. It was dead silent, with hidden doors and passageways that connected all the parts of campus I had walked over hundreds of times. I certainly enjoyed it.
Mullman – can you tell me just how long ago you put your name up?
Cackalaki – yes, it was quite an intense experience. Several areas of insanely humid hot air, with peppered bursts of cold air here and there. It was surreal and quite a unique experience. I was exceedingly careful not to trip into one of the pipes… 1,000 degrees of steam to the face is not a good way to go out.
thanks for the comments and information.
10/17/2008
Fall of 1989 or possibly Spring of 1990.
A group of us would go very regularly and explore.
Dates from the 60s-70s could be found.
10/18/2008
wow. we used to sneak in by the library’s lower-entrance and walk down to the “cool room” at the end of the main north/south tunnel. the room is directly south of the free expression tunnel and lies just adjacent to the bookstore.
i wonder if my graffiti pieces are still up. we made a LOT of art down there before we discovered bars…
10/20/2008
Thanks for posting this :)
This was an important gathering place for a branch of the Masters Of Deception, made up of cyberpunks and hackers in the late 1980’s that hasn’t been documented.
10/30/2008
I traveled the steam tunnels 3 or 4 times in the early 80’s. We went all over the place. The tunnels actually came up into a box in my dorm room in Syme (but you couldn’t enter there). We went all the way from Syme to DH Hill, to South campus by the smokestack, and everywhere inbetween… One of my best memories of NCSU.
11/11/2008
does anyone know the exact locations of the entrances?
11/19/2008
Reminds me of the final stages of Portal. I keep expecting the graffiti to include a crossed-out pictogram of a cake.
08/10/2009
Kurt Eichenberger (now a Raleigh architect) somehow discovered some entrances to the tunnels about 1970, and he and I had some adventures down there about that time. He probably remembers where those entrances were (hope he doesn’t mind my mentioning his name, and hope we don’t get busted!). As I recall, we entered somewhere around Syme or Welch and were able to go under the railroad tracks to somewhere down around Thompson Theater.
08/11/2009
I just took my 8 year old son and 5 year old daughter on a tour of the campus. The only thing they wanted to hear about was my adventures down in the steam tunnels in the early 80’s. I took them to the free expression tunnel and showed them a door ( now welded shut ) that led into the tunnels. There are also manhole covers in the middle of the brickyard that lead down. You could get in at Syme dorm. There was an entrance at the west end of the building that went down under the parking lot. You had to go through the main steam plant and sneak under a grated platform that had people working 24/7 keeping the plant operating. I don’t know how we survived because we were usually fairly altered when we went down.
01/29/2010
Allen thanks! We just went and explored the tunnels and they were amazing to say the least! We went in near Syme and came up on the other side of the train tracks. Simply incredible. I never knew State had such a secret. Does anyone know of anything similar to explore?