Freedom Tunnel

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Often, the artwork is centered under the light giving the space the feeling of a chapel or great cathedral.

The Freedom Tunnel is the name given by urban explorers, graffiti artists, and a handful of homeless people to the Amtrak tunnel under Riverside Park in Manhattan, New York City. It is also the name of the legendary and constantly evolving graffiti pieces that cover the tunnel walls.

The Freedom Tunnel got its name because the graffiti artist "freedom" used the tunnel walls to create some of his most notable artwork.^{[citation needed]}

The name may also be a reference to the freedom one may find in this tunnel, the freedom to live unobserved, the freedom to create artwork, and freedom from rent.^[1] (The tunnel has served as a home for many people who could not find a place elsewhere.)

1 History
2 Artwork
3 Access
4 See also
5 Sources
6 External links

[edit] History

Piles of debris are all that remain of the shantytowns.

The tunnel was built by Robert Moses in the 1930s to expand park space for Upper West Side residents, but expansion of freeways in the same area (also by Robert Moses) effectively blocked access to the river.

After it was completed, the train tunnel was not used for long. With the automobile and trucking taking over more of the city's transport needs, trains no longer ran along the West Side, and the giant, man-made caverns became a haven for homeless people. At its height, hundreds of people lived in the tunnel. On April 4, 1991 the tunnel was reopened for trains and a massive eviction followed. The shantytowns were bulldozed and the tunnel was chained off.^[2]

To this day, however, graffiti artists and a new, more secretive, population of homeless people continue to visit the tunnel creating artwork and maintaining a network of secret homes and entrances.

[edit] Artwork

The tunnel is not completely dark. Secret exits at many points let in light and noise from the nearby playgrounds and parks.

Since the tunnel is isolated, the artists take their time and create ambitious pieces without fear of arrest. The tunnel has unique lighting provided by grates in the sidewalks of Riverside Park. The shafts of light create a gallery space for illegal artwork. Often, the artwork is centered under the light giving the space the feeling of a chapel or great cathedral.

Works include a chiaroscuro style study of the Venus de Milo, a re-creation of Goya's "The Third of May," and original portraits rendered with impressionistic splashes of color. The centerpiece of the tunnel is a mural painted in the style of a comic book that tells an abstract story that seems to reference the relationship of the former residents of the tunnel, the city, and the Police

[edit] Access

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Sunbeams from the ventilation ducts.

The entrances to the tunnel are quite intimidating. Those who love and wish to preserve the graffiti have asked that the location of entrance remain secret in the interest of preventing Amtrak or the the city from panicking and installing more effective means of security. There have been requests for historic landmark status, and for the creation of safe pathways. The greatest issue for Amtrak has been liability. The tunnel is dangerous because there is nothing separating visitors from speeding trains. While preservation is probably the best route, to save the artworks, graffiti purists criticize the institutionalization of such a sacred place. They feel it would kill the energy of the artwork and turn yet another corner of Manhattan into a theme park.