{"nrhp_refnum":"89001388","name":"Atlantic Avenue Tunnel","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Below Atlantic Ave. between Boerum Pl. and Columbia St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"New York City","county":"Brooklyn","state":"NY","lat":40.69177474300005,"lon":-73.99964453899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-09-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick and stone, barrel-vaulted railroad tunnel about thirty-five feet beneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, between Boerum Place and Columbia Street. The Long Island Rail Road built it in 1844.","why_significant":"The tunnel is presented as a representative, highly intact example of soft-ground tunneling by the traditional cut-and-cover method and as a very early underground railroad passage in the United States. It was the fourteenth railroad tunnel built in the country and a key link in the rail and ferry route between New York Harbor and Boston. Its buried approach ramps and portals add archeological value.","narrative":"Beneath Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn lies a railroad tunnel built by the Long Island Rail Road in 1844. It runs about 2,517 feet including its approach ramps and portals, and the roofed section is 1,800 feet long. Mica schist walls support a five-layer brick arch, and the interior is wide enough for two tracks. Builders used the cut-and-cover method, digging a trench, building the tunnel and filling the ground back in. The tunnel linked the rail and ferry route between New York Harbor and Boston, cutting travel time from as long as three days to under ten hours. It was the fourteenth railroad tunnel in the United States. It was closed and sealed in 1861, and the ramps and portals were buried but are believed to remain intact. The tunnel was designed by Asa Stebbins and William Vibbert and built by William Beard. Its engineering, transportation role and archeological potential support its listing.","period_of_significance":"1844-1861","architect_builder":"Asa Stebbins, architect; William Vibbert, Engineer; William Beard, builder","architectural_style":"Other: cut and cover tunnel","criteria":["A","C","D"],"status_note":"Not in use; the tunnel was sealed in 1861, is accessible by a manhole at Court Street, and its structural integrity is described as outstanding.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:45.109524-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/89001388.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001388/6312f88d82-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89001388/6312f88d82-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Vlad Rud","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantic_Ave_Tunnel.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Vlad Rud</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Atlantic_Ave_Tunnel.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75318311","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cobble_Hill_Tunnel","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2981143"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/brooklyn/atlantic-avenue-tunnel-89001388/"}