All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S03E08.Nazi.Death.Star.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator:
Hidden tunnels stretching
To infinity

That allowed an american city
To survive.

At the time, it was the most
Expensive construction project

In the whole of the u.S.

Narrator: a sunken wreck,
Which met a gruesome end,

Is reclaimed by the sea...

It's as if there's something
Specific about this area

Which makes it lethal
For shipping.

Which makes it lethal
For shipping.

Narrator:
And a concrete dome, bruised
And battered, hides its secrets.

We have no idea how close
We came to losing the war,

And this is testament
To that fact.

Narrator: once, they were some
Of the most advanced structures

And facilities on the planet,

At the cutting edge
Of design and construction.

Today, they stand abandoned,
Contaminated,

And sometimes deadly.

And sometimes deadly.

But who built them?
And how?

And why were they abandoned?

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

*

*

Narrator:
From deep within a forest
In northern france,

A concrete structure emerges.

A concrete structure emerges.

*

Selwood:
It's an extraordinary sight.

There's a vast concrete dome
Nestling in the green farmlands.

This place is total
Science fiction.

Look at it.
There's nothing else like it,

Look at it.
There's nothing else like it,

And this, the shape of it
Is just peculiar.

Did something plug into that?

It's just a strange-looking
Edifice, really.

Meigs:
What you see from outside is,
There's some sort of entrance.

It looks like something
That you would see

Maybe in a james bond movie,
Some, you know, villain's lair.

Narrator:
Hidden beneath the exterior,
Dark, cavernous halls

Narrator:
Hidden beneath the exterior,
Dark, cavernous halls

Carved out of the rock burrow
Deep into the ground.

Miles of tunnels leading in
Every direction

Disappear into darkness.

Selwood:
The great steel structures
Underground

Supporting this facility says
Something of incredible value

Was happening here,
But what was it?

Nobody else had anything
Like this.

These guys were at least
20 years ahead of their time.

These guys were at least
20 years ahead of their time.

Narrator:
Who built this sunken structure,

And what has happened
To cause such devastation?

The answer lies in the reversal
Of hitler's fortunes

During the second world war.

The nazis suffered crushing
Defeats on several fronts.

As the tides started to turn
Against the nazis in 1943,

As the tides started to turn
Against the nazis in 1943,

Hitler turned to his great
New toy box

Of wunderwaffe,
Wonder weapons.

Meigs: they wanted to do
Something spectacular,

Something that would knock

The allies kind of back
On their heels.

They were desperate for
Some kind of dramatic,

Knockout punch.

Narrator:
But allied bombers were doing
Significant damage

To hitler's
Industrial facilities.

Selwood:
So he takes the decision to move
The most important ones

Underground where they're built
In subterranean factories.

Narrator:
This is one of those factories
Just outside

Pas-de-calais
In northern france.

It had to be able to withstand
The most intensive bombardment.

This building would've been
A source of national pride.

This building would've been
A source of national pride.

This is the complex that was
Going to win them the war.

Narrator:
Construction started in
September 1943.

1,300 workers
Labored day and night.

It was a massive undertaking,

As historian
Laurent thierry explains.

The idea was to start
With the roof

To protect the underground
Galleries from bombings

So that they could install
A launch-preparation room

Deep down.

The galleries were
To accommodate

All the required items
For this site --

Garrison, power generation,
And air distribution.

Narrator: it was like
A mini underground town,

The ultimate futuristic
Weapon-development center.

It was where they would build
Hitler's new wonder weapon,

It was where they would build
Hitler's new wonder weapon,

But what was it?

These were something
That had never been seen before.

They came supersonically with
No sound and exploded in cities.

They took only 5 minutes
From launch to impact.

This was a whole new kind
Of warfare.

Narrator:
This is la coupole, the nazis'
Prized v-2 missile-launch site,

Narrator:
This is la coupole, the nazis'
Prized v-2 missile-launch site,

Code-named
Bauvorhaben einundzwanzig.

It would produce and fire
Long-range

Combat ballistic missiles,

Which could hit targets
More than 200 miles away.

*

So this, it's a bomb shelter
For bombs.

This is 55,000 tons
Of concrete, 15-feet deep.

This is 55,000 tons
Of concrete, 15-feet deep.

Just below me here is where
The rockets were to be launched.

Narrator: much of the
Development was top secret,

But what we do know is that

Once the missiles
Were assembled inside,

They would be transported out
To the launch pad and fired.

*

The v-2 rocket was basically
Designed to instill terror

The v-2 rocket was basically
Designed to instill terror

In the populations
Of anywhere it hit.

Flies high up, practically to
The edge of space,

And then comes screaming
Back down faster

Than the speed of sound,
No advanced warning,

And it delivers
This massive explosive charge.

Narrator:
So why was it important to the
Nazis to build this site here?

La coupole was just 28 miles
From the coast

La coupole was just 28 miles
From the coast

Of northern france
And the perfect location

To target england's capital --
London.

Hitler wanted the la coupole
Facility

To be able to send
V-2 rockets against london

At a rate of dozens a day.

This meant a site that could
Store hundreds of rockets

And produce them
Around the clock.

Narrator: all the components
Of the missile would be stored

In a vast network
Of underground tunnels,

In a vast network
Of underground tunnels,

Ready to be assembled
At the heart of the operation.

The construction zone is built
On a vertical hierarchy

So that at every level
There would be specialists

Adding additional elements

To the v-2 as it went through
The construction process.

Narrator:
But the nazi war machine hadn't
Been completely successful

In concealing la coupole,
And in march 1944,

In concealing la coupole,
And in march 1944,

The first allied bombs rained
Down on the concrete dome.

Would the concrete dome be
Able to withstand the onslaught?

Narrator:
In early 1944, allied planes
Are trying to bomb

La coupole to oblivion.

Before it was able to launch
A single missile,

It was the allies' turn to bring
Out their superweapon --

An earthquake bomb
Called "Tallboy."

Each tallboy bomb
Weighed 12,000 pounds.

They were particularly effective
Against massive

And hardened structures

Against which conventional
Bombing was useless.

There would be a total of about
20 raids on the site

Until july 1944.

The british would drop 3,000
Tons of bombs onto the site,

Including 32 tallboy bombs
During two operations.

Including 32 tallboy bombs
During two operations.

Narrator:
One landed just beside the dome

And buried the entrance
To two of the tunnels.

All construction stopped,

And the site
Was never completed.

La coupole was finally abandoned
At the end of july 1944.

Today, the site is a ruin.

Gough: we have no idea how close
We came to losing the war,

And this is testament
To that fact.

If the germans had another year,
This would've been complete,

Would have been pumping out
50 missiles a day.

Don't forget the u.K.
Is 5 minutes away.

Fortunately for us,
Time was not on their side.

Narrator: twenty-five miles
From germany's capital,

Berlin, lies a building
That looks almost palatial.

Berlin, lies a building
That looks almost palatial.

*

Nusbacher:
There are so few places
In europe

That seem to still have the dust
Lying on them in thick layers,

So few places where you
Can see untouched history.

Narrator: it seems to be
Perfectly preserved

Narrator: it seems to be
Perfectly preserved

Until you take a closer look.

Gough:
Plaster is peeling from walls.

There's a overriding air
Of neglect

That just permeates the place.

Narrator: mummified animals
Stretch out on the carpet,

Their final resting place,
Their faces a rictus of death.

Everywhere is the sense
Of quiet despair.

Everywhere is the sense
Of quiet despair.

There's a theater,

The seats turned expectantly
To an empty stage

And a swimming pool
Long empty of water.

And that's not all.

In one of the rooms,
There's a painted mural

With writing...

In russian.

In russian.

Gough: there's a statue of
The former communist leader,

Lenin, standing defiantly
In front of the building,

But this is germany.

What is the connection
With the soviet union?

Nearby are several
Smaller buildings,

Which are even
More dilapidated.

The remaining window panes
Are smeared with grime,

And vegetation is growing
Through cracks in the floor,

And there's massive
Gaping holes in the ceiling.

And there's massive
Gaping holes in the ceiling.

It looks as though something
Terrible may have happened here.

Nusbacher:
You have to ask yourself,

"What happened
To the kind of power

That can create
So much impact

So recently and to have
Disappeared so completely?"

Narrator:
Who lived in these buildings?

What were they used for?
And how is it connected

What were they used for?
And how is it connected

To a covert
Spying operation by the c.I.A.?

The answer lies in the hostility

That existed between the east
And west during the cold war.

After the second world war,
We, the allies, were determined

That we would
Never allow germany

To threaten the world again,

And so we divided germany up,
And we occupied it.

And so we divided germany up,
And we occupied it.

Narrator:
West germany was occupied
By the americans, the british

And the french, and east germany
By the soviet union,

Which began to fortify
Its border with the west.

Gough: political and ideological
Tensions soon escalated

Between the soviet union
And the west,

And east germany
Is on the fault line.

It was the iron curtain.

Narrator:
But how is that connected
To a destroyed ruin

Just outside berlin?

*

Narrator:
In the late 1940s,

Tensions are escalating between
The soviet union and the west.

Given its strategic importance,
The soviet union needed

To maintain a military presence
Here in east germany.

Firstly, to ensure there was
An effective fighting force

Capable of taking on n.A.T.O.
And secondly to ensure

Capable of taking on n.A.T.O.
And secondly to ensure

That east germany towed
The moscow party line.

Television announcer:
Powerful and highly mobile
Communist forces

In eastern europe number
Over half a million men.

Well trained and well equipped,

They pose a continuing security
Threat to all of europe.

Narrator:
350,000 of those troops were
Stationed here in east germany.

The western group of forces,
As it became known,

Was the largest army
On foreign soil.

Was the largest army
On foreign soil.

Corum:
It was equipped with the latest
Of the soviet military equipment

Because if things got down and
Dirty and it came to conflict,

These extremely
Well-equipped troops

Would be the ones
To confront n.A.T.O.

Narrator:
It's hard to imagine now,

But this was once
The red army headquarters,

But this was once
The red army headquarters,

The command and control center

For all operations
In east germany and beyond.

But why build here at wunsdorf,

A small town
25 miles from berlin?

The town has been associated
With the military

Since the late 19th century.

When the nazis came to power,

Wunsdorf was headquarters
For the german armed forces.

Wunsdorf was headquarters
For the german armed forces.

And once the war ended,
The red army

Moved in as caretaker
Jurgen naumann explains.

The military properties of
The former vermont

Were still in superb condition.

You didn't have to build new,

You just had to move in,
Make some modifications,

And I guess that's why here,
Near potsdam, near berlin,

And I guess that's why here,
Near potsdam, near berlin,

The high command was stationed.

Narrator:
According to top-secret c.I.A.
Reports,

It was where indoctrinated
German officers

Would come
On political assignments,

And high-ranking soviet officers

Discussed the probability of war
With the west.

But how effective would they be
At stamping out

Dissent closer to home?

There was a strike
By construction workers

In east berlin,

Which turned into a widespread
Revolt against the government,

But the soviets couldn't
Allow their authority

To be undermined,
So they send in the tanks.

Corum: people with rocks aren't
Very effective against tanks,

And of course, the east
German resistance is crushed.

Now they know they're living
In a totalitarian state.

Now they know they're living
In a totalitarian state.

The red army was in germany
To control germans

And confront the west.

When those germans got
Out of line,

The red army did not hesitate
To destroy them.

Narrator: but if this were a
Military headquarters,

Why are there so many
Non-military facilities?

It wasn't just the armed forces
Who lived there

It wasn't just the armed forces
Who lived there

But their families, as well.

In the main building, there were
Exhibitions, memorial rooms.

There were small cinema rooms

Where propaganda films
Were shown,

A lot of history
About the second world war,

In particular,
About the glorious soviet army.

*

Nusbacher:
The red army officers and their
Families who served in germany

Were able to enjoy
A high standard of life

Were able to enjoy
A high standard of life

That was a lot like
What they would have back

In the soviet union
But even better.

Narrator:
To the 75,000 men, women,
And children who lived here,

It was little moscow.

For over 40 years,
This was home to the soviets.

So why was it abandoned
And left to rot?

*

Narrator: on november 9, 1989,
The berlin wall fell,

And east germany was no longer
Willing to put up

With an occupying army
On its soil.

Nusbacher:
The huge soviet infrastructure
In east germany

Was enormously expensive
To maintain,

And as the soviet state
Collapsed at home,

And as the soviet state
Collapsed at home,

The soviet presence in germany
Had to be pulled back.

Narrator:
It was only a matter of time
Before the russian soldiers

Would be called back home.

And after a final military
Parade on june 25, 1994,

The red army left for good.

Today, the red army headquarters
Stands as a monument

Today, the red army headquarters
Stands as a monument

To a fallen regime
And is currently up for sale.

For so many years,

Germany was about to be
Destroyed by a great cataclysm,

And the scars of that
On germany are still seen.

All over germany, we see relics
Of the enormous occupying

Powers who invested so much
In germany and for so long.

Powers who invested so much
In germany and for so long.

*

Narrator:
19 miles off malin head
On the northernmost tip

Of ireland is a strange
And confusing sight.

*

In the inky waters of
The atlantic, 200 feet below,

Is a jumble of tangled metal.

Bell:
Deep within the murky depths,
Shapes slowly emerge,

And you start to get a sense
Of what's going on here.

There's a propeller.

There's a hull.

There's a mass of rusty metal.

This is the grave
Of a sunken ship.

*

Selwood:
Other shapes make little sense
On a boat.

There appear to be guns,
Tracks, turrets.

There appear to be guns,
Tracks, turrets.

As you look more closely,
It becomes clear

That these are tanks,

But there's no explanation
Why tanks,

Which should be on land,
Are on the seabed.

Narrator:
What's even more surprising is
That these aren't british tanks,

But american sherman tanks.

Dozens of them.

It almost looks as though
They're ready to go into battle.

The whole seabed area
Around there

The whole seabed area
Around there

Is actually
A nautical graveyard.

There are ocean liners.

There are submarines.

It's as if there's something
Specific about this area

Which makes it lethal
For shipping.

Narrator:
What happened to this ship?

Why is it carrying
American tanks,

And how did it end up
At the bottom of the ocean?

The answer lies in a forgotten
Military campaign

Of the second world war --
The battle of the atlantic.

Selwood: during world war ii,
As an island,

Great britain was
Fundamentally dependent

On its allies for supplies.

The main supply line came across
The atlantic

From the united states
And canada.

In fact, it wasn't
Just a supply line,

It was a lifeline.

The atlantic passage is the most
Important way in which

The atlantic passage is the most
Important way in which

Britain got its materials
To defend itself during the war.

Hitler knew that one of
The easiest ways

To hit
The united kingdom hard

Was to cut off
That all-important supply route.

Narrator:
So hitler made it a priority
To sink all merchant shipping

Going across the atlantic.

If he could strangle britain
And cut her off from her allies,

He could force her
Out of the war.

He could force her
Out of the war.

But what connection did that
Have to a sunken ship

At the bottom of the
Ocean laden with american tanks?

This is the wreck
Of the s.S. Empire heritage.

She started life as a whaler
And was damaged by a mine

And put out of service in 1941,
But that wasn't the end of her.

And put out of service in 1941,
But that wasn't the end of her.

Selwood:
The s.S. Empire heritage
Was by no means

The cream of the merchant fleet,
But all boats were needed,

So it was patched up
And put into service

Between liverpool and new york.

Narrator:
Each time it made the crossing
To and from liverpool,

It would have
To pass malin head,

One of the most dangerous
Parts of the crossing,

According to geoff millar,
Who has often dived the wreck.

Yeah, malin head can be a very
Treacherous stretch of water.

Yeah, malin head can be a very
Treacherous stretch of water.

There are very strong tides,

And we're open to the full force
Of the atlantic ocean.

Next stop off malin head is
America,

Which is thousands
Of miles away,

So we've all had rough energy
Coming in from the ocean,

Just waves,
Constant seas, and storms.

Narrator:
Could the s.S. Empire heritage
Have capsized in a storm,

Or did hitler catch up with her?

*

Narrator:
The s.S. Empire heritage,
A british merchant ship,

Has just set sail
Across the atlantic ocean.

The s.S. Empire heritage
Was part of a massive convoy

Of almost 100 ships that
Left new york in august 1944.

It was heading towards liverpool

With a heavy cargo
Of war supplies,

With a heavy cargo
Of war supplies,

Including 16,000 tons of oil and
Almost 2,000 tons of deck cargo,

Which included sherman tanks.

Selwood: to counter the threat
Of the german u-boats,

The royal navy came up
With a system of convoys,

And the idea was that up
To 30 or 70 merchant ships

Would sail under protective
Guard of royal navy vessels.

Narrator: it was almost 3 months
After d-day,

And the allies
Were well on their way

And the allies
Were well on their way

To turning the tide of the war,

But there was still
A desperate need for supplies.

Although beachheads had been
Established in normandy,

What was now required
Was intense effort

To push all the way through
France and down into germany,

And to do that, a lot
Of equipment was necessary.

Corum: the allies cannot ship
More materials,

Troops and supplies effectively
To major continental ports.

Troops and supplies effectively
To major continental ports.

It's months after d-day that
They have large capable ports

Operating under allied control.

Until virtually the end of 1944,

Britain is still the great
Essential logistics base.

Narrator: it took several days
For the s.S. Empire heritage

To reach the north coast
Of ireland.

She was on the home strait.

Although not complacent,
There was a definite feeling

Although not complacent,
There was a definite feeling

That the battle
In the atlantic was over.

In effect, it had calmed
Down from 1943.

And with the success of d-day,

There was a sense
That shipping in the atlantic

Was freer than
Formerly it had been.

Narrator: she was just 19 miles
From malin head

When disaster struck...

A german u-boat
Lurking in the inky blackness,

Just waiting for
A convoy to pass.

Just waiting for
A convoy to pass.

U-boats are one of hitler's
Deadliest weapons,

And this one was fitted
With the very latest technology.

Bell:
It had a snorkel, so it could
Stay submerged for much longer.

It hardly needed to surface,
So it was very hard to spot.

It was also armed with
The very latest torpedoes --

Acoustic torpedoes,

Which could hone in
On the sound of a propeller.

Which could hone in
On the sound of a propeller.

Two of these torpedoes smashed
Into the s.S. Empire heritage.

Two torpedoes might not sink
A battleship,

Which is heavily armored.

Merchant ships aren't armored.

It's going to sink.

This is a case where this
Particular vessel

Got very, very unlucky.

The empire heritage was carrying
16,000 tons of petrol,

The empire heritage was carrying
16,000 tons of petrol,

So when the torpedo struck that,

You can imagine the fireball
That would've caused,

And the sea would've
Been in flames,

I mean, diving in the
Oil-filled water just in flames,

And must have been horrendous,
Must have been a horrible death.

I think it was approximately
70,000 merchant seamen

Lost their lives
In world war ii,

Just unimaginable horror.

Selwood:
When the s.S. Empire heritage
Went down,

Over 100 of the sailors
On board died,

Over 100 of the sailors
On board died,

And many, of course, were very
Young, even in their teens.

This was a sinking
With a very real human cost.

Narrator:
The s.S. Empire and her cargo
Lay silently beneath the waves

Until 1995, when she was
Rediscovered by divers.

It's a underwater monument
To the valor

It's a underwater monument
To the valor

Of tens of thousands of merchant
Seamen in world war ii

Who made victory possible.

Victory would not have been
Possible

Without all of those ships
Bringing the supplies,

Bringing the men, bringing
The material to britain,

Bringing the soldiers
To britain.

And because of their sacrifice,
The allies win the war.

*

*

Narrator: just over 40 miles
From new york city

In westchester county
Is the most extraordinary sight.

*

Meigs:
You're walking along this simple
Trail through the woods,

And there you see this strange
Stone tower that's round,

And there you see this strange
Stone tower that's round,

Doesn't have any doors
Or windows.

It's very mysterious.

I mean, who built it?
What's it doing here?

What's it connected to?

Narrator: these brick monoliths,
Scarred by graffiti,

Punctuate the landscape,

Guarding a secret
Yet to be revealed,

And that's not all.

A rectangular stone structure

Seems out of place
In its urban setting.

Seems out of place
In its urban setting.

Agrawal: if you went inside,
You'd see wheels.

You'd see levers.

You'd even see what looks like
A bit of a gate,

Which is operated by pulleys,
But they're rusted

And they're corroded,
So you can tell by looking at it

That they haven't been used
In a long time.

Narrator:
Hidden beneath is something
More sinister -- a tunnel

Partially filled with water
That seems to be unfinished.

You see that the tunnels aren't
Brick-lined all the way around.

In many instances, they're just
Almost, like, half-lined.

In many instances, they're just
Almost, like, half-lined.

And then as you look above,

You can see
That it's just the raw rock,

Almost like they left it
As it was excavating.

Narrator:
This tunnel stretches
Into the darkness

And appears to go on forever,
But to where?

At the end of the tunnel,
There's a clue.

Water thunders down
This stepped slope and above it,

Water thunders down
This stepped slope and above it,

This imposing steel arch that
Stretches right across a gorge.

But how are
All these things connected?

Narrator:
The answers lies
In the problems new york city

Faced in the early 19th century.

Even by this early time, it was
Already the u.S.'s biggest city

And its business
And economic capital.

The problem that you have with
New world cities like new york,

The problem that you have with
New world cities like new york,

Cities that spring up
And then rapidly develop,

Is that very quickly they use
The local water system

Around them -- the streams
And the rivers that are there.

We need water to live,

And if you can't supply that,
That's a major problem.

Narrator:
As the population of new york
Exploded,

The water supply
Became polluted,

Leading to disease
Like the cholera epidemic

That ravaged the city in 1832.

That ravaged the city in 1832.

More than half of those infected
Would die.

These diseases were
A huge concern for people.

Even in very sophisticated,
Rich, urban areas like london

Or new york,
Epidemics would spread,

And they were
Absolutely terrifying.

Narrator: and disease wasn't
The only problem.

Three years after the epidemic,

The great fire destroyed
Almost 700 buildings

The great fire destroyed
Almost 700 buildings

At the very heart
Of the city's commercial center.

Buildings
Were made of wood.

They were very close together,
So if one house caught on fire,

Boom, half your city
Is up in flames in minutes.

Narrator: if new york was going
To survive, it needed water,

But where would such
A vast supply come from,

And how would they
Transport it to the city?

And how would they
Transport it to the city?

The local authorities decided
To build an aqueduct.

And if they pulled it off,

It would be one of
The most spectacular feats

Of engineering ever seen.

Narrator: the plan was to dam
The croton river,

41 miles north of manhattan,

And build a channel to bring
That water into the city.

It was one of the most ambitious
Construction projects ever.

Meigs: the old croton aqueduct
Was a megaproject,

Meigs: the old croton aqueduct
Was a megaproject,

And to get this channel of water
All the way into manhattan

Was really aggressive
For the technology of the day.

Narrator:
So how would it work?

Bell: the aqueduct would use
The earth's gravity

To move the water
From the reservoir

To the city along
A gradual gradient or slope.

And the challenge
For its builders

And the challenge
For its builders

Was to maintain
This gradual slope

Across a variety of terrain.

Jerram: you've got to go over
Valleys.

You've got to go through hills,
Through rock,

And all the way from source
To the delivery point,

You have to maintain
Or very close to that gradient.

Narrator:
Not only that, the aqueduct
Would be built in many sections

Along its 41-mile route,
Each one, like this bridge,

Along its 41-mile route,
Each one, like this bridge,

A major engineering project
In itself.

And if these sections
Didn't connect,

The water wouldn't
Reach the city.

Writer and broadcaster jim meigs

Explains the challenges
Its builders faced.

The aqueduct was really
Built by hand,

By human and animal
Muscle power.

Everything had to be
Excavated by hand,

Hauled away by animals,
And ultimately constructed

Hauled away by animals,
And ultimately constructed

To carry all this water
Without any modern equipment.

But in some places,
They had to get through a hill,

And that meant tunneling
Through solid rock,

And that's what we see
In this section here.

They came in with hand drills

That they would drive
Into the rock.

You can actually see the tracks
Of the old drill bits

In a couple
Of spots here.

Then they would stuff
Those holes with black powder,

Blow them off, and that
Would fracture the rock.

Blow them off, and that
Would fracture the rock.

This was incredibly difficult,
Dangerous work.

There was the threat
Of cave-ins.

They were operating
With explosive black powder.

There were all kinds of things
That could go wrong.

Narrator:
Its engineers were also worried.

That bad air might build up
Within the aqueduct

And contaminate
The water supply,

So they built ventilation
Shafts into the tunnel,

And there are
21 still standing.

And there are
21 still standing.

These serve a number
Of purposes.

First of all, they allow air
To circulate through the tunnel

So you don't get
Pressure buildup

In key parts of the system.

They also allow the water
To aerate in some way.

It keeps the water fresh,
If you will.

But they also served
As access points,

So every third
Or fourth ventilation shaft

Was also used as an access point
Into the tunnel system.

Narrator:
The aqueduct was one of the most
Complex engineering projects

Narrator:
The aqueduct was one of the most
Complex engineering projects

That new york
Had ever undertaken.

Would it ever be completed
And supply the city

With the water
It needed to flourish?

*

Narrator:
In 1837, construction began
On an aqueduct

To supply fresh water
To new york.

It was beset with problems.

In early 1841, part of the dam
Collapsed,

Flooding the valley
And killing three,

And its laborers mutinied
When their wages were reduced.

Meigs:
You have to remember, when this
Project was being built,

Meigs:
You have to remember, when this
Project was being built,

Everything was done
By hand labor.

They required
An army of laborers,

Many of them irish,
Who labored in this absolutely,

You know, brutal task
For several years

To get this huge piece
Of engineering completed.

Narrator: when the aqueduct
Crossed the valley,

The men had to move
Thousands of tons of soil

And rock in hand carts to build
An embankment to protect it.

And rock in hand carts to build
An embankment to protect it.

And at its base, they built
What's called a culvert,

As mavis cain from
Friends of old croton explains.

It was built to protect
The aqueduct

From the thrust of water
From the many,

Many streams and rivers
That there are in westchester,

So the culvert serves
As a way of keeping the water

From weakening the stones
Of the aqueduct.

Wherever there is a stream
Strong enough to cause damage,

Wherever there is a stream
Strong enough to cause damage,

There is a culvert.

Narrator:
The aqueduct took five years
To build

And cost around $13 million.

And at the time, it was the most
Expensive construction project

In the whole of the u.S.

Narrator:
Would the various sections
Join together

And allow the water to flow
Those 41 miles to new york?

On june 22, 1842,
They would find out.

On june 22, 1842,
They would find out.

Meigs:
The aqueduct was an absolute,
Overnight, immediate success.

Without the aqueduct,
They wouldn't have been able

To expand
The city the way they did.

So I'm standing right in the
Main channel of the aqueduct.

This is where the water flowed.

On a normal day, it might be up
To my knees

Or maybe up to my waist,

And behind me,
You can see this big iron gate

That they would use to close off
The flow if they ever needed

That they would use to close off
The flow if they ever needed

To empty the lower
Portions of the aqueduct.

Narrator:
If the aqueduct was such a
Success, why was it abandoned?

By the early 1800s,

Around 40 years
After it was finished,

The aqueduct could no longer
Meet the city's needs.

In a sense, the aqueduct was
A victim of its own success.

It was such a boon to the city
That it allowed new york

It was such a boon to the city
That it allowed new york

To continue growing
At this dramatic pace,

And the population of the city
Was going up.

Pretty soon, they were using up
All the water

From the old croton aqueduct.

Narrator:
In 1885, they began to build
The new aqueduct

On top of the old dam
And reservoir.

Now the old croton aqueduct
Is preserved as part of

New york's
Industrial heritage

To save it
From being forgotten forever.

To save it
From being forgotten forever.

Jerram:
You can see some of the hidden
Gems that are there,

The chimneys,
The air-ventilation systems.

As nature overgrows

And as we don't follow
These paths very often,

Then they'll become more
And more hidden.