GregBrick.org
Subterranean Twin Cities
Table of Contents
Introduction
The Geology of the Sewers
I. The Early Caves
Quest for the Inner Sanctum: Carver’s Cave at Midnight
A Wild Goose Chase through the Sewers: The Hunt for Fountain Cave
II. Buried Rivers
The Urban Nile: The Subterranean Streams of St. Paul
Among the Spice Islands: Minneapolis’s Underground Rivers
III. The Great Sandbox
The Cave under the Castle: Brewery Caves
The Medieval Temples of Mushroom Valley: St. Paul’s West Side
Velvet Underground: Abandoned Sand Mines
IV. The Milling District
Subterranean Venice: Minneapolis’s Mill Tunnels
Boat Ride to Oblivion: Chute’s Cave
Down the Rabbit Hole: Nicollet Island Caves
V. Utilities
A Lonely Day under the Mortuary: The Fort Road Labyrinth
Behind the Silver Door: Utility Labyrinths
VI. Pluto’s Kingdom
Lost World: Schieks Cave
The Big White: Channel Rock Cavern
Sources and Further Reading
Publication History
Index
Book Reviews"Subterranean Twin Cities is a well-
written and very interesting account
of a rather little known and under-
appreciated sidebranch--or
subspecialty, if you will--of
underground exploration. Brick
provides a rich and colorful
history of Minnesota's urban
underground and a detailed account
of its exploration.He paints a
vivid, if not always alluring,
picture of the world beneath the
city streets. Readers will likely
turn each page in anticipation of
what will be coming next or scratch
their head in astonishment at the
things some people are willing to
endure for the sake of satisfying
an insatiable curiosity."
--Danny Brass,NSS News
"Subterranean Twin Cities is an
enjoyable plunge, sprinkled with
fascinating historical side trips,
into a netherworld that most people
wouldn't want to make a destination.
. . . Brick leads us to the buried
guts of our cities and brings us
back wanting more."--Star Tribune
"An enjoyable account, not for the
squeamish, of a geologist's travels
beneath our city streets."
--Star Tribune
"It's a tour made all the more
remarkable for Brick's wry
storytelling skills and the fact
that we don't have to get our feet
wet."
--Minneapolis Observer Quarterly
"Subterranean Twin Cities is a book
loaded with wit, local history, and
adventure,proving that much more
lays beneath the surface than the
sewage we flush."--City Pages
"A comprehensive, enlightening
history."
--Minnesota Magazine
"A tale of subterrestrial
wonderment, full of exploration of
places with names like the
Subterranean Venice, Mushroom
Valley, Fort Road Labyrinth, Satan's
Cave, Santa's Cave, the Triple Helix
Tunnel and the Urban Nile."
--Saint Paul Pioneer Press
"A great introduction to the
debatable pleasures of a whole new
branch of caving. Greg tells it all
with an irresistible wry humor.
Only the most inflexible
calcareospeleologist will put this
book aside without finishing it."
--Dr. Bill Halliday,
Journal of Spelean History
"In Subterranean Twin Cities, Brick
. . .takes readers on a fantastic
journey beneath the surface of the
Twin Cities and beyond. With precise
detail and fascinating photos and
drawings, Brick explores caves and
underground areas like no one has
done before. Subterranean Twin Cities
is a gem of a book."
--Twin Cities Daily Planet
