Let's explore Mel's Hole...

I was born in Tacoma in 1973. In the old days throughout all of downtown, there were doorways (cemented over) that led to tunnels that run throughout the town. My parents owned a restaurant in downtown Tacoma and the vacant lot next to them (early 80’s) had a sealed doorway that went underneath the street on the other side of the block (which was higher because it was all on a steep hill). Tacoma was the known in the early days as the town where “the rails met the sails” and it was (still is) a major Port town for importing / exporting. At the time of the consturction of these tunnels and rails Chinese (and other foreign) immigrant workers were illegal. The laborers were “smuggled” back and forth to the labor areas via underground tunnels. This is all detailed in the Washington State Historical Museum and is public knowledge.