Did you know there used to be a Chinatown in downtown Boise?  The Chinese first came to Idaho in the 1850's and some of them had a whole different way of living than what most Idahoans were used to.  Some Chinese immigrants were in to smoking opium which was illegal and led to many raids by police but the Chinese found a way to slip by the law and do what they wanted.  They built secret underground tunnels.

The underground opium dens were mostly in the downtown Boise area by 9th Street, Main, Grove and Capitol Boulevard.  The Chinese had originally come to Boise to work in the mines and the size of Boise's Chinatown was 2nd to only San Francisco around 1900.

In the early 1900's Chinese immigrants started building underground tunnels in Boise for various reasons.  To move illegal merchandise from building to building, gambling, and to create places to smoke opium.  One rumor discussed was that the Chinese would wait until dark and then come up through the manholes at night, rob innocent people and disappear into the secret tunnels.

The existence of these tunnels is still debated to this day.  Some say they don't exist and never did.  Others swear by them.  Most are rumored to exist through some type of secret or trap door in old businesses that have been around for more than a century.

This video is cheesy and goofy but it does relate to the discussion of Chinese tunnels in Boise so... watch it or don't watch it... whatever.

 

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