In researching the Jergins Pedestrian Subway for its temporary re-opening as part of downtown Long Beach’s University by the Sea, festival organizers discovered the potential existence of two underground municipal restrooms adjacent to the remaining tunnel structure.
 
“We were shocked,” exclaimed Ryan Smolar, Project Manager of U-Sea when he obtained maps from the City’s Planning and Building Department that indicated the existence of two underground municipal restrooms in a 1940 Sanborn map.
 
In addition to the potential rediscovery of underground public facilities on the 1940 map, a more current map from the Planning and Building Department indicates that the Jergins Subway is actually located well within the bounds of Victory Park and does not currently extend onto private property.
 
“These discoveries give new hope and opportunity for the Jergins Subway which could possibly be rehabbed by the City or in partnership with the adjacent land-owner,” said Smolar who is asking that the City further investigate these findings.
 
“We poked around and found a possible entrance to the bathroom behind a piece of plywood,” said Smolar, “and we hope the City will investigate the status of the room: whether its empty inside, filled-in with dirt, or completely gone – we just don’t know.”
 
The recuperation of the Jergins Subway has been an on-going discussion since 1992 when local historian Morgan Humphrey organized the community to present ideas for rehabbing the tunnel.
 
In 2002, Vice Mayor Dan Baker organized a task-force to investigate re-opening the tunnel (see attached) though no actions were taken.
 
Last Sunday, University by the Sea organizers obtained permission from both the City and adjacent land-owner James Ratkovich & Associates to re-open the tunnel for the first time in 40 years.
 
When assembling the program for the day’s events, festival organizers obtained old articles and maps of the tunnel and made an exciting discovery that may help augment costs and create new possibilities for rehabbing the tunnel.
 
At University by the Sea, 2nd District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal announced her dedication to further investigating ways of reusing the Tunnel and Brian Ulaszewski, a local architect and activist, brainstormed some additional ideas for utilizing a skylight in the tunnel as an elevator shaft for direct access from Victory Park above.
 
“I think everyone is excited and a little confused about what to do next,” added Smolar, “but we should definitely try to learn as much as we can about what’s down there and then try to find a solution that works for everybody.”