Under Brooklyn Heights, beneath the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ rich portfolio of borough real estate, there is a private pedestrian walkway, a series of four subterranean tunnels connecting several of the properties.

The tunnels, which respectively lie under Orange Street, Columbia Heights and Willow Street, are allowed under a 10-year contract with the Department of Transportation and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications. Beyond functioning as convenient interconnecting passageways between a few of the Watchtower Society properties, some of the tunnels are also used for utility services.

The passageways are far different from the pictures imagined by urban myth and the neighborhood’s speculation, appearing more like hospital hallways than haunted houses, with linoleum flooring, fluorescent lights and light-colored walls, according to one image published in the New York Times.

With the buildings’ future ownership pending, however, the tunnels may soon close forever. Under new management, city fees and agreements that allow the passages to remain open would need to be rediscussed, and it is likely that new owners would not have use for the tunnels.

In the case of a residential conversion, they would pose a security risk and no obvious added convenience, both the Times and the Eagle speculated.

Related Stories

Big-Name Developers Vie for Coveted Jehovah’s Witnesses Sites

Reader Unearths Fascinating 1969 Letter About Then-New Jehovah’s Witnesses HQ

The End of the World: Charles T. Russell and Why the Jehovah’s Witnesses Came to Brooklyn

Email tips@brownstoner.com with further comments, questions or tips. Follow Brownstoner on Twitter and Instagram, and like us on Facebook.