FRESNO — Karana Hattersley-Drayton was leading a team of archaeologists through one of the slew of boarded-up buildings in Chinatown, an enclave long abandoned by the people who gave the area its name more than a century ago.
They were there to recover antique ceramics left behind by the former owners of what had been a restaurant and home. Wearing masks to shield against the stench of human waste from squatters and a sewage break, the team descended into the basement.
They soon found a cache of rare bowls and plates under the wooden staircase.
Then came the unexpected discovery. The group spotted a dark crawl space obscured by boards on the basement's east wall. Was this evidence of one of Fresno's most enduring urban legends?
Tunnels in Fresno's Chinatown were rumored to have been so extensive that denizens could traverse the neighborhood without ever seeing daylight. One tunnel was said to have extended under the dividing railway tracks so that men from the white side of town could reach Chinatown speak-easies undetected.
"It's part of our lore," said Hattersley-Drayton, Fresno's historic-preservation officer.
Since her team reported its find in August, interest in the "underground Chinatown" has exploded. The city is now using ground-penetrating radar in the adjacent streets, trying to find underground connections between basements with walled-off passageways.
Local groups have led tours, guiding visitors to the basement of a barbershop where mysterious doorways are sealed with concrete. An opportunistic shop owner raised the price of flashlights that day from $1 to $15 each.
But the newfound excitement has sparked a backlash. Experts on Chinese American history say Chinatowns across the nation -- including in many California cities -- have always been rumored to have tunnels, but no proof exists that they were anything more than connected basements. They say the hype surrounding the legends revives misconceptions that fanned xenophobia in earlier times.
Oral histories and newspaper accounts from the early 20th century include clues that Los Angeles' original Chinatown (where Union Station now stands) was connected by a web of tunnels leading to brothels, speak-easies and other illicit businesses. But when the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority dug up the area in 1990 for subway construction, it found artifacts but no tunnels.
