Stockton Street Tunnel

The Stockton Street Tunnel is a worthy part of San Francisco. It has a sidewalk, though it ought to be bigger. It really makes the connection between Chinatown and Downtown so much simple. Stairs at each end let individuals oversee the neighborhoods of those respective ends.
My visit here was begun in order to see a small chunk of Chinatown. It was fun and not too crowded at night. The bright lights somewhat cancelled out the cold. This was a pleasant urban adventure.
Stockton Street Tunnel is very practical.

Q: How does an up-​and-​coming chicken get to Chinatown to become General Tso’s Chicken?
A: 10 weeks in the cluckin’ academy and a trip in a delivery truck through the Stockton Street tunnel.
Years after we left the Bay Area, my parents used to talk about a tunnel in San Fran. I asked them many times but they couldn’t remember exactly where it was. It didn’t make sense that it was under the bay. There was too much of a chance that it would be disrupted by earthquakes, although there are tunnels like that on the east coast, and we happened to live near a couple of them in Norfolk, Virginia.
It was with satisfaction that I finally found the tunnel on the way to Chinatown. No, I wasn’t in the back of a delivery truck, but on my own two feet, though I was cluckin’ tired by the time I reached the tunnel. For all the craziness of navigating a city with so many hills, it’s mostly better to walk or to take public transport.
The path was wide enough for a wide wheelchair, yet not quite damp enough for a boat though it seemed quite damp. The reverberation of the sound was not horrible, though there wasn’t so much traffic at the time.
The only thing I had wished is that I could have seen the tunnel from the top, just to see why it was there. I just expected that it was a walkway created by some forward thinking developers who knew one day that traffic would overcome the city.

if you are still getting caught in the speed trap on the southern end of the stockton tunnel you just shouldn’t be allowed to drive in the city. the light is timed, there is NO reason to speed around union square (and it’s stupidly dangerous) and OH YEAH, they have had a speed trap there for like FIFTEEN YEARS.

Downtown one side china town on the other. Its a tunnel used by both vehicles and pedestrians people so think about that and don’t be too surprised on what you find. However for the convenience and not having to climb a steep grade to get in and out of Chinatown I give it 4 stars.

It’s always interesting how different things are underneath the Sutter Stockton garage. The portal of upper Union Square to China town, it’s like one of those surreal dreams. A little dirty, a little gritty.

Stockton Street Tunnel connects chitown
–to union square, the tenderloin, other parts of SF
–actually faster, more efficient than broadway tunnel
–first neon sign out of tunnel seen: «green door massage».
reminds me of «behind the green door» movie
which i’ve never seen.
people say it’s obscene
it’s a smooth ride in a brightly lite tunnel
beware of the abrupt stop at the red light.

I only know this tunnel well because of the parking lot structure squeeeeezed right next to it. Exiting this parking lot (which is $$$$ for parking, btw) always makes me a wee nervous, cuz one wrong turn, and baby, you’re going through this very same tunnel!!!
I am pretty sure that I have even walked this long tunnel before. Crazy me wanted to walk from North Beach one day to Rincon Hill, near SOMA… flat feet I possessed didnt’ think I was very cool.

The Stockton Street Tunnel its namesake street underneath and its link is an «other worlds» contrast between a section of Nob Hill near Chinatown and the beginnings of the Union Square area. The walk up and down the stairs and through the Tunnel is kind of nasty. I watch my back and try to to breathe to much as the auto and urine smells can be strong.
Pausing the top of the North side of the tunnel gives me one of the many «Only in San Francisco» views of my City by the Bay. And while I’m here, I sometimes wander over to the Tunnel Top bar to really help me drink it all in.

Walk from downtown, through Union Square onto Stockton St and walk through the Stockton tunnel. After a short walk, one is «transported» into another world and culture of Chinatown. A San Francisco experience that is free, easy, fun.

This tunnel provides a short-​cut if you are walking from Union Square to Chinatown. It’s efficient as you are skipping three blocks. If you are walking, breathe through your mouth or else some of the marinating smells will gag you. Sounds echo throughout the tunnel, as you can hear conversations bouncing off the walls and ceilings. Kinda strange when that occurs. Have fun!

Walk through this quite often and its a interesting walk everytime. I’ve seen plenty of characters walking through this tunnel. Only thing I hate about this place is when I walk through and there’s piss or throwup in the walkway. Doesn’t happen that often but still sucks when it does. Drunks, homeless, tourists, locals all roam this place and it looks real nice at night time just look out when it’s late cause its deserted and roaming with the night life scene which can get wild.

Why So Serious, you say?!
After enjoying dinner in Chinatown with my girlfriend, we decide to walk to downtown’s Metreon for late night screening of The Dark Knight Rises. It’s Sunday evening, so it can’t be packed, even despite opening weekend. The only thing that stood in our way? One simple 3 minute stroll through Stockton’s old municipal tunnel and will be there.
*but suddenly, le wild tunnel waterdrop falls on top of my head*
Eh, wtf was that?
OMFG. I GOT TUNNEL WATER ON ME!
Lovely evening gone to sh*t just like that.
This isn’t the tunnel San Francisco wants.
It’s the tunnel San Francisco deserves.

Woot. These tunnels are fun to ride thru on the scooter ;P Not as epic feeling as the Broadway tunnel at night, but it is definitely in the midst of a lot of character

First time walking out of Chinatown towards union square I got lost in this tunnel, was about to shit my pants until I finally reached the end and realized where I was. Second time walking through it I realized there were stairs attached to each end of the tunnel so I really didn’t have to walk all the way through it in order to loop back up Powell to my bf’s apartment. Imagine my surprise!
This tunnel is alright. I mean, it’s a tunnel. Unless you’ve got some nostalgic memory about this place, it’s really just a wide tunnel with an occasional sighting of poop and piss here and there left behind by SF’s finest hobos. They’re just the greatest. One time I had a lady sing me a tune from My Fair Lady somewhere on Sutter and Powell. She was nuts. But that’s ok I guess.
SOMETIMES, it really can smell like piss.

Whether strolling through it having a cigarette, driving through it or pedaling through it during Critical Mass this is a fun place to have been through. A literal hole in the wall that connects two renowned areas of the City. Not too long and more pedestrian friendly than the BT I love it.

It’s always halfway through I realise: ‘OH NO! This is the earthquake place! oh no oh no oh no.’ And then it goes on forever and ever, anxiety tripling itself until sunlight returns.
I quite like it.

One of my favorite pausing places in San Francisco is the top of the North side of the Stockton Tunnel, looking down Stockton on the Chinatown side toward North Beach and the bay. Night or day it’s a unique San Francisco panorama.
I saw a flick at the Embarcadero cinema today, then walked up Sacramento into Chinatown, then through the Stockton Tunnel. I usually go up the pee stairs to the top where it’s a different /​Nob Hill world. But today I just felt like continuing through the tunnel on foot. The good thing about it is there are just a couple of lanes, so it’s never too packed with traffic. The other good thing is that it’s not too long a walk through the tunnel. And there are all kinds of special urban people walking through it, including Asian shoppers with the day’s booty, tourists who are presumably too lazy or scared to use the stairs, and other random power walkers. No matter how you cut it this tunnel is a great urban feature. And yes it takes you from chinatown to downtown but I don’t understand why someone would call it a sphinctre. I’m sorry but go back home on that one.
It’s true what Eric W says about how it stimulates the imagination. A few years back late at night, a street rider friend of mine shot through the tunnel on a bike with me on the seat. Unforgettable.

This tunnel got it all. Leaky roof and puddles of stinky substance that you can’t avoid, slow pedestrians that force you to squeeze in between them and the dusty walls, leaving your clothes with some black spots of dirt, trash squattered along the way, homeless people scaring the hell out of you as you don’t see in the tunnel until you go around the small turn to get in. And, for the perfect SF underground experience, there might be one crack head taking a shit right there, for everyone to see and smell. Warning: germaphobes might die before reaching the other end of the tunnel.
Extra star for begin the only stretch of Stockton Street where the Muni goes actually faster then an old chinese lady carrying 5 bags of grocery.

I love tunnels. They are kinda like caves made by people, and I also love caves very very much. But I think out of all the tunnels in San Francisco, this one is my absolute favorite. Compared to it’s buddy tunnel a few blocks to the north and west, it’s architecturally a bit more daring and, ironically, broader than either bores of the Broadway tunnel. It also doesn’t look as dirty, because it’s not lined with off-​white tile, and it doesn’t use awful, streaky, fluorescent lighting.
If you would like a really stunning view, stand down on the south side of Market St, near where it meets Stockton, where all the retail stores are, and look north up Stockton St. towards the tunnel. All these really huge buildings, like the Ritz and the time-​share hotel up on Bush look like they are floating on this broad foundation of air… it’s really trippy.
Also, I like the subtle class divide in tunnel usage. The Stockton isn’t really a conduit for yuppie commuters in their cars between the Financial to the Marina, Marin and beyond like the B’way, but rather is championed by public transit, bicyclists and in my case, afternoon and late night trips between 2 of my favorite neighborhoods, the Mission and North Beach, for fun and frolicking. And I love fun, and frolicking!
Stockton Tunnel; Best Tunnel All The Way!

THANK GOD for the STOCKTON Street Tunnel!
I’ve driven, rode MUNI and even walked through this perfect example of well-​thought-​out urban planning & engineering genius (OK, maybe that’s taking it too far) COUNTLESS times.
(Walking from Union Square into Chinatown is uphill and not as pleasant an endeavor as walking OUT of Chinatown into beautiful Union Square.)
And like Joanie Mitchell sings, «…Don’t it always seem that you don’t know what you’ve got, til it’s gone…»
And on more than one occassion, when they’ve been repaving or closed the tunnel off for cleaning, I’ve realized how much I really appreciate the convenience this tunnel provides.
Imagine a San Francisco where you couldn’t drive through the Stockton Street Tunnel?
You’d have to drive up & down slow-​moving Powell Street next to a Cable Car & pedestrian tourist traffic on one lane each way… or drive through an extremely busy Montgomery Street. Can you imagine what that might be like during rush hour?
So, thank you to the urban planners that came before us and thought this was a good idea. It was.