The old library on 12th Street West. (Charlene Tebbutt/paNOW Staff)

By Charlene Tebbutt & Tyler Marr

Downtown tunnels

Digging through the past

May 16, 2019 | 5:01 PM

If you can believe the stories, somewhere beneath the surface of downtown Prince Albert lies a small network of tunnels that long ago, was used by gamblers, drinkers, amorous husbands and ladies of the night.

As those stories go, in the early days of the city’s history, the now-lost labyrinth provided the necessary cover for those looking to engage in their vices without being seen. Some say the tunnels are still there, forgotten and abandoned.

Then again, maybe the mysterious maze is all just make believe. Depending on who you talk to, the underground walkways may, or may not be real. paNOW has spent months attempting to sort fact from fiction, but we’ll let you decide for yourselves.

Many long-time residents of the area say there are several tunnels downtown, including from the old library to the spot where the Empress Theatre once stood. Few have actually seen these mysterious conduits though and paNOW has been unable to uncover any records or information confirming there are indeed subterranean connections between buildings in Prince Albert.

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The Empress Hotel on 12th Street West. (Prince Albert Historical Society, Bill Smiley Archives. Copyright: Prince Albert Daily Herald)

One believer is former Prince Albert Alderman Lee Gisi, now in his nineties, who says he’s seen them and even walked through them after a city crew working on a new parking lot decades ago discovered them. It was around 1969 or 1970 Gisi said, when he and colleague Marion Sherman were called downtown after someone digging for the parking lot almost fell into a hole underground.

While the CAT operator worried about damage to his equipment and possible liability from the accident, Gisi and Sherman got a ladder and some flashlights and headed deep below.

“That tunnel was made out of railway ties, it was dug out by hand and then they put the floor in and the ties on them, made walls out of them and put a roof over it,” Gisi said of the tunnel. “None of us knew about this place.”

Gisi said the tunnel was about seven feet high and six feet wide. As he and Sherman investigated, they came upon a door with a latch. Inside, the two found an eight-man poker table and various wine bottles and gallon jugs.

The old library

Gisi claims the tunnel sits underneath the old library on 12th Street West in downtown Prince Albert. The building has had several owners over the years, and was used by police in the 1920s. The building is now owned by Ray and Loretta Bandet, who are working to restore it and hopefully, give it a new life as a business or community gathering space.

The structure remains closed, although the Bandets took paNOW through it, where a jail cell can still be found in the basement. Markings are visible on the walls of the cell from people arrested long ago, including a 14-year-old boy, who carved his name into the wall.

“We want to do this when the time is right, and I feel that after 20 years of repairing and maintaining this building, now is the opportune time to expose it and find out what is behind door number one,” said Ray Bandet of the old library building.

“Having heard about these tunnels, all the walls were solid concrete,” he said. “When this came about, it was the only one that was made out of bricks and I was assured that this was the only place they could have it in order to connect with the rest of the buildings in the city.”

The gentlemen’s club

Between 1912 and 1916, the old library was a gentlemen’s club. According to records from the Prince Albert Historical Society, the club closed after just four years due to extravagant spending and out of control costs. The building was then used by police agencies before becoming a regional library somewhere around 1950.

The library on 12th Street West was once a busy place for local residents and children. (Prince Albert Historical Society, Bill Smiley Archives. Copyright: Prince Albert Daily Herald)

Gisi claims the tunnel under the library was filled in with sand after it was discovered in the late 1960s. Many of the ties were rotting and unstable, he remembers.

“They bulldozed as much off as they could reach because they were afraid of breaking through, because a lot of these ties are 40 or 50 years old and already been on the track; they’re used ties,” he said. “We just went in there then and pulled all the tiles off the top and pushed in the sides and hauled the sand in and levelled it off and put the dirt back on top … and now it’s all parking lot there.”

The next steps …

The Bandets are looking at several options for the future of the old library building. The walls around the jail cell in the basement appear to be caked with sand and they’re hoping to dig deeper into the mystery of the tunnels this summer as well.

The couple has considered establishing a non-profit group to raise funds for the restoration, or allowing people to buy a brick from the building to get their name on a piece of local history. Loretta Bandet is planning once again to be at this year’s annual Street Fair event to gauge public interest and ideas for the site.

She said she has already gotten a multitude of suggestions for the building, everything from fine dining to a music club to a coffee shop and bakery. The Bandets are encouraging anyone with ideas or information about the site to contact them at chez_bandet@hotmail.com.

“It would be nice if we could open up the tunnels and make it something, like Moose Jaw,” she added. “I think it’s time that everybody knew that there’s a secret here.”

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panews@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow