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In 1896, Fort Collins became a dry country town, prohibiting the use and drinking of alcohol. Prohibition caused an essential impact on the city as most temperance acts do. Crime increased and made use of city planning and architecture. In Oldtown Fort Collins, a network tunnel runs beneath the city; these tunnels were used as storage for local building and shops and used for transportation. In the early day of prohibition, dating around the early 1900s, bootleggers would distribute and sell alcohol in the tunnels allowing risky and illegals business to boom underground. It's as criminal as it sounds, these tunnels are still used today to store merchandise and stock for some shops like Walrus Ice Cream store, but most entrances remained closed. If interested in exploring these underground network, Fort Collins ghost tours, a local business that promotes the local and public history of buildings along with its haunted past allow a tour of these tunnels.

A small portion of underground tunnels network, the entrance is located in Walrus Ice Cream shop off Mountian

A small portion of underground tunnels network, the entrance is located in Walrus Ice Cream shop off Mountian

Map of Downtown Fort Collins. 1910

Map of Downtown Fort Collins. 1910
Coloradoan. "10 Events That Helped Shape Fort Collins' History." Coloradoan. July 25, 2015. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://www.coloradoan.com/story/announcements/2014/05/30/events-helped-shape-fort-collins-history/9766921/.

Cutshall, Caroline, Alan Linenburger, Devan Walsh, Matt Witczak, and Colorado State University. "Bootlegging, Immigrants, and Crime in Prohibition-Era Fort Collins." Intermountain Histories. Accessed October 24, 2018. http://www.intermountainhistories.org/items/show/132.

"Featuring Ghost Tours and Speakeasies & Spirits Tour." Fort Collins Tours. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://www.fortcollinstours.com/.

Udell, Erin. "The Story behind the Tunnels under Old Town Fort Collins." Coloradoan. October 18, 2016. Accessed October 24, 2018. https://www.coloradoan.com/story/entertainment/2016/10/18/tunnels-under-old-town-fort-collins/91920658/.