There I was, sitting with an enthusiastic crowd of 120 people in Doc Maynard's Public House, a restored saloon from the 1890s in downtown Seattle. And none of us was going anywhere but down. Seattle is two cities, a modern American metropolis above ground and remnants of 19th-century sidewalks and shopfronts below - hence, Bill Speidel's Underground Tour. Our guide tells us about how Speidel and others fought to preserve the city's heritage. In 1965, he organised the first tour after a woman said she wanted to learn more about the city below - she arrived with 300 fellow enthusiasts. Making our way through a rugged landscape gives some sense of what the streets of 19th-century Seattle were like. Our guide explains a problem that came with the flush toilet: during big tides, raw sewage washed back into Pioneer Square. And just then, we pass a decrepit convenience. Much of the district was destroyed by fire in 1889. When it came time to rebuild, the city decided to raise the footpath levels, leaving some old sidewalks and storefronts up to 11 metres below the street. The city boomed with the Klondike gold rush, supplying those going to the Yukon. But by 1901 the lower area had become a den of prostitutes, opium dealers and pickpockets. In the 1960s, authorities started tearing down some of the old lower neighbourhood - opposed by the likes of Speidel. Much of the lower world can't be reached these days. We come back up to street level in Pioneer Square a few times to pick up other trails. The square, where the city was founded in 1852, is now a national historic district. It was named after Native American chief Seattle, thanks to his friend, saloon owner Doc Maynard. It features a wrought-iron Victorian pergola (below) erected in 1909. Our tour ends, as it does for 200,000 visitors each year, in the Rogues' Gallery, with its artefacts and photographs from the city's Victorian era. Well, almost ends: in Doc Maynard's lounge your tour ticket stub buys you a beer. Bill Speidel's Underground Tour (undergroundtour.com) costs US$11 per person
