History in the Tunnels of Moose Jaw

Visitors to the Canadian town of Moose Jaw often come for the scenery and the laid back, sometimes offbeat attitude. Now, they can also come to experience underground tours highlighting the bootlegging days of Al Capone and the struggles of the early Chinese immigrants.

Both tours invite visitors to relive Saskatchewan and Moose Jaw’s storied past, which includes the construction of a vast network of underground tunnels built in the early 20th century. Originally designed as a means to keep workers warm and out of the cold winter weather as they built the city’s heating systems, the tunnels eventually found other uses.

‘The Chicago Connection’ tour reenacts the steps of the bootleggers of 1929 – those who came to Moose Jaw to buy booze from the Capone organization. While engaging in covert activities, they learned to stay in tunnels that had been burrowed underground in an effort to escape the prying eyes of the public and the guns of the police.

‘The Passage to Fortune’ tells the story of early Chinese immigrants, many of who faced extreme hardship during their early years in Canada.  This tour tells their story with a walk through tunnels that start in a Chinese laundry and end up in a café.

Both tours last approximately 45 minutes.