Metropolis : Such a Bore

The 2nd Street Tunnel is a constant dance. Its glazed ceramic tile walls shimmy like sequins, the oncoming whites of headlights and outgoing crimsons of taillights bounce more feverishly than the lasers in a disco, and the frequent blasts and lingering echoes of offbeat horns set a 24-hour blurt. The tunnel certainly must have seemed as flashy as a mirror ball on July 25, 1924, when its grand opening shared headlines with Will Hays pleading to a tearoom full of Universal execs for decency in films. But it never seemed able to compete with the attention garnered by its older brother, the 3rd Street Tunnel. That corridor, with its blase concrete walls, was lucky enough to be next to the oft-photographed Angel’s Flight. Then the funicular shut down in 1969, and the visual interest shifted to 2nd Street. That was also around the same time location scouts began staking out ready-made sets for post-apocalyptic L.A. films, and what could be a better harbinger of our dark, retro-future dances than the 2nd Street Tunnel? Certainly, as it turned out, the directorial visionairies for “Blade Runner,” “The Terminator” and “Demolition Man” found none, as the tunnel played a supporting role in all three.