The 40-Year Pickaxe: Why One Man Built a Secret 10-Acre Paradise Under a California Highway

Beneath the sun-scorched dirt of Fresno, California, lies a sprawling, subterranean masterpiece that defies logic. In this episode of Weird Americana, we explore the Forestiere Underground Gardens—a 10-acre labyrinth of tunnels, courtyards, and bedrooms hand-carved by one man over the course of 40 years. Discover the story of Baldassare Forestiere, a Sicilian immigrant who used nothing but a pickaxe and a shovel to escape the California heat, eventually creating a "resort" with skylights and underground fruit trees that still produce today. Is it a monument to madness or a stroke of architectural genius? We take a 10-minute tour of the most incredible hidden world in the American West.