The Donnellan Crypt in Houston, Texas

The Donnellan Crypt in Houston, Texas

Hidden beneath the Franklin Street Bridge in downtown Houston, this humble brick arch is all that remains of the Donnellan Crypt—an early family tomb sealed into the structure of a modern overpass. Built in the mid-1800s, it once held members of the Donnellan family, including a young man tragically killed by a leftover Civil War cannonball he tried to disarm.  When the bridge was constructed in the early 1900s, the vault was emptied, but the br…