It is interesting to note that there is a current aviation site, Blade Operations, on the Hudson River providing helicopter services. If you step outside the Empire State Building onto 33rd Street and walk 1.2 miles toward the Hudson River, you would only be about three hundred feet from this heliport. This location is next to the massive West Side railroad yard that services the New York Mass Transit Authority. This rail yard has been in existence for some time and appears on maps as far back as 1892.
This waterfront property would have been an excellent location for the Hidalgo Trading Company. The rail yard would have minimized the number of people in the immediate vicinity. There were no nearby office or apartment buildings filled with people.
1909
1907
The next problem is getting a tunnel to the location from the Empire State Building. The building occupies the property between 33rd Street, 34th Street, and Fifth Avenue. Fortunately, the Pennsylvania Railroad company built two tunnels across Manhattan to service the newly built Penn Station which opened in 1910. The tunnels run from Long Island under the East River, across Manhattan, and under the Hudson River to Weehawken. One tunnel runs under 33rd Street from the East River and continues on to the Hudson River.
What better place to start with the construction of the flearun? Improvements to an existing tunnel or the addition of a small shaft alongside or below would be much easier than excavating from scratch. The structure could also be kept secret under the corporate structure of the railroad company. One could easily surmise that Doc Savage would have a large financial interest in such a corporation and thus the financial power to see that this happened.
1955
Is this the real location of the Hidalgo Trading Company? The stories never give any specific details other than being on the Hudson River. Favoring this location is its access to an already established tunnel and the relatively short distance from the Empire State Building.