Buildering or Urban Bouldering as it could also be described seems to be having an underground revival. According to the The Tyee Site (a US campus newsletter) it’s been around since the late 1800’s and was started at Cambridge University. It is now a popular underground sport in many urban areas both US and at home
Check out Buildering.net for a take on the US happenings. There are some great video downloads available from this site which are pretty inspiring.
A quick look on google seems to indicate that is a pretty popular activity at UK universities although not too popular with the authorities