Joe Exclamation
We all would love to find a hidden room leading to secret treasure… Sure. But what if there were actual hidden rooms inside the most famous places? There are! And here are eight more of them!
1. The Lincoln Memorial
Good old Lincoln. Ever get the feeling that he’s hiding something? Well he is!
If you enter through a hardly noticeable side door and climb down some stairs, you’ll find a secret underground cavern where all the beams support the weight of the 16th president. But more surprising is the impressive hall is covered in rude graffiti from years past.
2. Waldorf Astoria Hotel, NY
President Franklin D Roosevelt loved to stay in the luxurious Waldorf Astoria Hotel, having the Presidential Suite all to himself. But how could he stay there without the press finding out? An exclusive elevator descends to a secret railroad beneath the hotel, named “Grand Central Terminal’s Track 61”. It was built to secretly transport the president to and from the hotel to his childhood home in Hyde Park.
3. Big Ben, London
Located a third of the way up the tower, 114 steps up is the Prison Room. A secret cell where MPs in breach of codes of conduct were imprisoned. It was last used in 1880 when MP Charles Bradlaugh, an atheist, refused to swear allegiance to Queen Victoria on the bible.
4. Grand Central Station, NY
Above all of the hustle and bustle of Manhattan’s busiest subway station
is the fourth floor which used to house a 65-foot indoor ski slope! Later it was turned into a secret and exclusive tennis club run by Donald Trump, but nowadays the courts are accessible to the public. Members only of course.
5. Christ The Redeemer
You’ve probably seen pictures of people taking selfies whilst perched on the giant statue’s shoulder, but despite what the ropes may lead you to think the daredevils scaled Christ from the inside. There are twelve flights of haphazard staircases and finally a ladder which leads out through the statue’s shoulder, made for maintenance workers.
6. Flinders Street Station, Melbourne
Every day 100,000 commuters pass through Flinders Street Station oblivious to the fact there is a forgotten jewel hidden right above them. There is a secret ballroom on the third floor of this historical building, sectioned off since 1985. The popular dance room was often packed since the 50’s, but the music would always stop before midnight and the dancers rush downstairs to catch the last train home.
7. Washington Monument, Washington D.C.
The Washington Monument was the world’s tallest structure when it officially opened in 1888, but there is also a tiny, hidden version buried in the ground! If you open up the right manhole near the monument, you’ll be able to see this 12-foot-tall replica buried entirely. Officially named “Bench Mark A,” it is actually a Geodetic Control Point, one of a million points dotted across the nation used for ordnance surveying. First erected above ground in the 1880s, it was buried when the area was levelled off.
8. The Supreme Court of the United States
Known as “the Highest Court in the Land,” there is actually an even higher court, above the Supreme Court, of a different kind; a secret basketball court! Converted into an exercise facility in the 1940s the court has been used by many celebrities over the years, however there are signs all over warning people not to play when the court below is in session…
Which one of these secrets surprised you the most?
Comment Below!