When it seems that the world has nothing to surprise us with, it reveals itself from a hitherto unseen side. Here are the top 10 secret rooms and other rooms hidden inside famous landmarks.
10. Empire State Building
King Kong fought planes on top of this tower, it was blown up by aliens in the movie "Independence Day", and this building is also considered a symbol of American architecture. For these and other reasons, tourists have flocked to the Empire State Building in the thousands for decades. When you capture the stunning views from the observation decks on the 86th and 102nd floors, it's easy to see why this building is so popular with visitors to the city. But most people will never go up to the 103rd floor.
For security reasons, this level is not available to the general public. Only a small ledge and low rail separates visitors from the same fall that King Kong made in 1933. The tiny balcony can be reached via a series of elevators and a narrow metal staircase, but you must be a well-known person to get permission to visit the 103rd floor. Like Taylor Swift, who visited it in 2014.
9. Eiffel Tower
If you climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower, you will see more than just breathtaking views of Paris. In recent years, a secret apartment hidden in the upper part of the building has been revealed to the public.
The engineer Gustave Eiffel created his secret room while working on the tower in 1889, and at that time it was only available to him. Millions of visitors have passed by over the years, unaware of the existence of this room.
In 2015, the private apartment was restored to its original condition. It comes with wax models of Gustav, his daughter and the American inventor Thomas Edison, who often visited Eiffel's apartment.
8. Rushmore
When Gutzon Borglum began work on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, his original plan was not only to immortalize the memory of America's famous presidents in granite. He received the go-ahead to create a secret room where copies of documents that are important for US history will be placed for future generations. Hidden behind the stone head of Abraham Lincoln, this secret treasury of the United States was not completed at the time of Gutzon's death in 1941. It was subsequently completed by a team of sculptors in the 1990s.
Unfortunately, the hall is not accessible to tourists as it is too difficult to reach on foot. There is nothing of interest in it except for the repository, which contains short biographies of American leaders, whose faces are carved on a rock, a biography of Gutzon, the American Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
7. Colosseum
The Roman Colosseum attracts over four million visitors annually. But not all of them realize that this former place of gladiatorial fights is much more than meets the eye.
Below street level is not one room, but an entire network of underground tunnels. They were once used to house animals like lions and bears.Here, the animals waited to be lifted into the arena using a pulley. This underground labyrinth was hailed as a great archaeological discovery and has been open to the public for a long time. However, a maximum of 25 people are allowed into the tunnels of the Colosseum at a time, so as not to put either tourists or the underground structure itself at great risk.
6. Pixar Studio
Young Pixar animator Andrew Gordon found small doors in his office leading to a ventilation tunnel. Andrew crawled along it and found a tiny room with several ventilation hoses.
Andrew and his colleagues used the room as a clandestine drinking establishment. It got the austere name of the Lucky Seven Salon and has attracted a host of famous people over the years, from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs to Roy Disney.
Pixar has even made several useful modifications to the Salon, including installing a more comfortable door that has been disguised as a sliding bookshelf.
5. Grand Central Terminal
Since the 1960s of the twentieth century, New York City Central Station has been home to a secret tennis club. On the fourth floor of the transport hub is the exclusive Vanderbilt Club, where one hour on the court can cost you $ 280.
The court is located behind the top of the terminal's famous front window, which many passengers no doubt looked at, unaware that someone on the other side was having a lot of fun and health benefits.
In the 80s of the twentieth century, the court was bought by Donald Trump, the current president of the United States. Famous athletes such as the Williams sisters and John McEnroe have trained on it.
4. Hotel Waldorf Astoria
Under the floors of the fashionable Waldorf Astoria in New York, there is an old railway platform, where an antique carriage is parked. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once traveled between his presidential suite and his Hyde Park home on the secret Track 61 railroad platform, with no attention.
Rumor has it that Track 61 is still used to ferry famous people to and from the hotel.
3. Disneyland
In third place on the list of secret rooms hidden in famous places is Club 33. The Disneyland Alcohol Privilege costs $ 25,000 one time, plus an annual fee of $ 12,000. Because the only place they are sold is in the super secret, exclusive Club 33. It is located behind an unmarked door in New Orleans Square and was conceived by Walt Disney himself as a perk for corporate sponsors and other VIPs. But when the founder of Disney Studios passed away, Club 33 became an individual member.
Disneylands in Shanghai and Tokyo also have their own "Club 33".
2. Train station Milano Central
Milan Station is one of the largest train stations in Europe, but many of the passengers never looked into the most impressive room.
Behind a series of closed doors is the Padiglione Reale (or Royal Pavilion), an opulent waiting room built specifically for the Italian royal family in the 1920s. Although the Italian royal family left the country after World War II, Padiglione Reale is a reminder of the lifestyle enjoyed by monarchs. The hall is decorated with marble interiors, royal emblems and elegant furniture. There is also a balcony on the top floor overlooking the public square below.
1. Harvington Hall
Built in the 14th century in Worcestershire, Harvington Hall has not one, but seven secret rooms called the Priest's Refuge (Priest Hole). These tiny rooms were used to hide Catholic priests during the time of Queen Elizabeth I, when Catholics were persecuted.
Four secret rooms are located near the central staircase. In the Marble Room there is a false fireplace through which the priest could quickly climb to the attic. Another dock-hole is constructed under the rungs of the main staircase.And the seventh is at the back of the swivel wooden bar in the Charles Dodd Library.
The hideouts designed by Nicholas Owen were so well camouflaged that not a single priest hiding within the walls of Harvington Hall was ever caught.