15 SECRETS Hidden In National Monuments

national monuments draw crowds from all over the world but many people don't realize the kinds of secrets hidden within today we're taking a look at 15 secrets hidden inside national monuments number 15 the tiny washington monument the washington monument is one of the most recognizable monuments in the whole world at just over 554 feet and 7 inches tall and made from marble granite and blue stone nice construction began in 1848 and after a pause because of a lack of funds it was completed in 1884. it was because of this break in construction that the monument is actually two colors as different materials were used to complete the top half of it but did you know that nearby there's actually a miniature version of it that's buried underground known officially as benchmark a is a geodetic control point that's used by surveyors to ensure that maps are as accurate as possible there are actually millions of these across the united states and usually they're just metal caps or rods that are drilled into the ground near the monument though in honor of its neighbor the control point is a 12 foot tall replica all surveys of the area dating back to the early 1900s have used it and it's by using points like this that surveyors know that the ground in the region has sunk by a few inches since the monument was built while the control point was originally above ground it's now buried within a brick chimney and is covered by a manhole cover meaning very few people even know about its existence if you're visiting the monument and just want to see where the miniature one is you'll find the manhole cover just to the south of the real thing of course it's sealed up but if you ask a ranger they'll be more than happy to tell you about it number 14 the 103rd floor of the empire state building when construction was complete in 1931 the empire state building immediately became one of the most famous buildings in the world at 1454 feet high and with 102 stories it was the tallest building in the world for almost 40 years it was originally planned to have a floor that would act as a docking station for airships and the art deco structure is one of the most popular tourist attractions in new york with visitors queuing for hours for the chance to travel by elevator to the viewing observations on the 80th the 86th and 102nd floors these viewing platforms are designed to be as safe as possible with reinforced windows and at the top a tall fence to prevent anyone from falling off the side they don't however provide the best view on offer from the skyscraper because unbeknownst to most visitors there's actually a 103rd floor which is only accessible to vip guests up there the surrounding wall is just knee-high and it offers the best vantage point in new york city it's there that the airships would have supposedly docked although some believe it was simply built to ensure the structure was taller than the chrysler building but today it's a stunning photo opportunity for celebrities most recently taylor swift had her photograph taken as she leaned against the perilously high wall but unless you manage to become a multi-award-winning music artist the chances are you'll never be allowed up there number 13 trafalgar square police station police stations around the world give law enforcement personnel a place to arrange their operations and use as a base but how small do you think the smallest police station on earth is surprisingly it's only big enough to fit one person in and can be found in london's trafalgar square passersby rarely even notice what the structure is today it's used as a cleaners closet instead of accommodating an officer while it may seem ridiculous to have built something like this at one of the city's most famous landmarks there were good reasons behind it the square has long been a focal point for tourism and visitors to the capital but it's also where protests riots and marches tend to congregate these events can often become hostile to police officers but authorities wanted a way to observe what was happening so they built this police station as a safe fortress for an officer to stand inside and watch what was happening outside built in 1920 it had a direct phone line to scotland yard castle style slits to allow the officer inside to safely look out and a light on top that would flash if the officer felt in danger and had to call for assistance number 12 cave of evil spirits the niagara falls is one of the most stunning waterfall systems on earth and is made up of three waterfalls with the biggest the horseshoe falls lying on the border between america and canada it's the most powerful waterfall in north america with a total drop distance of 160 feet and during daytime hours approximately 6 million cubic feet of water pass over the edge every minute the falls are one of the most popular tourist attractions on the continent but they've been a place of significance for far longer than recent times just to the north of the city of niagara falls new york is the devil's hole state park and in there you can find the devil's hole which is also often called the cave of evil spirits according to legend this is where a great massacre took place in 1763 350 british soldiers were marching to a fort upriver of the falls and stopped by the cave for dinner they were attacked by surprise by the seneca indians who killed most of them with a great fire those who survived jumped into the water but were followed by their horses and supplies which killed almost all of the rest in the end only two survived the ordeal to tell the tale it's now believed that the cave itself is haunted by the souls of those who died that day there are countless stories of visitors experiencing strange phenomena after stepping inside number 11 the lincoln memorial mistake and secret room built between 1914 and 1922 the lincoln memorial is a huge monument dedicated to abraham lincoln the 16th president of the united states designed by henry bacon the structure built in the classic greek style covers an area of over 27 000 square feet and has a 19 foot tall statue of the president inside that's made from marble and weighs 159 tons it's featured in countless films and photo opportunities and is one of the most well-known monuments on earth but there are two secrets about the place that not many people know about the first can be seen in the inscriptions on the north wall there's actually a spelling mistake if you look closely at the word future you can see a blemish in the stone this is because the sculptor accidentally carved an e instead of an f luckily this was an easy mistake to rectify the extra line was filled in but especially now as it is aged it's still clear to see if you're looking for it the other surprising secret is that there's actually a 43 000 square foot basement beneath the memorial and for 60 years it had been completely forgotten about it was necessary because the site was originally a muddy flat and workers had to dig a huge hole before installing concrete columns to carry the weight of the memorial it was only rediscovered in 1975 during renovation works and by then the basement had its own stalactites an ecosystem of rats and insects there was too a piece of graffiti from 1914 from those who worked there if you visit you can see where the entrance to the secret room is but currently access is strictly prohibited number 10 flinders street station's grand ballroom following a grand opening in 1854 flinders street station is in the central business district of milburn australia and is the transport hub of the city by the 1920s it was reportedly the busiest station in the world the current building which was completed in 1909 is one of the most important cultural sites in the region the almost 100 000 passengers that pass through each day barely have time to notice the ornate architecture such as the dome the arched entrance and its tower but even those who are familiar with the building won't necessarily know about its secret room which was once a grand ballroom located on the top floor it was originally a lecture hall that was used by the victorian railways institute before being converted into a ballroom in the late 1940s it became the center of the city's ballroom dancing scene for the next two decades public dances would be held in the hall with all of them finishing perfectly on time so everyone was able to catch the last train home by the 80s however popularity had waned and the ballroom closed its doors for the last time and since then it has laid empty with most new residents of the city not having a clue that it even exists number nine the torch room another iconic monument in new york is the statue of liberty which is often the symbol most associated with american values around the rest of the world built by french sculptor frederick august bartholdi the first public display of the statue was just its head that was shown at the world's fair in paris in 1878 but by 1886 the rest of the 151-foot tall monument was completed and installed on liberty island which is technically in new jersey but is run by manhattan originally the intent was for the statue to be placed at the entrance to the suez canal so it was going to be a muslim peasant woman but after the leaders of egypt rejected the idea the plans were changed to install it in america so the designs were changed while those who visit will be more familiar with looking out across the bay in new york city from the crown originally it was also possible to climb up into the torch for an even better view this all came to an end in 1916 however there was an explosion on black tom island in the harbor this shattered windows around the city and caused shrapnel to be lodged into the arm of the statue of liberty as a result of this it was deemed too far dangerous to allow people to climb into the torch any longer and it's remained closed to visitors ever since we're constantly adding more people to the top fives production team to bring you all the best content be sure to subscribe with notifications on and hit the like button number eight brooklyn bridge wine cellars crossing the east river between the boroughs of manhattan and brooklyn the brooklyn bridge is a vital artery of the city's transport network and is used by more than a hundred thousand vehicles each day it was opened in 1883 and immediately changed the face of travel in the area but despite appearing to be simply a bridge it holds a secret from back when it was being constructed rather than being a national project like most bridges are today washington roebling who along with his father designed the project had to find a way to raise the 15 million dollars they needed to build it they also faced difficulties because of two businesses that were located in their planned route and came up with an ingenious compromise these two businesses were a wine company and a liquor company and it was agreed that within the foundations of the bridge there would be two wine cellars one on each shore along with several chambers that would also be rented out to businesses the cellars were actually open several years before the bridge itself turned out to be the perfect place to store wine the caverns were dark and cool and were soon used to store valuable vintages from around the world it's been quite a while since they've been used for this now however but the sellers still exist and it's probably only a matter of time until a new use is found for them number seven the secret art corridor of florence located in central italy florence is the capital of the tuscan region and has long been a cultural and financial center it's famed for its architecture collections of art and various monuments and statues but it also has its fair share of secrets until recently very few people had heard of the vasari corridor let alone what it was it's a private passageway that connects the uffizi gallery with the palazzo pitte and while it looks innocuous from the outside it was used by royals and nobles to walk between the two as well as being a private walkway it was also where the most prestigious art collection is in the city like most of the impressive arts of florence the passageway was built by the medici family in the 16th century as a way to avoid the public bridge it was then filled with the incredible collection which included more than a thousand paintings from artists such as diego velasquez mark trogal rubens and rembrandt and each successive generation of the medici family would add to it as such an important place of cultural heritage the corridor actually opened its doors to the public for the first time a few years ago but it has again been closed and has planned to welcome visitors once more within a year or two number six christ the redeemer is hollow when you think of rio de janeiro brazil there are probably three main things that come to mind there are the beaches and the carnival and of course the giant 98 foot tall statue of jesus christ that overlooks the city known as crystal redentor it was built between 1922 and 1931 by a team of engineers and sculptors and with arms that stretched 92 feet wide it stood atop a mountain at an elevation of 2300 feet made of concrete and soapstone it instantly became an iconic statue across the world and millions of people walk up the steps each year to stand beneath it what most people don't know however is that the statue is actually hollow there's a staircase and access inside it that allows you to reach the top this isn't open to the public though but it is vital to perform continual repairs to the statue one of the things the engineers realized when building it was that at such an altitude it would essentially become a lightning rod it struck every few days during stormy periods and it's the job of the restoration team to climb up to the top when it's safe to do so to repair any damage that's been caused this along with the natural weather erosion means that the statue's maintenance requires a full-time crew without the interior access the job would be far more difficult than it already is number five the grand central terminals tennis club if you've ever traveled through new york the chances are that you've passed through grand central terminal opened in 1913 it's a national historic landmark and sees more than 20 million visitors each year and that's not including those who go there to actually use the transport network with 44 platforms it has more than any other station in the world and amazingly they're all underground from there you can connect with routes across the city and the country during rush hour there's a train that departs every 58 seconds while you may be familiar with the platforms the art installations the restaurants and the exhibition spaces do you know that the station is also home to one of the most exclusive tennis courts in the city it's been there since the 1960s and is now operated by the vanderbilt tennis club it had fallen into a state of disrepair it was only in 1984 that donald trump saw an opportunity to renovate the space and make it available to the super wealthy or famous who were willing to pay vast sums to gain access his lease expired in 2009 which is when the current operators took over and while it's not under such a veil of secrecy anymore it cost between 150 and 200 an hour to hire so isn't exactly affordable to most new york residents the main court itself is located just behind the facade window of the station so there's truly nowhere quite like it in the world to play tennis number four leonardo's secret hatch visitors to rome will usually fly into the fumicino leonardo da vinci airport and upon arrival are greeted by a towering 60-foot tall brown statue of the legendary inventor and artist it was made by a bulgarian artist called assen pakoff who won a competition to design a statue for the airport and it was installed there in 1960. millions upon millions of people have passed it since but it was only in 2006 when renovations were needed that it was realized that the statue held a secret about 30 feet up there was a small hatch and inside workers found two parchments one of them which was written in latin and details its use all the way back to ancient times the other parchment contained the names of everyone who had been present for the unveiling including the sculptor himself the president of the italian republic and several other politicians would also go on to become important figures in italy it's not known who put them there or if the sculptor was the person behind it but next time you pass the statue if you see anyone staring at it through binoculars it could well be because they're trying to see the hatch or even discover if there's another one hidden somewhere else on the monument number three the supreme basketball court the supreme court is the most important court in america where some of the most contentious cases are decided by the justices the court itself is located on the fourth floor of the building and it's from there that the decisions are made that affect the entire country it's one of the most important institutions in the american legal system but despite being known as the highest court of the land it isn't even the highest court in that building in fact on the fifth floor there's a basketball court that's used by employees it was originally used as a storage room for legal journals but was converted at some point in the 1940s to provide an exercise facility for staff over the following decades wooden backboards and nets were installed and while it isn't regulation size it offers a perfect place to shoot some hoops when the court isn't in session there's a sign at the entrance to remind people not to use it while the court is sitting but there have been a few occasions when people have played and the noise could be heard downstairs which leads to the court justices having to send a clerk to remind the players to be quiet number two the eiffel tower apartment built between 1887 and 1889 for paris's world fair that year residents of the city weren't particularly impressed by the eiffel tower at first they saw it as a blight on the skyline but soon became accustomed to it and it's now one of the most recognizable and most visited landmarks on earth for 41 years it was also the tallest man-made structure in the world the man behind it gustav eiffel had to combine extraordinary engineering scientific and political strategies to make it a reality he was soon the envy of paris though not because of his fame or increasing wealth but because he had also become the owner of the most sought-after real estate in the city as he had built his very own private apartment on the top level it was there that he hosted esteemed guests such as world leaders and the greatest scientific minds of the time and despite countless efforts from people who wanted to rent it just for a night he refused them all it's not exactly the largest of spaces and recently a section of it has been visible to visitors to the tower he did however have it wallpapered and was fitted with chairs cabinets and even a grand piano which at nearly a thousand feet above the ground is no mean feat number one mount rushmore's hall of records mount rushmore was conceived and designed by gutson borglum between 1927 and 1941 and features four 60-foot tall representations of some of america's greatest presidents that are carved into the rock face of the black hills in keystone south dakota one of the main aims of the project as well as to celebrate the united states of america was to increase tourism to the area and it certainly achieved what it set out to do there have though been rumors of secrets around mount rushmore ever since it was completed could it as some believe have been a way to mark hidden treasures or something else more nefarious what we do know is that it was never completed because the original intent was to sculpt the eight presidents down to their wastes borglum did also create a huge eight thousand square foot vault behind the heads he died before this vault could be completed but known as the hall of records the plan was to use it to store some of the nation's most valuable artifacts in 1998 officials in charge of overseeing the monument decided to use the vault for just that while it's not ornate or as grand as borglum envisioned it now contains a copy of the us constitution the declaration of independence the bill of rights a biography of borglum and descriptions of the four presidents of mount rushmore all of this is hidden behind a half-ton slab of granite so it's not accessible to visitors but perhaps several centuries from now the descendants of nicolas cage may find their way into it and reveal to the world what this strange monument actually watch our obscure playlist for more top 15 videos about the more obscure 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Channel: Top Fives

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Keywords: SECRETS Hidden In National Monuments

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Length: 19min 42sec (1182 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 24 2020