Secrets Hidden In National Monuments

the Eiffel Tower Trafalger Square Lady Liberty our world's full of some amazing and well-known national monuments while hundreds sometimes thousands of people visit and Marvel at these monuments every day there are some smaller details built into them that remain hidden from view from unknown underc cofs to Secret sports courts have your magnifying glasses at the ready as we uncover some mindblowing Secrets hidden in national monuments Statue of Liberty with almost 5 million visitors every year it's fair to say that a lot of eyeballs have been fixed on New York's Statue of Liberty since her completion

in 1886 but despite the number of people that flock to Liberty Island very few know about the shocking Secrets this statue holds before its assembly specially chosen items put into a time capsule were placed placed under where the Statue of Liberty stands the memorabilia include a copy of the US Constitution 20 bronze Medals of US presidents and even a portrait of Frederick August bartoldi the sculptor responsible for the Statue itself no one's accessed the Time Capsule since the statue was erected and it's believed that it'll only be accessible if Lady Liberty is torn down although

now that I look at it the raised foot of Lady Liberty does look suspiciously like a hidden door maybe that's a passageway to the long lost time capsule several very eager Internet conspiracists seem to think so however that's hardly this Monument's most controversial secret you see Lady Liberty may not actually be a lady at all it's long been believed that the face of the sculpture is based on libertas the Roman God of Liberty however some historians now believe the face may be modeled on Jean Charles bartoldi the sculptor's brother who shares a similar brow nose

and lip lips to the Statue annoyingly Frederick passed away in 1904 so I guess we'll have to face the fact that we'll never knows for sure but just above the contentious face of the Statue of Liberty you'll find one more hidden secret the statue's torch is a symbol of Enlightenment and freedom but that's not all this Beacon offers you see back in the day the original torch which remained until 1984 acted as a balcony yep up to 12 people at a time could climb 300 ft to soak up the view from the Skyhigh platform surrounding

the torch but any Daredevil tourists had their funds stopped in 1916 on July 30th German agents hoping to destroy us-made Munitions that were to be supplied to the Allies in World War I stuffed barges mored along the warf with explosives shortly after 2 a.m. a massive blast obliterated a large Munitions Depot right next to Liberty Island shaking New York and damaging the statue of of Liberty closing visitor access to the torch for good and with that the light went out on the statue's Viewpoint man who knew a single Monument could hold so many stories Brooklyn

Bridge Less Than 3 miles away from the Statue of Liberty you'll find the Brooklyn Bridge today this legendary Landmark is crossed by around 120,000 Vehicles 4,000 cyclist and 30,000 pedestrians so while it's not technically a National Monument I think several th000 New Yorkers would disagree yet very few of those who make the journey over the bridge are aware of what they're walking over on each side of the bridge are massive Stone anchorages designed to secure the structure turns out that's not all they can do Within These foundations are 50ft cavernous vaults which New York City

Once rented out to help fund the bridge ly's Brothers paid $5,000 for storage in one Vault while a Smith and Company coughed up 500 a year from 1901 to 1909 for another the question is what were these companies paying big bucks for to store in the bridge guns money bodies no they were storing wine here thanks to the vault's thick Granite walls the chambers were kept in near darkness and maintained a cool temperature of 60° F making them the perfect place to store and preserve wine one seller on the Manhattan side known as the Blue

Grotto even had beautiful frescos depicting Vineyards from Europe but after World War I in the prohibition act the vaults were repurposed for non-alcoholic storage that was until 1934 after the repeal of the prohibition act when the new tenants Anthony exen Co more wine importers moved in they didn't waste any time throwing a party inside the bridges vaults where musicians played vienes waltes and champagne corks popped until the early morning the good times wouldn't last however as the city eventually took over the vaults during World War II and no they weren't used to store guns or

tanks but maintenance storage which is what the vaults are used for to this day man what a let down still safe to say that the Brooklyn Bridge has had a pretty wful past Lincoln Memorial around 200 miles Southwest from New York you'll find another of the United States most beloved monuments here lies or should I say sits the Lincoln Memorial 100 million people that visit this Landmark each year Marvel at the size of the 100t tall neoclassical Temple that houses the statue of President Abraham Lincoln however underneath the marble floor they walk on is something

just as jaw-dropping construction on the Lincoln Memorial began in 1914 on a marshy stretch of land known as the Potomic Flats to compensate for the swampy structural base workers had to dig 65 ft underground and in install 122 concrete columns connecting the base of the memorial to the stable Earth Bedrock this resulted in a man-made underc right underneath the memorial today the cavernous area has dirt floors graffitied walls from workers who constructed the undercroft and even stalactite formations hanging from the ceiling in case you didn't know stalactites are those long slender pale growths found in

natural caves around the world turns out they also formed in Lincoln's artificial cave as a result of groundwater slowly dripping through the monument over the years mysterious as the Lincoln Memorial's curious Cavern is it won't remain a secret for much longer in March 2023 kiggly construction began work on a museum here the $69 million project expected to open in 2026 will provide exhibits that highlight the structures construction history what do you think should the Lincoln Memorial's curious Cavern have remained as a dark dingy m history or do you think it's better this underground world is

better off in the public eye let me know down in the comments below and while you're there why not hit those like And subscribe buttons all right what do we got next Washington Monument just a short walk away from the Lincoln Memorial you'll find yet another iconic us Landmark the Washington Monument standing at an imperious 555 ft tall this Obelisk built to commemorate the former US President George Washing is one of the most recognized monuments in the world but a closer look at this Modern Marvel reveals everything's not as it seems see that no your

eyes don't deceive you the Obelisk really does change color but why construction began on the pillar back in 1848 with funding from the Washington National Monument Society however just 6 years later the society went bankrupt with no funds work on the 152t tall Monument ground to a halt thanks to the American Civil War it took more than 20 years before attention returned to the Stumpy statue in 1878 the project finally resumed as Congress assumed the duty of funding the Washington Monument there was one teeny tiny problem however to continue constructing upwards they needed Stone only

the Quarry where the original Stone was taken from wasn't available anymore eventually Builders turned to a quarry near Baltimore that provided a similar color stone but it didn't match exactly giving us the Curious color variation on the Obelisk that's still visible today seatone Stones aren't the only mystery that this Landmark holds however did you know there's actually a second Washington Monument hiding close by the original except this one's a little more tricky to spot as because it's hidden beneath a manhole cover this 12-ft replica version has been tucked inside its brick well close to the

Washington Monument since 1898 while it may seem like some ancient relic of a Lost Society of mole people the pyy pillars actually a geodetic marker in the 19th century surveyors used geodetic markers to survey from the data needed to be extremely accurate so often these benchmarks would be rods of metal burrowed into the ground thankfully this particular Benchmark had more of a secret Edge who says surveyors can't be fun so next time you visit the Washington Monument keep your eyes peeled for the pillar's color change it's mini replica and of course the ancient mole people

Eiffel Tower Paris is home to arguably the most famous monument in the world yep that's right I'm talking about Gusto's restaurant uh I mean the Eiffel Tower this soaring 1,080 ft tall super structures visited by almost 7 million people every year but while many of those m ions Ascend up the Eiffel Tower they're unaware of the secret room hidden at the summit of the monument when the engineer Gustav Eiffel designed the tower he included a private apartment for himself at the top located just below the structure Spire surrounded by an open air balcony this dwelling

that boasts the best view in Paris includes a couch piano desks kitchen bathroom and living room along with a toilet cubicle although he never slept there Gustav said to have entertained a high ranking guests like Thomas Edison in this Skyhigh space today anyone fit enough to reach the tower's Summit can even look into the apartment which sports two wax figures of Edison and Eiffel just over 1,000 ft underneath Gustav's getaway below the ground that the tower stands on exists another sneaky secret beneath the structure's South pillar is a secret military bunker designed for the World

Fair in Paris in 1889 the Eiffel Tower was meant to be taken down within 20 years however Gustav knew that the emergence of modern science could save his Tower from an early end in the early 20th century he convinced leaders of the French military to use the soaring structure for wireless transmissions by 1909 the underground radio telegraphy station was constructed right underneath the Eiffel Tower Just 4 years later telegrams on the tower could send electrical waves all the way to the USA then in 1914 during World War I a transmitter in the tower jammed German

radio communications helping the Allies to victory at the first battle of MN today the bunker has a slightly less dramatic purpose used predominantly to store air conditioning units still all things considered the Eiffel Tower has some pretty cool Secrets Paris Catacombs but the Eiffel Tower isn't the only Parisian place with a mysterious underground Dugout just over 2 miles Southeast from the city's Central Landmark are the Paris catacombs a giant underground graveyard devised in the late 18th century to deal with paris's ever increasing corpse count overcrowded cemeteries throughout Paris moved their human remains to the catacombs

where the bundles of Bones were organized into neat Stacks forming the famous catacomb columns that still exist today shady as it appears the Paris C Combs are hardly much of a secret with over 550,000 visitors per year however that's not to say that this ghoulish graveyard doesn't Harbor any Mysteries within its skeletal structure in 2004 policemen investigating the dark twisting corridors inside the catacombs were graded by a strange sight as they walked around a corner they discovered a cinema an illegal one at that there was a makeshift movie screen a well stocked bar and a

kit kitchen but that wasn't all on the floor of the cavern officers discovered an ominous metal container filled with wires they quickly called in a bomb squad and ran for their lives but it turns out this was no bomb it was a pressure cooker for couscous who knew that the spookiest Secret inside the Paris catacombs wasn't some haunted skeleton but someone eating couscous as an illegal Cinema snack what a bone head Notre D on the face of it the Ian Cathedral of Notre isn't nearly as Grizzly as the city's catacombs that's until you hear about

the dark surprises lurking under this famed building's floors though following the devastating fire that ravaged Notre in 2019 French authorities called in archaeologists to help with the conservation and restoration of the building but as they dug into the cathedral's floor they were greeted by a sight that sent shivers down their spines staring back at them were two tombs containing the remain s of two men from centuries gone by being buried in such a sacred place is a big deal so clearly these guys were important in their respective eras unfortunately though we don't know much about

them one coffin contained The Corpse of Antoine de leaport the cannon of Notre Dam who died in 1710 the other held an unknown male who judging by the remnants of leaves and flowers from a wreath was believed to have been a 14th century Aristocrat it wasn't all Rosy for him though scientists believe the man suffered from a chronic disease that had destroyed most of his teeth by the time he died jeez this Monument's secret skeletal stash are notra for the fainthearted Supreme Court the Supreme Court found in Washington DC is the highest judicial body in

the US unsurprisingly it's witnessed some Fierce matchups in its time Bush V Gore Ro v Wade Nicks V Lakers okay while the New York Knicks and Los Angeles Lakers may have never settled a legal case here there's still a chance they could face off at the Supreme Court how exactly well if you Trek up the stairs climbing above the main courtroom and the court Library you'll eventually reach the fifth floor of the historic building and it's here where you'll find a court a basketball court yep just a few floors above where some of the United

States most important legal battles have been carried out employees of the Supreme Court have been settling their own differences by shooting Hoops there go well trying to at least this former storage room was converted into a workout area for Courthouse workers in the 1940s eventually wooden backboards and baskets were installed as the basketball court which still exists today took shape looks like we've just found ourselves the true highest court in the land Trafalger Square Trafalger square is known for its famous fountains land Seer lions and of course Nelson's column but this London landmark's also home

to a much more secluded structure that reveals a dark secret of the Square's past tucked away in the Southeast corner is an overlooked world record holder Britain's smallest police station around the size of a telephone booth this place has just enough space to cram in a police officer and if necessary a prisoner or two but why would a tourist trap need a police station well Trafalger Square hasn't always been a place of selfie sticks and souvenirs first opened in 1844 this space being the center of London became a place where people could gravitate to protest

after Fierce general strike riots on the Square in 1926 it was deemed necessary to put some permanent police presence on the site this way the officers could keep an eye on any demonstrations and call for backup if needed so in 1927 the decision was made to hollow the base of one of the Square's lampost plins to accommodate the petite police box what a bright idea over time with ever improving radio communications the police box slowly became redundant today it's not even home to a policeman instead it's a broom cupboard for the cleaners of Westminster Council

I guess the history of the Trafalger Square police box was short and sweep the monument just a short walk from fogger Square's puzzling police box is another attraction with a hidden Tale in 1666 The Great Fire of London ravaged through most of the city killing six people and leaving almost 85% of the population homeless 11 years later the monument a 202t tall pillar was built to commemorate the fire and to celebrate the rebuilding of London while it may look like any old pillar from the outside visitors are able to enter this soaring structure in all

over 230,000 sightseers climb The Monument's 311 spiral steps every year before taking in the panoramic SES of London Skyline but mesmerizing as the views at the top are there's something even more breathtaking hidden at the bottom of the structure through a hatch at the base of the pillar is an underground layer from here a narrow set of steps lead down to what was once a laboratory turns out that Robert Hook one of the designers of the monument was a scientist who used the site as his own Discovery Den hook even used the pillar as a

Zenith telescope lenses would be inserted at the top and bottom of the monument 200 ft apart with a special eye piece to look through ingenious in idea as it sounds Hook's telescope wouldn't last vibrations from nearby traffic destabilized the structure and the telescope leading to hook abandoning his ambitious experiment I guess you could say that Hook's secret science lab was a monumental failure Easter Island heads located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean you wouldn't think that the remote island of rapanui has a famous monument on its Shores yet this place is home to the

famous moai statues otherwise known as the Easter Island heads the famous figures carved by the rapanui people between the 12th and 16th centuries whether you've seen them at a museum or pictures of them on the Internet pretty much everyone's familiar with these monuments the thing is there's more to these phenomenal figures than their name suggests these massive megalist aren't just disembodied heads but full bodies let me explain around 150 of the most famous and photographed statues exist on the slope of a volcano on rapanui however over time these statues were gradually covered up by a

deposit buildup rolling down from the slopes they were set into hiding the bodies of the Easter Island monuments that was until till 2012 when the Easter Island statue project excavated two of the statues sadly the moai weren't carved with huge biceps and pecs although the excavation of the full bodies of these statues revealed they towered 23 ft in the air geez I didn't know it was possible for these guys to get any more intimidating D yes you give me gum gum Great Wall of China the series of fortifications that make up the Great Wall of

China are visited by more than 10 million people every year and it's no surprise considering that this wonder of the modern world is a major feat of engineering with parts of this 13,000 M long wall dating all the way back to the 7th Century BC incredible as the size history and architecture of the Great Wall of China is far fewer tourists are aware of the attractions Sinister Secrets while no concrete evidence has ever been found rumors have persisted for centuries about the fate of millions of workers that constructed the wall over the years the labor

required to build the wall was backbreaking sometimes literally sadly many workers perished during the construction with the total toll believed to be somewhere between 400,000 and 1 million earning at the title of the longest cemetery on Earth so where are they all buried well speculations spread that workers who passed away were actually buried inside the wall itself but Before You Weep yourself to sleep it's unlikely to be true any bodies that were placed to support the Assembly of the wall would have decomposed over time creating structural gaps weakening the wall and that doesn't rule out

another Shady secret however it's possible that the bodies of deceased workers could have been ground up into a mortar helping Hold the Wall together yikes if that's true then those guys really cemented their place in history Christ the Redeemer talking of Wonders of the modern world say hello to Christ the Redeemer this breathtaking 125ft tall statue of Jesus Christ found in Rio de Janeiro attracts 2 million visitors per year and it's hardly surprising considering the incredible size and beauty of this structure but mesmerizing as this Monument looks from the outside Christ the Redeemer is also

holding a pretty neat little secret inside its structure that's right within the chest of this statue you'll find a hidden feature a heart but before your mind starts racing don't worry there's no giant fleshy heart beating inside this thing instead the 4ft wide organ is made from the same stone that covers the outside of the monument it may seem like a strange inclusion but The Stone Heart Is meant to represent the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ a symbol of God's boundless and passionate love for mankind it's even said that inside the heart there's a small

glass jar containing the family tree of haor Levi one of the engineer responsible for the construction of the statue a what a heartfelt Little Secret The Disney Castle ask most kids around the world where Heaven is and they'll probably answer Disney World this huge Resort in Orlando attracts a mega 58 million visitors every year so while it's not technically a National Monument it certainly racks up the numbers to contend with them the crown and Disney World's jewel is undoubtedly Cinderella's Castle the phenomenal Fortress Found in the Magic Kingdom completed in 1971 the picture perfect Gothic

style Castle stretches to an impressive 189 ft but if you think that looks impressive wait until you discover this Castle's secret hidden feature within the walls of this Fortress is the Cinderella Castle Suite originally it was intended as an apartment for Walt Disney when he and his family visited Orlando however tragically Walt died in 1966 5 years before Disney World opened for 35 years the castle only served as a storage space and workplace for Disney World phone operators not very magical is it that all changed in 2006 however when the space was transformed into the

Cinderella Castle Suite inside you'll find two queen beds a hot tub with underwater lights stained glass windows and my personal favorite a TV that doubles as a mirror when it's turned off thanks to the launch of the year of Million Dreams promotion in 2006 lucky visitors to Disney World could be given a prize of a stay at the suite but after the promotion ended in 2008 this place became a whole lot more exclusive in recent years only celebrity guests like Tom Cruz and Mariah Carey have been invited to stay there Disney have even apparently declined

bribes of $440,000 from people looking to stay at the suite safe to say that Disney World's concealed Chamber of Secrets is Cinderella hard to get into Mount Rushmore while visiting South Dakota won't give you the chance to come face to face with your favorite Disney characters it will present you with this jaw-dropping image yep each year over 2 million tourists hike to the Black Hills to get a glimpse of Mount Rushmore one of the United States greatest monuments but well known as The 60ft Tall busts of Washington Jefferson Roosevelt and Lincoln R did you know

Mount Rushmore could have featured a fifth face well sort of you see back in 2020 during his presidential bid Kanye West photoshopped his own bust onto the right of Lincoln's presumably he was predicting himself actually becoming president considering that the other four figures on Mount Rushmore are previous presidents of the US but safe to say that didn't happen in the 2020 election he received just 4% of the overall votes so it looks like Kanye's Mount Rushmore dreams are pH there's one little known addition to this monument that actually does exist however hidden discreetly behind the

head of Lincoln is an intriguing doorway leading into the mountain work began on this curious quirk in 1938 with workers blasting a cavern into the Cliff face using Dynamite guton Borglum the sculptor responsible for Mount Rushmore envisioned an 80ft tall and 100t long Grand Hall of Records which would be accessible via an 800t Granite staircase man and I thought Kanye was ambitious but the government insisted that Borglum finish the president's heads before he continued working on the Hall of Records sadly Borglum died in 1941 and though his son put the finishing touches on the sculptural

portraits the Hall of Records project was abandoned The Unfinished Hall sat empty and untouched until decades later when Borglum finally got his wish kind of in 1998 a repository was constructed inside the cavern containing a copy of the Bill of Rights the US Constitution and the Declaration of Independence the items were sealed within a titanium Vault and protected by a 1,200 PB slab of granite man it almost sounds like there's something in it they don't want us to see curious as you may be the Hall of Records is off limits to the public so if

I were you I wouldn't be in much of a rush to try and sneak a peek at South Dakota's secret stash which of these national monuments did you think holds the most incredible secret let let me know in the comments below and thanks for watching