17 Pictures Of Secret Rooms In Famous Buildings That Are Sparking My Inner Indiana Jones

I gotta be honest: I just watched National Treasure, which led me to Google if there was actually a hidden room in Mount Rushmore, and I was pretty surprised when there was! So here are 17 famous places with unexpectedly hidden rooms and passages.

1.For starters, there's an unfinished, hidden records room in Mount Rushmore behind Abraham Lincoln's head. The architect meant for it to house important documents like the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, but when he died, his son finished the carving on the mountain but not the room.

Looking up through the narrow, textured walls of a stone quarry, revealing the opening to the sky above
Science History Images / Alamy Stock Photo

2.There's an underground "lake" below the Palais Garnier that served as the inspiration for The Phantom of the Opera.

Ornate, luxurious theater interior with gilded balconies and a painted dome; below a dim, narrow basement with a green wall and wooden staircase
Joel Saget / AFP via Getty Images / Yang Liu / Getty Images

3.There's an additional balcony on the Statue of Liberty's torch that's been closed for over 100 years. However, there is a webcam mounted to it so you can see the view from it.

View from the Statue of Liberty's crown showing Liberty Island, walkways, and surrounding water

4.There's an apartment at the top of the Eiffel Tower. It was meant for Gustav Eiffel to host company.

Eiffel Tower against a clear sky, with a red arrow pointing to its top
(c) Hadi Zaher / Getty Images

5.There is an underground city in Seattle. In 1889, a fire decimated the wooden structures built on marshland in Seattle. The fix was to pour a foundation and build structures out of concrete. When they did that, they essentially built a city on top of a city. Now, Seattle's 150-year-old original streets and passageways are available to tour via Seattle Underground.

An old brick room with debris and a fallen vintage "Casino" sign leaning against the wall. A small "vault" sign hangs above rubble
Buyenlarge / Getty Images

6.The New York Public Library has four million books stored under Bryant Park in the Milstein Research Stacks. The hidden stacks are inaccessible to the public, but anyone can request a book with their library card, and a cute lil book trail will transport it up from the stacks for you.

Three scenes: A vast green lawn outside a city building, a long corridor with storage shelves, and a close-up of a robotic device on a metal track
The New York Public Library / Via youtube.com

7.Speaking of New York Public Libraries, 13 of them have hidden apartments above them, now in disrepair but previously used by maintenance workers and their families.

A woman in a sleeveless dress stands inside an empty, worn-out room, looking around. The exterior shows a historic building with an arched facade
Atlas Obscura / Via youtube.com

8.Track 61 is a secret track at Grand Central Terminal that was used to carry FDR from Grand Central Station to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Abandoned train and yellow truck in a dimly lit tunnel with debris on the ground
CNN / Via youtube.com

9.There is a prison cell inside Big Ben. It was there in case anyone had to be removed from Parliament.

Clock tower, commonly known as Big Ben, against a clear sky. Iconic London landmark with detailed architectural features
Tim Grist Photography / Getty Images

10.There is a secret chamber inside the chest of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro with a stone heart.

Three images: Aerial view of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro; a stone inside a structure; interior view of geometric forms and support beams
Danny Lehman / Getty Images / Thiago Correa / youtube.com

11.There's a bunker under the Brooklyn Bridge. It was fully stocked during the Cold War, then forgotten about until maintenance workers rediscovered it in 2006.

Brooklyn Bridge spanning over water with New York City buildings in the background under a clear sky
Diana Robinson Photography / Getty Images

12.It may not be super secret, but I didn't know the Arc de Triomphe is hollow inside, with the top of the arch being a small museum. Additionally, the Washington Square Arch is hollow inside and used to house an office for the Parks and Recreation Department.

Museum exhibit showing historical costumes; people observe a glass display case. Spiral staircase with an overhead view
Legna69 / Getty Images/iStockphoto /Stefan Lambauer / Getty Images

13.The US Supreme Court has a basketball court that was converted from an old storage room.

A person in formal attire is shooting a basketball in an indoor court
Justin Ayars / youtube.com

14.There's an apartment inside Radio City Music Hall. It was originally the apartment for impresario Samuel "Roxy" Rothafel and is now used for private events.

Tour of Radio City, with a view of the Roxy Suite. Includes couches, lamps, and space for receptions. Text mentions attending a reception yourself
Tour of Radio City, with a view of the Roxy Suite. Includes couches, lamps, and space for receptions. Text mentions attending a reception yourself

@radiocitymusichall / Via Instagram: @https://www.instagram.com/radiocitymusichall/reel/CsockztNduK/

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15.Disney Parks have an exclusive club called Club 33, hiding in plain sight. There's one at each of the four theme parks in Orlando, and there's a version at the two parks in California. It's by invite only, super expensive, and the waitlist is rumored to be years long.

A door with an oval sign displaying the number 33, surrounded by large green leaves
DISNEYLAND / Alamy Stock Photo

16.Mount Sainte-Odile, a monastery in France, couldn't figure out why books were disappearing from the library, which was off-limits to visitors. They soon found a secret passage activated by pushing in a shelf and caught a teacher with a passion for old manuscripts who had stolen over 1,000 via a secret corridor.

A historic stone building with multiple windows and a tower, surrounded by a garden with a statue in the foreground
Selenarus / Getty Images/iStockphoto

17.Finally, in the 1500s, Michelangelo angered the Pope and went into hiding with the Medici family for two months in a secret room in one of their chapels. Centuries later, in 1975, the room was discovered with massive charcoal murals made by Michelangelo while he was hiding.

Sketches of human figures are drawn on an arched, white wall inside a room. The artwork includes various poses and is unfinished
Susan Wright / Alamy Stock Photo