- Just because you're looking at something
doesn't mean you actually see it.
Have you ever wondered if there's more out there
than just what we can see?
Take famous landmarks for example.
Paris, Amsterdam, and New York are beautiful
and extremely popular places that are visited
by millions of tourists every year.
But what if I told you that some of
the most famous landmarks hold secrets with them
that no tourist, including yourself, will ever see?
Just behind or within many of the famous landmarks
that you're familiar with are places so well-hidden,
you could be staring right at it
and never even know they were there.
So today, I'm going to reveal the most amazing
secret rooms and locations that you had no idea existed
and if you're going to visit these locations any time soon,
you might wanna keep your eye open for them.
Get ready to take a second look because
here are 10 secret places hidden in plain sight.
Number one is the Eiffel Tower's secret apartment.
One of the most instantly recognizable structures
in the world is the Eiffel Tower.
It's visited by nearly 6.8 million people every year
and has had millions of pictures taken of it,
many of which were taken from the top deck.
But is it all that it seems?
Well despite all of the photos and videos taken of it,
one thing has remained hidden from the public to this day.
Nearly 300 meters in the air,
on the tower's third and top level,
is, believe it or not, a small apartment,
created by its architect.
Created by Gustave Eiffel,
when the tower was unveiled in 1889,
the secret of Eiffel's private apartment
spread to the wealthy inhabitants of Paris,
who offered large payments to stay for a night in the room.
However, Eiffel rejected all of these
and the room itself wasn't open to the public
until 2015, 92 years after his death.
But this is not some cold, empty space.
No, in fact, it's quite the opposite.
The apartment comes fully furnished,
with fancy wallpaper, wood cabinets, and even a grand piano.
But the best part about is obviously the view.
It's not easily accessed by the public,
but if you know about it, arrangements can be made.
Number two is California's hidden garden.
The Kaiser Center in uptown Oakland, California,
is home to a 28 floor office building
and an adjacent five level carpark.
Now these are pretty common attributes
for many buildings in the area, except that
this building has something very special about it.
Like other buildings around it,
it has a roof, but this roof is like
nothing you've ever seen before.
The top of the carpark is actually a park,
complete with a stunningly large pond, a wooden bridge,
lawns, a bunch of trees, and amazing flower arrangements.
Designed by architects Theodore Osmundson and associates
and completed in 1960, it became the first roof garden
built in the United States since World War II.
And the amazing part about it being hidden
is because of its sheer size.
It's an astonishing 4,000 square meters,
which is actually open to the public.
This little piece of heaven can be rented
for special events like weddings.
And although not cheap, it does have concerts on Fridays
between noon and 1:00 p.m. that are actually free
to those who know about it.
You're welcome.
Number three is New York's secret airport terminal.
New York's JFK Airport is one of
the busiest international passenger gateways
in the United States, with about 57 million passengers
traveling through it yearly.
But, despite that, something very large
remains hidden to most people.
The Trans World Airlines, or TWA terminal,
is an amazing retrofuturistic airport terminal
which was designed in the 1950's
by its architect, Eero Saarinen.
Eero loved curves and gave the terminal
many of its groovy features,
which was in development and completed in 1962.
To this day, it is considered an architectural masterpiece
but the TWA experienced financial difficulties
throughout the 1990's and closed down the terminal
in October of 2001, successfully keeping it from the public.
However, the building remained as something
that people would often see but not be able to visit.
However, that may change very soon.
The building was purchased by American Airlines
and given a $20 million renovation
and although it remains hidden to the public for now,
there are plans to turn this hidden area
into a luxury boutique hotel.
Number four is Las Vegas' secret building.
Las Vegas is known for its flashy, out there style
that shows off everything that they have to offer,
with one exception.
In the middle of all the beautiful tall buildings
in Sin City stands one that remains a secret to all.
Owned by the Las Vegas Sands Corporation,
the Saint Regis Tower, which stands between
two iconic resorts, the Venetian and the Palazzo,
was supposed to be a 50 floor condo building,
but it was never actually completed.
Construction was halted in 2008
during financially hard times for the company,
but instead of leaving an ugly steel framework exposed,
they chose another, rather strange option.
The entire bare metal framework is
covered by a multimillion dollar fabric
that's used to this day to conceal it.
The tarp is visible in plain sight
and gives the building the appearance
of being completed from a distance
but if you get up close to it,
you'll see that it's actually
the world's biggest blanket fort.
There are currently no plans to tear down the Saint Regis
and it remains there for all to not see.
So next time you're in Vegas, take a closer look,
you might just be surprised.
Number five is New York's hidden railway terminal.
With 8.4 million people in New York City,
you'd think that there'd be nothing left undiscovered,
but you'd be wrong.
Underneath the Waldorf Astoria, a five star luxury hotel,
is a secret railway platform called Track 61,
also known as the Roosevelt Platform.
This secret platform was created and used privately
as a way to enter the Waldorf Hotel without crossing through
Grand Central Station in New York City.
It was used first by US Army General John Pershing in 1938
and then by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944
while he attempted to conceal the use of his wheelchair.
The secret abandoned platform is still home
to Roosevelt's armored presidential train,
and, with the exception of a few events,
has always been closed off to the public.
In fact, photographers used to have their cameras smashed
and their film exposed to sunlight by the Secret Service
and it's still hidden to this day
but can be seen if you know how to look for it.
Number six is the Empire State Building's secret top floor.
The Empire State Building is one of
the most famous landmarks in the world
and is highly regarded as a must-do
for many New York tourists.
The view from the city from the top, the 102nd floor,
is incredible and is experienced by as many
as 3.5 million people who visit it yearly.
Except, that that's not the top floor.
What most people don't know is that
there's actually another floor,
which can only be accessed through
a secret staircase on the 102nd floor.
Barely visible from the street,
the 103rd floor of the Empire State Building
has an even more incredible 360 degree view,
minus any large safety barriers blocking the scenery.
But due to the lack of barriers,
the general population is not given access.
But many famous celebrities have been offered
the opportunity to see this floor.
Visitors that are lucky enough to know about it
and visit it have reported unusual silence from the top,
since the waters around the city
absorb most of the noise that is created.
It's unlikely that you'll ever be able to visit it,
but at least now you know about it.
Number seven is Amsterdam's hidden houses.
Nearly 14 million people visit the Netherlands annually.
But despite its open culture in Amsterdam,
there's one place you can see but
most never even know that it's there.
Begijnhof is an inner courtyard
in the middle of Amsterdam which
was once a private sanctuary for
a religious convent of women named befens.
It was created in the 1300's
for the befens who acted like nuns,
providing care for children and the sick.
Men and animals were and are barred from staying
or being kept in the courtyard and its housing,
as it was meant to be a place of peace and quiet.
To this day, the courtyard is still
a pleasant secret hideaway from the commotion of the city
and its older, female only population only asks
that those few visitors that do come by
remain respectful and keep quiet.
It can be entered through a regular looking door
on the street or an arched doorway at the side
but it is easy to miss
and tour guides are not permitted to show it.
Number eight is Times Square's secret.
Times Square is famous worldwide
and it's home to the New Year's Eve ball.
The building that houses it is the centerpiece
to the advertising billboard boutique that fills the area
and is visible to all but what's inside may surprise you.
One Times Square holds an unusual secret
that lies directly above ground floor.
The building's upper floors are completely empty
aside from the machines that control
the massive electronic billboards.
It is one of the emptiest buildings in New York.
However, it's still incredibly profitable.
It was completed in 1904 as a home
for the New York Times newspaper
and the surrounding square was named after it.
However, the Times only occupied the building
for eight years before they moved
and decided to use it for advertising space.
None of the 26 million people who visit Times Square
every year and see this building know its secret,
except for maybe those who are watching this video.
Number nine is Mount Rushmore's secret room.
Fictional movies have been made all
about the secrets of Mount Rushmore.
But I bet that you didn't actually
expect it to hold a secret.
The Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota
was designed by sculptor Gutzon Borglum
who originally had a much more epic
and complicated plan for the memorial.
Gutzon originally wanted the presidents
to have fully carved out bodies and
wanted important American monuments
to also be carved into the entire mountain.
Unfortunately, he never lived long enough to finish it,
but one plan that he had was revived in 1998
when the government began installing a hall of records
behind Abraham Lincoln's head.
Yes, that's right, there is a secret titanium vault
sealed away in a room behind President Lincoln.
However, it's inaccessible to tourists
and contains information from
historically very important documents.
These documents include the Bill of Rights
and the Declaration of Independence,
which are stored for future civilizations
who may find it.
And number 10 is Disney World's abandoned island.
Disney World in Orlando, Florida
is a magical place, open to the public,
where dreams can come true.
But, what if I told you that away from
the screaming children and grinning mascots,
is an abandoned section of the theme park
that hides a dark secret.
That secret is Discovery Island,
the failed Disney wildlife attraction
that was set on an island in Bay Lake that actually exists
and is a hidden, darker side of the happiest place on Earth.
Originally opened as Treasure Island back in 1974,
Disney changed the name to better suit
the focus on wildlife exhibits.
However, it was shut down in 1999
and the exhibits were moved but in 2009,
a man named Shane Perez secretly swam over to the island
and surveyed the creepy remnants
of the aborted amusement center.
But when Disney officials found out,
they were outraged at the intrusion
into the dark side of their magical world
and threatened to ban Shane.
However, the island still remains visible from the shore,
but completely empty and inaccessible to anyone,
including you.
So, those were 10 secret places hidden in plain sight.
Let me know in the comments which one of these
you would want to visit in the future,
if you could get to it.
But as always, thank you guys so much for watching.
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Bye.