Painting on a wall is one thing, but art comes in all different forms, including buildings and monuments. The architects and artists responsible for designing famous landmarks have created not just masterpieces, but secret Easter eggs hidden within the landmarks themselves. Perhaps they did it as a cheeky way to keep the public guessing, or maybe they did intend for us to find out intentionally. Here are the most well-known landmarks and surprises hidden within them that you never knew about.
1. The Sphinx and its secret chambers
This gigantic monument sits in the middle of the desert, but there’s something else you don’t know about it. Inside, the Sphinx contains multiple elaborate chambers and tunnels found on the Sphinx’s side and leading down to the base of the structure.
2. A little police station in Trafalgar Square’s lamp post
Trafalgar Square is one of the most popular and busiest locations in London. It’s thoroughly protected and surveilled at all times, but how? Architects decided to build a secret police station in the area, hidden as an unsuspecting design aspect.
3. A hidden street beneath Charing Cross Road
When walking across Charing Cross Road, you would never guess that an even older street was hidden beneath it. It was once built over a street called Little Compton, and remnants of it are still visible as a utility tunnel covered with railings and grills along the road.
4. Track 61, the mystery beneath The Waldorf Astoria
Wouldn’t it be bizarre to hear the sound of train tracks when spending the night in a hotel? Back in the day in NYC’s Waldorf Astoria, it actually wasn’t uncommon at all. The bottom houses the old steam trains from Manhattan’s Track 61, which is now long forgotten.
