There's a secret room inside Mount Rushmore that stores important US documents

plive importer

February 2, 2017 9:39 PM

Since taking office, President Donald Trump has reignited a debate about what it means to be American.

Mount Rushmore, with the secret room in view just behind Lincoln's head.

But many Americans might not know the secret behind one of the country's most iconic political monuments.

Enter: The Hall of Records at Mount Rushmore.

Where the frontal lobe of Abraham Lincoln's brain would be, there is a secret room that contains the text of America's most important documents. It sounds like something out of "National Treasure" (or, more fittingly, "Richie Rich") but the Hall of Records is a legitimate historical repository.

Conceived in the 1930s by the monument's designer, Gutzon Borglum, the Hall was designed to be a vault for a selection of documents chronicling America's history.

envisioned an 800-foot stairway leading to a grand hall, measuring 80 feet by 100 feet, behind the presidents' faces. Above the entrance to the hall would hang a bronze eagle, with a wingspan of 38 feet. The hall would contain busts of famous Americans and a list of US contributions to science, art, and industry, according to the National Park Service.

At least, as far as we know. Maybe Nicolas Cage knows something we don't.

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