History Main / LandmarkingTheHiddenBase

** The first live-action ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie had the FBI keeping Megatron and the All Spark inside Hoover Dam, which in the story was actually built to block out the Allspark's energy signature...or something.
** ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen Revenge of the Fallen]]'' had the Fallen's superweapon hidden ''inside'' of a pyramid in Egypt.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': Whoop's European HQ is located underneath the Eiffel Tower.

* ''Videogame/EarthBound1994'' has a secret lab underneath Stonehenge.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Spyman}}'', a short-lived title from Creator/HarveyComics in the 1960s, the eponymous hero worked for the secret spy organisation LIBERTY who were headquartered inside the Art/StatueOfLiberty.

However in fiction that simply [[RuleOfCool isn't dramatic enough]], not only does your EvilTowerOfOminousness gain Evil Brownie Points for being cool and domineering, it also gains them if it is actually a well known RealLife landmark you've taken over. An ElaborateUndergroundBase also gains kudos for being underneath, or very close to, somewhere with which viewers will be familiar. This actually goes both ways as heroes seem just as prone to settling in such a location as villains are.

* ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' villain Cornpone Brotch has a secret base under Mount Rushmore where he keeps an impressive collection stolen art and cars.

* The ''ComicBook/AllStarSquadron'' was based in the Trylon and Perisphere from the 1939 New York's World Fair. The Perisphere was their headquarters, and the Trylon was their CoolGarage.

* A ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' tie-in novel had a supervillain (The Mad Thinker) craft a base in Mount Rushmore. Cue Reed sliding out of a nose. In the regular Marvel Universe, Mount Rushmore just tends to get blown up. Yes, more then once.
* ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'': The Joes have secret base that controls a KillSat hidden inside the Chrysler Building.
* The Quorom, an all purpose evil organizationfrom ''ComicBook/GreenLantern'', had one of its main bases under the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (and a villain containment pod under the Washington Monument). Not quite a good idea when heroes smash in through the roof.

* In Creator/PeterDavid's ''ComicBook/SpyBoy'', the "good" spy team S.H.I.R.T.S. (Secret Headquarters International Reconnaissance, Tactics, and Spies) had their invisible headquarters suspended between the tops of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. (This got moved later, for obvious reasons.)

* In the Literature/DocSavage novel ''World's Fair Goblin'', the villain has his secret lab hidden inside the Trylon and Perisphere at the New York's World Fair.

** Tre Labrynth in the Percy Jackson universe sprawls underneath much of the earth with entryways all over the place -- including Alcatraz.

*** The London Eye (The Nestene Consciousness in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]"). Actually justified for once: the villain needed a giant ring which would be visible for miles around to use as a transmitter.

** Canary Wharf is also the headquarters of the British time travelling military in an [[AlternateUniverse alternate 2006]] visited by the First Doctor in the Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel ''The Time Travellers''. ''And'' the villain fought by the Sixth Doctor in the ''[[Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures Missing Adventures]]'' novel ''Millennial Rites'' (for reasons broadly similar to the ''Tomorrow People'' villain).

* The Canary Wharf Tower one was done by the 90s remake of ''Series/{{The Tomorrow People|1973}}''. The reasoning was that the immortal Egyptian villain needed to hide a power-focusing pyramid in the middle of London, hence the pyramidal top of the tower.

** This one is justified in game as a symbolic decision. UNATCO was founded in response to a terrorist attack that destroyed the Statue of Liberty.

* Though they maintain more conventional safehouses, The Chain in ''Webcomic/NecessaryMonsters'' maintains a base under the Statue of Liberty called Liberty's Price. It's a huge cavern with occult symbols, and an inverted, chained, tortured version of the Statue of Liberty as its centerpiece. However, Liberty's Price is implied to be ''older'' than the landmark built over it.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10'' has the Plumbers' base be inside the ever-popular Mount Rushmore. It's been destroyed more than once, but holograms are used to hide the damage.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpiderManTheAnimatedSeries'', the Kingpin's lair is in the Chrysler building. There's a secret underground entrance so people not in the know won't find out where his base is (even though the lair's high ceiling ''looks'' like the interior of the Chrysler Building's spire might be expected to look). Of course, five seasons later, enough airborne bad guys have waltzed in and out that ''someone'' oughta suspect that something about that [[VillainWithGoodPublicity nice philanthropist]] Wilson Fisk isn't kosher.

** This apartment unfortunately never got used since Walt passed away before the completion of the Magic Kingdom, and it sat unused for many years. Around the turn of the Millennium, the disused apartment was converted into "Cinderella's Room" and a stay here was advertised as the grand prize of a few contests. Since then, the apartment has seen very little use, and it's not actually possible to book this stay; it can only be won. Officially, anyways.

* Parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''. In one "Treehouse of Horror" episode, a missile launch pad is under the Eiffel Tower.

* ''Creator/NeilGaiman's Series/{{Neverwhere}}'' has an entire culture of "lost" people and things inhabiting the various stops of UsefulNotes/TheLondonUnderground.
* Averted in ''Series/{{Roswell}}''. For some reason, the government keeps alien spaceships in secret basements under convenience stores, and in movie studios.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the Stargate under Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, which was the real-world home of NORAD. NORAD has since moved to Peterson Air Force Base, but the Cheyenne complex is kept on warm standby. Justified up the wazoo by the fact that this is an actual military base, so sticking a military base in it is hardly surprising. There are rumors that a door in the actual base is marked "Stargate Command", leading to a broom closet.
* The Canary Wharf Tower one was done by the 90s remake of ''Series/{{The Tomorrow People|1973}}''. The reasoning was that the immortal Egyptian villain needed to hide a power-focusing pyramid in the middle of London, hence the pyramidal top of the tower.
* ''Series/Warehouse13'' implied that Warehouses 1-12 were near the seat of power--the Pyramids of Giza and the British Museum were two examples.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Doctor Who'']]

* ''Series/StargateSG1'' had the Stargate under Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, which was the real-world home of NORAD. NORAD has since moved to Peterson Air Force Base, but the Cheyenne complex is kept on warm standby.
** Justified up the wazoo by the fact that this is an actual military base, so sticking a military base in it is hardly surprising.
** There's supposedly a door in the actual base marked "Stargate Command", though no-one seems to have a key for it...
** There really was such a door and it was a broom closet.
*** Sure it was.

''Series/DoctorWho'' does this a ''lot''.
* The Torchwood Institute has had bases:
** In One Canada Square (a.k.a "Canary Wharf Tower") in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E12ArmyOfGhosts "Army of Ghosts"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E13Doomsday "Doomsday"]].
** Under the Thames Barrier in [[Recap/DoctorWho2006CSTheRunawayBride "The Runaway Bride"]], where it's {{lampshaded}}:
--->'''Donna:''' What, there's like a secret base hidden underneath a major London landmark?\\

** Under Roald Dahl Plass, near the Millennium Centre in Cardiff, where the Hub is based in the Franchise/{{Whoniverse}} spin-off ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' (and in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd "Journey's End"]]).
* UNIT has bases:
** Under the Tower of London in [[Recap/DoctorWho2005CSTheChristmasInvasion "The Christmas Invasion"]] (revisited in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E4ThePowerOfThree "The Power of Three"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]]). It beat their early place that had a conspicuous "Keep Out" sign. The Black Archive, a highly secure vault where they keep the most dangerous items, is part of this base.
** The [[Literature/DoctorWhoNovelisations novelization]] of "The Christmas Invasion" says that UNIT built ''something'' inside 30 St. Mary Axe, and arranged for the skyscraper to be given its nickname, "The Gherkin" (gherkins are a kind of pickle), so that no one would suspect this.
** In ''AudioPlay/BigFinishDoctorWho'' audio dramas, UNIT's top secret MuseumOfTheStrangeAndUnusual, "the Vault", is under [[UsefulNotes/NorthEastEngland the Angel of the North]]. {{Lampshaded}} when Captain Matheson says "You thought we only had bases under [[BritainIsOnlyLondon London landmarks]]?" [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]], however, {{Retcon}}s it to be in London instead — which was then duly retconned again by Big Finish who stated that obviously you sometimes need two archives to keep certain exhibits apart from each other. So according to this, UNIT has both the Black Archive in the Tower of London and the Vault under the Angel of the North. ''The Screaming Skull'', which establishes this, also claims that the Vault predates the Angel of the North, but UNIT was uncomfortable having a secret base ''not'' under a landmark — so they arranged to get one!
** The Undergallery, first seen in [[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor "The Day of the Doctor"]], underneath the National Gallery in London. Apparently, some form of it has existed at least since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, as she appointed the Doctor to be its curator.
* Various bad guys have based themselves in/under:
** The Post Office Tower (WOTAN in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines "The War Machines"]])
** Gatwick Airport (The Chameleons in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E8TheFacelessOnes "The Faceless Ones"]])
** Trafalgar Square (Operation: Golden Age in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"]])
** The London Eye (The Nestene Consciousness in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose "Rose"]]). Actually justified for once: the villain needed a giant ring which would be visible for miles around to use as a transmitter.
** The Empire State Building (The Cult of Skaro in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E4DaleksInManhattan "Daleks in Manhattan"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks "Evolution of the Daleks"]])
** Stonehenge (The Pandorica in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E12ThePandoricaOpens "The Pandorica Opens"]])
** The Shard (The Great Intelligence in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E6TheBellsOfSaintJohn "The Bells of Saint John"]])
** Battersea Power Station (The Cybermen Factory in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E5RiseOfTheCybermen "Rise of the Cybermen"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E6TheAgeOfSteel "The Age of Steel"]])
** St Paul's Cathedral ([[spoiler:the 3W facility/Cyberman factory]] in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E11DarkWater "Dark Water"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E12DeathInHeaven "Death in Heaven"]])[[note]]Technically, the base is inside a PocketDimension anchored to the cathedral.[[/note]]
* They make an attempt to [[JustifiedTrope justify]] many of these, explaining there is something important about the location or nature of the structure that they need. For example, the Torchwood Tower (Canary Wharf) exists because there was a rift high in the air, so they had to build a giant tower to reach it, The Hub's location was chosen due to its proximity with yet another rift and the Nestene Consciousness was using the London Eye as a giant transmitter to broadcast the signal controlling the Autons. In "Daleks in Manhattan"/"Evolution of the Daleks", the Daleks attached Dalekanium strips to the top of the Empire State Building (which at the time was the tallest building on Earth) to kick-start a new race of hybrids with a solar flare.
* Canary Wharf is also the headquarters of the British time travelling military in an [[AlternateUniverse alternate 2006]] visited by the First Doctor in the Literature/PastDoctorAdventures novel ''The Time Travellers''. ''And'' the villain fought by the Sixth Doctor in the ''[[Literature/DoctorWhoMissingAdventures Missing Adventures]]'' novel ''Millennial Rites'' (for reasons broadly similar to the ''Tomorrow People'' villain).

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheBraveAndTheBold'': In "Darksied Descending!", it is revealed that Batman has an auxilary Batcave located under the Lincoln Memorial.

* ''WesternAnimation/DarkwingDuck'': Darkwing's secret base is in St. Canard's Audoban Bay Bridge. In universe this is the equivalent of a Manhattan based hero hiding out in the Brooklyn Bridge. It is at least an iconic enough landmark that Negaduck enjoys the irony of using a magical power to bring the bridge to life and attack the city.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' Dr. Doofenschmirtz has a hidden base inside Lincoln's head at Mount Rushmore.

* ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies'': Whoop's European HQ is located underneath the Effiel Tower.
* Parodied on ''WesternAnimation/TheVentureBrothers'' The Monarch brags about how his base is in such a secret location that he flies by radar alone to get there, that it could be anywhere and nobody would find it...except that it's in the Grand Canyon and ''very'' visible.

* ''Literature/DiuogenesClub'': Creator/KimNewman's [[TwoFistedTales pulp homage/parody]] character Dr Shade apparently lives in a "secret" apartment in [[ClockTower Big Ben]]. Since in Newman's world he's both a real adventurer ''and'' a magazine character (in a sort of takeoff of DirectLineToTheAuthor), readers of the magazine wonder why it's described as secret. In "Literature/ColdSnap", his son says he still has the keys to the secret apartment but never uses it because he can't stand the incessant noise of the clockwork.

** Tre Labrynth in the Percy Jackson universe sprawls underneath much of the earth with entryways all over the place - including Alcatraz.

* ''Series/BuckRogersInTheTwentyFifthCentury'': In "Testimony of a Traitor", Buck was accused of having helped foment WorldWarIII on November 22, 1987. A device to visualize Buck's memories seems to confirm his guilt, but he keeps flashing on Mount Rushmore. Buck manages to get to Mount Rushmore and finds that the President had a secret bunker inside. [[spoiler: It turns out that Buck had been to the secret bunker where he was hypnotized to act as a double agent as part of a government operation to catch the conspirators who were trying to start the war.]]

* In ''VideoGame/DeusEx'', UNATCO's HQ and therefore [[spoiler: a major [=MJ12=] facility]] are both built on Liberty Island.

[[folder:Film--Animated]]

[[folder:Film--Live Action]]

* In ''ComicBook/{{Spyman}}'', a short-lived title from Creator/HarveyComics in the 1960s, the eponymous hero worked for the secret spy organisation LIBERTY who were headquartered inside the Statue of Liberty.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AprilAndTheExtraordinaryWorld'', April's secret lab is located inside a giant statue of Napoleon III in the middle of Paris. [[spoiler:The lizards' rocket base is underneath the Eiffel Towers.]]

* CONTROL headquarters was under the Smithsonian Castle in ''Film/GetSmart''. Inside an exhibit about CONTROL itself (which the exhibit claims was disbanded at the end of the Cold War), no less.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** The Nestene Consciousness is located under the London Eye in order to use the Ferris wheel as an antenna.
** The headquarters of Torchwood One are located in the Canary Wharf tower. According to Yvonne Hartman, the tower was built specifically to reach a dimensional hole located high up in the air.
** UNIT keeps its Black Archive in the Tower of London.
** In the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' spin-off, the headquarters of Torchwood Three is located beneath Roald Dahl Plass in Cardiff.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' villain Cornpone Brotch has a secret base under Mount Rushmore where he keeps an impressive collection stolen art and cars.

* Franchise/TheDCU:
** The All-Purpose Emergency Squad (APES) from ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'' had its headquarters inside Mount Rushmore.
** The Quorom, an all purpose evil organization, had one of its main bases under the Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. (and a villain containment pod under the Washington Monument). Not quite a good idea when heroes smash in through the roof.
** Which makes their neighbor the teenaged {{antihero}} ''Comicbook/{{Anarky}}'' as he has his base of operations ''in'' the Washington Monument.
** The ComicBook/AllStarSquadron was based in the Trylon and Perisphere from the 1939 New York's World Fair. The Perisphere was their headquarters, and the Trylon was their CoolGarage.
** In ''[[ComicBook/JonahHex Hex]]'', the Franchise/{{Batman}} of the future had his secret base inside the Statue of Liberty. Granted in the post-apocalyptic future, it was probably no longer a tourist attraction, but it was still definitely a landmark.

* Franchise/MarvelUniverse:
** Possibly Avengers Mansion, which is based on (but not confirmed to be) Frick House, a museum in Manhattan's Upper East Side.
** In ''Superior Iron Man'', while visiting San Francisco, Tony Stark built himself a futuristic base on Alcatraz Island. The X-Men also temporarily had a base on Utopia, an asteroid that crashed into San Francisco Bay.
** The ''Comicbook/{{Runaways}}'' second "Hostel" is an ElaborateUndergroundBase underneath the La Brea Tar Pits; it used to belong to their evil parents.
** Comicbook/RedSkull established a secret base beneath Mount Rushmore in one story arc, using it to launch a bioweapon attack on the US.
* Mr. Majestic, Wildstorm's AlternateCompanyEquivalent of Franchise/{{Superman}}, has his headquarters inside (where else?) Mount Rushmore.
* A ''ComicBook/FantasticFour'' tie-in novel had a supervillain (The Mad Thinker) craft a base in Mount Rushmore. Cue Reed sliding out of a nose. In the regular Marvel Universe, Mount Rushmore just tends to get blown up. Yes, more then once.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Invincible}}'' spinoff ''Guarding the Globe'', Cecil shows team leader Brit around a new Guardians of the Globe satellite base -- inside Big Ben. Brit isn't sold on the idea, and Cecil suggests having the Sphinx hollowed out to make room for a base there, too, maybe with a jet hangar. Brit can't tell if he's joking or not. He wasn't; a couple of issues later it's revealed that this is exactly what he did.
* In ''Spyman'', a short-lived title from Creator/HarveyComics in the 1960s, the eponymous hero worked for the secret spy organisation LIBERTY who were headquartered inside the Statue of Liberty.
* ''ComicBook/GIJoeARealAmericanHeroMarvel'': The Joes have secret base that controls a KillSat hidden inside the Chrysler Building.
* In the earliest issues of Marvel's ''[[ComicBook/AlphaFlight Alpha Flight]]'', the super-secret Department H and their team of Canadian superheroes are headquartered directly beneath the Parliament buildings in Ottawa. Apparently we WANT supervillains to regularly blow up the historic seat of Canada's government, located on the busiest street in downtown Ottawa.

* In ''Fanfic/ForTheGloryOfIrk'', Dib is shocked to discover that [[TheFederation the Syndicate's]] base of operations on Earth is located [[ElaborateUndergroundBase beneath]] his university.

* The villains in ''Film/NorthByNorthwest'' have a house on Mount Rushmore's peak.
* Part of the backstory for ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' is that the Pyramids of Egypt were built to be landing pads and support facilities for AncientAstronauts and their massive starships. The only pyramid we actually see being ''used'' for this in the movie is on the planet of Abydos, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness in the Kalium Galaxy]].
* In 1978's ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'', ComicBook/LexLuthor is hiding in a defunct wing of the DC equivalent of Grand Central Station. This example is unusual in that the police ''actually suspect'' Luthor's presence in there, but one detective is mowed down by a train when he gets too close.
* ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' has the base in Mount Rushmore again.

* Creator/KimNewman's [[TwoFistedTales pulp homage/parody]] character Dr Shade apparently lives in a "secret" apartment in [[ClockTower Big Ben]]. Since in Newman's world he's both a real adventurer ''and'' a magazine character (in a sort of takeoff of DirectLineToTheAuthor), readers of the magazine wonder why it's described as secret. In "Literature/ColdSnap", his son says he still has the keys to the secret apartment but never uses it because he can't stand the incessant noise of the clockwork.

* The notorious Belgian {{mockumentary}} ''Bye Bye Belgium'' (a Flemish secession hoax reminiscent of Creator/OrsonWelles ''Radio/TheWarOfTheWorlds'' broadcast) at one point reported the Brussels government holding an emergency meeting in a fictitious underground tenth ball of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomium Atomium]].

** The Post Office Tower (WOTAN in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E10TheWarMachines "The War Machines"]])

** Trafalgar Square (Operation: Golden Age in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E2InvasionOfTheDinosaurs "Invasion of the Dinosaurs"]])

* ''VideoGame/LegoMarvelSuperHeroes'' features a HYDRA base located under the Empire State Building.

* Similarly, in ''VideoGame/GhostReconAdvancedWarfighter2'' apparently a computer system linked to the United States anti-ballistic missile defense grid's mainframe is located under a dam in El Paso Texas.

* Similarly, in ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/GhostRecon: Advanced Warfighter 2'' apparently a computer system linked to the United States anti-ballistic missile defense grid's mainframe is located under a dam in El Paso Texas.

* In the Franchise/DocSavage novel ''World's Fair Goblin'', the villain has his secret lab hidden inside the Trylon and Perisphere at the New York's World Fair.

* ''Videogame/{{Earthbound}}'' has a secret lab underneath Stonehenge.

* Nearly ''everything'' in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', since the game takes place in Washington, D.C. AfterTheEnd. The most recognizable are probably the Washington Monument (Brotherhood of Steel and Three Dog's communications relay), the Pentagon (Brotherhood of Steel), the Mall and Museum of Science (Super Mutants), Museum of History (Ghouls), the Jefferson Memorial (Project Purity), the Lincoln Memorial (Slavers and eventually freed slaves), the ruined Capitol Building (in some ways the BonusDungeon), and the White House Crater.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'' has the Plumbers' base be inside the ever-popular Mount Rushmore. It's been destroyed more than once, but holograms are used to hide the damage.