100 Places You Will Never Visit (10 page)

Perhaps his greatest gift, and one conspicuously evident in the AT&T Long Lines Building, was to marry beauty with the most functional requirements. To contain all the necessary technical equipment, each floor of the Thomas Street building measures around 6 meters (20 ft) high, about twice the height of floors in a standard skyscraper. The building is considered a fine example of Brutalist architecture, with its exterior consisting of huge precast concrete panels adorned with pink Swedish granite facades. In a city dominated by glass, you might think that it would stand out as some sort of monstrosity, but in fact it blends discreetly into its environment.

More importantly, it is an incredibly resilient structure. It was designed so that it could be self-sufficient for up to a fortnight in the event of a nuclear attack, and its floors are reinforced to withstand up to 1.5 tons of pressure per square meter (300 lb per sq ft). It is a construction of rare strength, as you might expect for one so crucial to the nation’s communications systems. And of course, no one is going to break in through an open window.

32 The Tomb

Yale University

LOCATION Yale University, Connecticut, USA

NEAREST POPULATION HUB New Haven, Connecticut

SECRECY OVERVIEW Access restricted: headquarters of the notorious Skull and Bones Society.

Of all the secret societies associated with American universities, none is more famous than Skull and Bones, whose members meet in a building known as the Tomb. The society boasts a list of alumni that includes some of the most influential people on the planet, leading some commentators to see Skull and Bones as a training camp for an all-powerful cabal.

The society was founded in 1832 by Alphonso Taft and William Huntington Russell as the Order of Skull and Bones. Its members, called Bonesmen, have been selected since 1879 by a process known as tapping. In this ceremony, held each April, the Society’s senior figures walk among the members of Yale’s junior class who gather on the grass at Branford College. Fifteen candidates who are considered to be the crème de la crème are then chosen by being tapped. Known members include several US presidents and assorted high-ranking figures from Wall Street and Washington.

The Tomb is the commonly used name for the Skull and Bones Meeting Hall, located on New Haven’s High Street. It is an imposing, windowless, sandstone building in the Greco-Roman style. There is some debate as to the identity of its original architect, but the first wing was built in 1856, with a second following in 1903. Castellated towers from a condemned local brownstone building designed by A.J. Davis were added in 1911, forming a small courtyard.

The lack of windows begs the question of what lies inside, and reports suggest a somewhat overwrought gothic interior, the walls strewn with portraits of esteemed former members (George W. Bush being a recent addition), medieval armor and human and animal skeletons. It has been alleged that the Tomb also holds the stolen gravestone of Elihu Yale, one of the University’s principal early benefactors, and the man after whom it was named. Another unproven rumor says that the Tomb contains the skeleton of the Apache chief Geronimo, pilfered in the early years of last century. A locked room, the Inner Temple, stores treasures including the Society’s founding documents. Clocks in the Tomb are also said to be set five minutes fast, adding to the sense of isolation from the normal world.

Amid claims of mysterious initiation ceremonies, coded nicknames and oaths of secrecy—plus an unfaltering air of elitism—Skull and Bones seems an organization quite at ease with its exclusivity.

1 EXCLUSIVE CLUB The Skull and Bones Meeting Hall stares blank-faced onto the High Street of New Haven, Connecticut. Its imposing design entirely hides the interior from the view of passers-by, which only adds to the Society’s mysterious and semi-mythological status.

2 ONLY A NUMBER The figure 322 in the Society’s emblem has been a subject of great debate. One theory suggests a connection to the death in 322 BC of the Greek orator, Demosthenes.

33 Air Force One

LOCATION Stationed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, USA

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Washington, DC

SECRECY OVERVIEW High-security location: the US President’s personal aircraft.

Strictly speaking, Air Force One is not an aircraft but merely the call-sign of any Air Force jet in which the President happens to be flying. In practice, however, it normally refers to either one of two Boeing 747-200 series jets (with tail numbers 28000 and 29000) that are at the President’s disposal. As the “flying White House,” Air Force One is about as highly protected as a means of transport can be.

Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first serving President to travel by airplane on official business when in 1943 he flew to Casablanca, Morocco, to discuss the progress of the Second World War with Winston Churchill. Roosevelt’s security advisers were unhappy at having to use commercial airliners with all their attendant security risks, and it was subsequently decided to convert a military plane for the President’s use alone. While a suitable aircraft—nicknamed “Sacred Cow”—was soon adapted, Roosevelt himself would use it only once, to reach the Yalta Conference of 1945.

In 1944, Roosevelt had established the Presidential Airlift Group as part of the White House Military Office. This group is responsible for maintaining and operating presidential aircraft to this day, working out of the Air Force’s Joint Base Andrews in nearby Maryland. The designation “Air Force One” itself did not come about until 1959, during the Presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. Three years later, John F. Kennedy became the first US president to use a jet aircraft, a customized Boeing 707.

The present Air Force One was widely featured in the media following the September 11 terrorist attacks of 2001. With his advisers uncertain of where best to keep him safe, President George W. Bush spent much of that day in the air. At one stage, his pilot would later reveal, there was real concern that the aircraft itself would come under attack.

The plane’s facilities are split over three levels, providing over 370 square meters (4,000 sq ft) of floor space. With room for around 70 passengers on board, the guest list tends to be pretty exclusive, and anyone going aboard can expect to undergo stringent security screenings. Aside from the President, the passenger roster may include members of the President’s family and other specially invited guests. George W. Bush, for instance, occasionally took his pet cats and dogs for a spin.

As one might expect, the plane’s plushest quarters are reserved for the President himself. His suite, which is toward the front of the jet, includes a bedroom, bathroom, office and mini-gym. There is plentiful office space for members of the presidential staff, as well as a fully functioning conference room. Meanwhile, selected journalists are permitted on most trips. The press pool typically numbers around 13, with the composition varying from flight to flight. Reuters keeps a designated correspondent and photographer on all presidential flights. Media personnel occupy a seating area accessed through the plane’s rear door.

FLYING WHITE HOUSE This cutaway view of Air Force One reveals its two decks. Journalists, security personnel and guests sit toward the back of the plane while the President’s suite nestles in the nose, in front of the President’s office and a medical office. The conference room can be seen over the wing.

Key: 1. Flight deck and crew area, 2. Presidential suite, 3. President’s office, 4. Communications, 5. Main galley, 6. Senior staff, 7. Conference room, 8. Office staff, 9. Guest section, 10. Security staff, 11. Press and support crew seating.

Aside from the pilot and co-pilot, there is a crew of some 26, selected from among the most highly regarded military personnel. The pilots themselves are at the very peak of their chosen profession. There is also a staff doctor who travels everywhere with the President. Armed Secret Service agents, meanwhile, take responsibility for the aircraft’s security: indeed, Air Force One claims the same degree of security and technology as the Oval Office. Even foreign dignitaries invited to accompany the President on a flight are not allowed access to every area of the aircraft.

Air Force One is equipped with its own anti-missile defense systems, and has infrared countermeasures situated around the tail and the engines, designed to confuse heat-seeking weapons. There is also shielding to protect the plane’s electronics from an electromagnetic pulse attack. With over 350 kilometers (218 miles) of wiring on board, and some 85 telephones, all communications in and out are encrypted.

Before each flight, Secret Service agents check and seal the jet’s fuel supplies, as well as inspecting the relevant runway for any safety risks. In the event of a threat to the President as he boards or disembarks the plane, agents have orders to shoot. Several agents fly ahead of Air Force One to safety-check the destination airport, where an armored limousine is prepared for the President’s transfer. One of the agents on board Air Force One is entrusted with “the football”—the briefcase that contains the presidential nuclear activation codes. The jet always taxis to a halt with its left side facing toward any public areas, leaving the onboard presidential quarters as protected as possible.

In 2006 a rare—and thankfully low-level—security breach was reported when a detailed plan of the aircraft mistakenly appeared on the website of Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. Nonetheless, Air Force One is as secure as you could ever hope to be when you’re flying in a tin can miles up in the sky.

IN-FLIGHT CONFERENCE President Barack Obama meets with key members of his staff in Air Force One’s conference room on April 3, 2009, during a short flight from the UK to France.

34 The Oak Island Money Pit

LOCATION Southern Nova Scotia, Canada

NEAREST POPULATION HUB Halifax, Nova Scotia

SECRECY OVERVIEW Site of historic mystery: the legendary home of an unclaimed treasure trove.

In 1795, according to a long-standing Nova Scotian legend, 18-year-old Daniel McGinnis, investigating mysterious lights seen on the southeastern part of Oak Island, found a depression in a clearing. Upon closer inspection he discovered a deep pit, apparently man-made. The so-called “money pit” has been excavated regularly ever since, but all attempts to discover the secrets buried within have been thwarted.

Oak Island is one of several hundred uninhabited islands in Canada’s Mahone Bay, 200 meters (660 ft) out to sea. It covers about 57 hectares (140 acres) and its highest point lies 11 meters (36 ft) above sea level. The island is privately owned, and permission must be gained before landing there.

UNTOLD RICHES The densely forested Oak Island has kept treasure hunters occupied for over two and a quarter centuries. Mahone Bay, in which the island sits, laps the east coast of Nova Scotia’s Lunenburg County, and is a popular area for fishing and pleasure cruising.

After McGinnis made his discovery, he returned with two friends to begin excavating. They dug down through about 10 meters (33 ft), apparently uncovering a level of flagstones and then layers of logs every 3 meters (10 ft) or so. There were also marks in the pit wall, seemingly made by a pickaxe—that is to say, evidence of a human hand.

Having exhausted themselves and found nothing, McGinnis and his cohorts left the dig. A group called the Onslow Company took up the gauntlet in 1803, digging to around 30 meters (100 ft). They too found regularly spaced layers of logs, along with sections of charcoal and coconut fiber. Most significantly, toward the end of the dig it was claimed that a stone was discovered, bearing a strange inscription of symbols. The stone later mysteriously went missing, but by then the symbols had supposedly been faithfully recorded on paper and were circulating among a number of treasure-seekers. One researcher eventually translated the inscription as “forty feet below, two million pounds lie buried,” though much mythology surrounds all aspects of this part of the story.

Alas for the Onslow Company, their work came to an end when the pit flooded. New attempts to make progress occurred frequently throughout the 19th century and into the 20th. In 1849, some gold chain links were said to have been found. The pit regularly flooded or collapsed over the years, and claimed its first life in an accident in the 1860s. Debate rages as to whether these floodings were the result of a purpose-built flood tunnel (quite a masterful feat of engineering if that is the case) or occurred naturally as a result of the island’s peculiar geology and tidal pattern.

A team working under the name of the Old Gold Salvage Group got to work in 1909 and counted future US President Franklin D. Roosevelt among its number. A dig by William Chappell in 1931, meanwhile, took the pit down to 50 meters (165 ft), and came upon all sorts of artifacts, including a Cornish miner’s pickaxe—but whether these dated from post-1795 excavations or an earlier date altogether is not certain. As the decades passed, increasing amounts of debris accumulated, and even the location and structure of the original shaft was becoming unclear.

DEEP MYSTERY Treasure hunters and archaeologists have dug down into the Money Pit for more than 200 years, with varying degrees of success.

In the late 1960s, a new company called Triton Alliance acquired most of the island, and by 1971 they had succeeded in descending to 72 meters (235 ft). This team claimed to have lowered cameras into a cavern beneath the pit, producing pictures they said showed evidence of wooden chests and human remains, though the images are not of sufficient quality to tell for sure. Legal wrangles and environmental concerns have held up new digs in recent decades, but the 2011 Oak Island Act allows the treasure hunt to continue under license from the Canadian government.

There are several exotic theories as to what might lie at the bottom of the pit. Some say that it is the treasure of the pirate Captain Kidd, others the treasure of Edward Teach (better known as Blackbeard). The latter theory is reinforced by Blackbeard’s public proclamation that he had buried his stash “where none but Satan and myself can find it.” Other stories claim that it contains treasure found by Spanish sailors on a wrecked galleon, or that it houses riches moved by the British during the American Revolution or the Seven Years War. Still others suggest it is the lost treasure of the Knights Templar, or the jewelry of Marie Antoinette, smuggled out of Paris as the guillotine beckoned. And of course, wherever there is the promise of unknown treasure, there are those who speculate that it is nothing less than the Holy Grail itself.