Secrets of America's Favorite Places

Did you know that the conventional wisdom that the statue was a gift from the French government is incorrect? Just how damaged was Lady Liberty by the first terrorist attack on America during World War I? Meet a man who spent decades of his life climbing to the top of the statue to maintain it. And get a rare look at how the Coast Guard keeps a constant watchful eye over Lady Liberty.

Are there secret messages contained at the Lincoln Memorial? You’ll be shocked to know that Abraham Lincoln often traveled around Washington, D.C. alone – without a security detail. Visit an often-overlooked Washington, D.C. cottage where Lincoln spent nearly a quarter of his presidency. And would you believe almost 50 years before the Lincoln Memorial was built on the National Mall, a little-known controversial statue served as the nation’s landmark to honor Lincoln?

What did it take to carve the four presidents heads – sixty feet tall each – into solid granite? Who decided which presidents would be immortalized? As massive as the presidents are on Mount Rushmore, there’s an even bigger mountain carving of Native American warrior Crazy Horse underway just a few miles away.

What was it really like to do hard time in America’s most notorious prison? One of the last surviving former Alcatraz inmates gives his first-ever TV interview and shatters many myths surrounding the famous prison. Meet a U.S. Marshal who is still investigating The Great Escape of 1962 during which three inmates vanished from the island and were never seen again.

The Golden Gate Bridge is the most photographed and most famous bridge in the world. Its “International Orange” color is iconic, but few know the color was chosen by a strange fluke. The bridge has endured earthquakes with grace, but it almost collapsed on its 50th anniversary when 500,000 people partied on the span to celebrate. Did you know there’s evidence that the Japanese navy came very close to destroying Golden Gate Bridge during World War II?

No train station has more tracks and platforms than New York City’s Grand Central Terminal. Get rare access behind Grand Central’s 14-foot in diameter clock – with a face that is the world’s largest piece of Tiffany glass. Why did Nazi spies try to gain access to Grand Central’s basement during World War II? And is it true there’s a secret train track for use by U.S. Presidents only?

Acclaimed film critic and Hollywood historian Leonard Maltin lends his expertise and commentary to uncovering the secrets behind Hollywood Boulevard. For the first time ever, the complete manufacturing of a Walk of Fame star is filmed from beginning to end. Explore the secrets and mysteries of the most famous movie theater in the world – Grauman’s Chinese Theater, where movie stars are immortalized in the courtyard’s concrete. What secret message is the iconic Capitol Records building flashing to the world with its blinking rooftop beacon? And why is the Hollywood sign almost guarded like Fort Knox?

Central Park spans 843 acres, forming an oasis of green tranquility in the city that never sleeps. But how much of Central Park is made by nature and how much is engineered by man? Why are some parts of the park so secret that even city officials don’t know how to reach them? What do the codes mean on each of the park’s lamp posts? Learn the little-known story of how an entire village vanished from the park. And is it true that Central Park is home to more species of birds than almost anywhere else?