What Lies Beneath: Massive Secret Vault Under Lincoln Memorial to Be Opened to Public for America250

redstate.com ^ | May 31, 2026 | Bob Hoge

[PROCON]

If you’ve ever been to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., you’ll know it’s a majestic site, with the 19-foot-tall Georgia white marble statue of Honest Abe overlooking the Reflecting Pool and then further off, the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol.

Something you presumably didn’t see on your visit, however, is a massive 50,000-square-foot foundation built to keep the whole thing from sinking into the swamps of D.C. It’s called the Undercroft, and it’s been a tightly held secret for decades.

In June, the Department of the Interior will invite the public to see the hidden vault, Secretary Doug Burgum announced Sunday:

For whatever reason, I always love underground sites and find them mysterious and fascinating. They’re right under our feet, and yet we have no idea they’re there. In fact, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to getting caught up more than once in episodes of the 2017 Science Channel show, “Secrets of the Underground.” Where is that Nazi gold?! I want to know.

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TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History
KEYWORDS: america250; godsgravesglyphs; greatestpresident; lincolmemorial; theundercroft; undercroft

[PROCON]

Should be cool, and although Geraldo Rivera is 82 he'd be a great candidate to open the vault just like did similarly back in 1986.

Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone’s vault—and finds nothing

[rlmorel]

I saw something about this a while back, it looked amazing… Even if it is completely empty, it looks pretty cool with all those arches and everything…

[Mogger]

Too bad Trump doesn't drink.

He could turn it into the biggest wine cellar around and drive the Dems and RINOs more crazy than they are, if that is possible.

[Robert DeLong]

Geraldo Rivera is 82 he'd be a great candidate to open the vault just like did similarly back in 1986.

S Shirley, you jest. 😁🤙

[JBW1949]

They’re going to find Jimmy Hoffa’s body...

[Georgia Girl 2]

Maybe they’ll find Obama’s birth certificate. 😆

[j.havenfarm]

Agreed. But that it’s been “secret” is pure nonsense

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Dang...right there in Reply #1! Ya gotta be quick around here.

[Vendome]

Okay.

I’ve been under the Lincoln memorial twice and never saw vault

[Responsibility2nd]

They're going to find a 57 Fury.

_{(Found in 2007 in Tulsa when a time capsule was opened)}

[rlmorel]

Hahahaha that’s great!!!! I need to do a Photoshop!

“The Trump Lincoln Memorial Wine Cellar”! Proceeds from sales go to victims of government weaponization...:)

Flood the zone, baby! Flood the zone!

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I think one of Nicola Cage’s “National Treasure” movies took place there.

[johnnygeneric]

Procon, I thought the same thing. They should drag Geraldo Rivera in and have him do “The Great Reveal”!!! LOL!!

[SunkenCiv]

[Red Badger]

Geraldo is in there............

[Red Badger]

I remember when those cars were on the road. I thought they were beautiful!................

[Responsibility2nd]

For that one, it turned out the vault wasn’t sealed and water and debris filled up the vault.

When they finally got it out, it was a huge pile of rust. The only thing that kept it together was mud.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Belvedere

[Red Badger]

What a shame.................

[oldbill]

Been there, done that.
They had tours for a brief period in the 80s.
Fascinating.
There are stalactites from the limestone drippings from the memorial, graffiti from the workers. It is a huge area, because the Memorial was built on swampland and a now buried Tiber River below the water table so it needed a large foundation base.

[IYAS9YAS]

They're going to find a 57 Fury.

Well, just as long as it wasn't a '58, we're good.