Gold Base
| Gold Base | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of Gold Base from the west
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| General information | |
| Type | Secure compound bisected by public highway |
| Location | 19712 Gilman Springs Rd, San Jacinto, Riverside County, California |
| Construction started | 1978 |
| Owner | Church of Scientology |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 520 acres (2.1 km2) |
Coordinates: 33°50′03″N 116°59′06″W / 33.8343°N 116.9851°W
Gold Base (also variously known as Gold, Golden Era Productions, Int Base, or Int) is the confidential de facto international headquarters of the Church of Scientology. It is located at 19712 Gilman Springs Rd, San Jacinto in Riverside County, California and about 100 miles (160 km) from Los Angeles. The heavily guarded compound comprises about 50 buildings surrounded by high fences topped with blades and watched around the clock by patrols, cameras and motion detectors. The property is bisected by a public road, which is closely monitored by the Church with cameras recording passing traffic.
The Church of Scientology acquired the property, which had formerly been a resort called Gilman Hot Springs, in 1978. It had previously been a popular Inland Empire vacation spot and spa established in the 1890s but went bankrupt in the late 1970s due to changes in American vacation habits. Bought for cash in great secrecy by the Church, using the alias of the "Scottish Highland Quietude Club," it has since been developed and expanded considerably.
The base now houses numerous Church organizations and subsidiaries, including its in-house media production division, Golden Era Productions, which has its own movie studio on the site. The Church's leader David Miscavige and other senior church officials live and work on the base. It is also the location of a $10 million mansion built for Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Although he never lived there before his death in 1986, the mansion and his living quarters are still maintained in anticipation of his predicted reincarnation. A number of prominent Scientologists have studied Scientology at Gold Base, notably Tom Cruise.
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