How many houses that you pass each day aren’t really houses at all, but just realistic-looking facades hiding a secret function? Speakeasies and secret clubs masquerade as run-down stores in New York, faux suburban residences hide unexpected operations and weird-looking towers all over Los Angeles contain something you’d never expect.

Top Secret Bar You’d Never Find On Your Own

New York City hides all sorts of secrets, among them a number of fake storefronts hiding secret bars, clubs and meeting spaces. Scouting New York listed out eight of the best, including ‘Lower East Side Toys’ on Norfolk Street in Manhattan. It definitely doesn’t look like much from the street, and the door marked with a peeling sign that says ‘Deliveries Only’ seems innocuous enough. But those in the know step right through into The Back Room, a speakeasy-style bar. The takeaway here is that if you think a New York City business is a front for something else, you’re probably right.

Fake Brooklyn Brownstone Hides an Underground Portal

If you’re very observant, you might have noticed when passing by that the windows in this otherwise normal-looking Brooklyn brownstone are curiously blacked out. But that’s just about the only clue that anything is amiss – unless you walk right up to the door and peer through the crack, which reveals not a home but rather a concrete-lined, windowless industrial space. 58 Joralemon Street stands directly above the tracks for New York City’s subway lines 4 and 5, and functions as a ventilation shaft. The MTA disguised it as a courtesy to the residential neighbors.

Chicago Mansion Is Really a Power Substation

A faux Georgian mansion stands at a Chicago intersection with front doors that don’t open and windows that are never illuminated, no matter the time of day. It’s actually a substation for electrical company Commonwealth Edison, which goes to some trouble to camouflage many of these typically unsightly structures when they’re located in conspicuous spots. This one was designed by Stanley Tigerman, former director of the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois in Chicago. Triggerman made it as authentically Georgian as he could, down to the sturdy brickwork pattern that will help it stand the test of time with minimal maintenance. The blacked-out windows are actually vents.

Superhero Supply Store Doesn’t Really Sell Superhero Supplies

You might suspect that something’s amiss with the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co, given that the products on display in the window and listed on a card outside include antimatter, a collapsible portal, galactic compasses and manuals for all sorts of fantastical weapons that don’t really exist. If you know the secret of the place once inside, you’ll head directly for a secret door hidden in a bookcase, which leads not to the headquarters of the Justice League but rather a student learning and activity center focusing on literacy. A viewing portal in the wall gives visitors a glimpse into this space. Disappointed? You can actually buy a number of products from the shop and the website, including superhero disguise kits, costumes, and even one-gallon cans of immortality. There’s even a musical inspired by it.

Swiss Fortress in Disguise

Would you ever guess that this little pink house in Switzerland is really a fortress? Villa Rose is located on the Toblerone defensive line, built to defend the country from invasion during World War II. If you opened the garage door you’d come face-to-face with a pair of gigantic cannons, a third hidden deeper inside. The fake windows painted onto the second story would only fool onlookers from afar, but when the fortress was active, nobody would have made it close enough to notice. The Villa Rose is now open to the public as a museum.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Stealth Structures 10 Buildings That Arent What They Seem

Nuclear missile silos, former quarries, natural caves and man-made hills camouflage homes ranging from rustic and understated to modern and luxurious. Seeming ideally suited to shield unsavory dealings from view, these subterranean lairs are perfect for villains – or just ordinary people who want to live in a really cool place.

Secret Subterranean Passage Connects Barn to Home

Looking out over the land, all you’ll see here is a very unassuming stone-and-wood barn. But go inside that barn and you’ll discover a concealed entry to an underground passage that leads to a hidden home. Villa Vals emerges from the hillside to look out onto a beautiful view. Located in Switzerland, this subterranean residence is also a part-time rental.

Subterra Castle Converted Nuclear Missile Silo

When Ed Peden first laid eyes upon what would later become his home, it was little more than a dark, dark, unmaintained hole in the ground. This underground nuclear missile silo wasn’t exactly welcoming, but Peden bought it for the relatively low cost of $48,000 and transformed it into a comfortable family residence. The home is topped by a modest-looking wooden structure, and nothing would look amiss at all if it weren’t for the escape hatches that have been altered to look like castle towers. The home takes up just a third of the nearly 20,000 available square feet of space underground.

Cave House, Festus, Missouri

A 17,000-square-foot artificial cavern left by a 1930s sandstone mine in Festus, Missouri is now a beautiful modern family home. Located 45 feet below a forest (and a neighboring home), Cave House was temporarily a roller rink and concert venue hosting the likes of Tina Turner and Bob Seger, and the back chamber still has the stage they performed upon. The middle chamber measures 80 by 80 feet, used by the family as a ‘party room’, and the front chamber holds most of the home. The property is 2.8 partially wooded acres with three freshwater springs and fourteen waterfalls.

Atlas F Missile Base House, Abilene, Texas

Inspired by Ed Peden’s Subterra, a man named Bruce Townsley purchased an Atlas F missile base near Abilne, Texas for $99,000. Townsley transformed just 1,000 square feet of the sprawling base into his living space. Notable features like the massive blast doors have been preserved, while much of the home now has a coat of bright white paint that makes it feel surprisingly welcoming.

Malator, Wales

Commonly known by neighbors in Wales as the ‘Teletubby House’, Malator is mostly hidden within a hill, with no more than a clear glass facade and a steel chimney to give it away. Built in the town of Druidstone in 1998, the small underground dwelling has a turf roof and working porthole windows.

Underground House in a Former Quarry

An old quarry in the Eden Valley of Cumbria, UK hosts a two-story house with a massive glass facade to bring in daylight and warmth. The earth-sheltered, eco-friendly home was designed by architect John Bodger for Phil and Helen Reddy.

Next Page - Click Below to Read More:
Fit For A Villain 12 Surprisingly Homey Underground Lairs