Gold Base (also variously known as Gold, Golden Era Productions, Int Base or Int) is the de facto international headquarters of the Church of Scientology, located north of San Jacinto, California, United States, about from Los Angeles. The heavily guarded compound comprises about fifty buildings surrounded by high fences topped with blades and watched around the clock by security personnel, cameras and motion detectors. The property is bisected by a public road, which is closely monitored by Scientology with cameras recording passing traffic.
The property had previously been a popular Inland Empire spa resort called Gilman Hot Springs, which was established in the 1890s. However, the resort went bankrupt in the late 1970s due to changes in American vacation habits. Bought for cash in 1978 by Scientology under the alias of the "Scottish Highland Quietude Club", it has since been developed and expanded considerably.
Gold Base houses numerous Scientology organizations and subsidiaries, including its in-house media production division, Golden Era Productions, which has its own movie studio on the site. Senior church officials, and up to 1,000 of the church's elite Sea Org live and work on the base; the church's leader, David Miscavige, also lived there until reportedly relocating to Clearwater, Florida, in the late 2010s.New Scientology magazine boasts that David Miscavige is now a Florida fixture. Ortega, Tony. The Underground Bunker. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023. 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 visited the base, notably Tom Cruise.
According to some former members of Scientology, conditions within Gold Base are harsh, with staff members receiving sporadic paychecks of $50 at most, working seven days a week, and being subjected to punishments for failing to meet work quotas. Media reports have stated that around 100 people a year try to escape from the base but most are soon retrieved by "pursuit teams". Despite many accounts of mistreatment from ex-members, law enforcement investigations and lawsuits against Scientology have been thwarted by the First Amendment's guarantee of religious freedom and the church's ability to rely on "ministerial exemptions" in employment law. Scientology denies any mistreatment and calls the base "the ideal setting for professional and spiritual growth".
Description Gold Base is located at the base of California's San Jacinto Mountains. The base covers an area of near 19712 Gilman Springs Road, south-east of its intersection with California State Route 79, in unincorporated Riverside County, about north-northwest of San Jacinto and Hemet. It consists of compounds on either side of Gilman Springs Road with underground pedestrian tunnels connecting them. Both parts of the property are surrounded by a chain link fence topped with "Ultra Barrier" spikes and razor wire, with motion sensors and lights. There are five heavily guarded gates into the base, three on the south side of Gilman Spring Road and two on the north.
Scientology spokesperson Catherine Fraser told the Valley Chronicle newspaper in 2009 that the spikes on the fences were intended to "prevent people and animals from intruding." When asked why half the spikes face inwards towards the interior of the compound (as pictured below), Scientology spokesperson Tommy Davis told KESQ-TV that "that's just how they were installed".
There are around fifty buildings on the property, many built in a mock-Scottish highlands style. Most are obscured from public view by tall hedges and high walls, monitored by video cameras. According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, Scientology employees in uniform and guards on motorcycles can be glimpsed by motorists through the metal fence that surrounds the compound. Although the road which goes through the middle of the compound is public property, the church has video cameras and lights installed adjacent to traffic signs to record traffic heading in both directions.
South side
The south side of Gold Base is primarily used by Golden Era Productions, Scientology's in-house movie studio. It includes a studio in the style of a Scottish castle, which was built in 1997–1998 at a cost of $10.8 million to serve as a production facility for Scientology's training and promotional videos. The building, known as the "Cine Castle", replaced an earlier building known as "The Gym" which used to house Golden Era's shooting stage, make-up, costumes, camera, lighting and set sound departments.
The name of the Gym is said to have come from the cover story used by Scientology to conceal its activities at the base. According to Marc Headley, who worked on the base for fifteen years; "the permit to build the studio was applied for under the guise of a 'basketball gym.' All references to the building were to be specified as the 'Gym'." The Gym still stands and is now reported to be used as a small (supplementary) studio and special effects facility.
A short distance to the east, a garage formerly used as a public gas station is now the location of Motor Pool Gold and serves as the maintenance facility for the entire property. The base's Estates Division, responsible for maintenance and construction work, is located here. The western part of the building was formerly used by Golden Era's set and props departments before the construction of the Cine Castle. In the 2000s, the garage was reportedly used to house a makeshift shower for the inmates of "The Hole", a punishment facility on the base.
Various buildings are located nearby for use in connection with the studio's administrative and production activities. Scientology's E-meters are manufactured on the base in a building known as Building 36, which houses production facilities for HEM (Hubbard E-Meter Manufacturing). It also houses tape production facilities and Golden Era's administrative functions.
A number of "Staff Berthing" blocks are located a few hundred yards away, housing around 1,000 members of Scientology's Sea Org. In keeping with the base's Scottish theme, each building is named after a different Scottish clan and bears its crest. The "G Units" – VIP accommodations – are situated on the far eastern edge of the base. Tom Cruise is reported to have stayed there in the late 1980s and early 1990s when he was studying Scientology at the base. Tunnels allow crossing from the Staff Berthing and Massacre Canyon Inn buildings to the north side of the base without having to exit the compound.
The rest of the southern part of the complex is a landscaped open area with a lake and sports facilities, including basketball and volleyball courts and a baseball diamond. As of 2008, they were reported to be disused. The lake was reportedly used for punishment on various occasions in the 2000s. According to author Janet Reitman, Scientology leader David Miscavige ordered dozens of senior executives to go outdoors in the middle of the night and assemble at either the lake or the base's open-air swimming pool. They would then jump or be pushed into the water, often in freezing conditions, while fully clothed and with Miscavige watching. Scientology acknowledges this practice took place but characterizes it as part of its "ecclesiastical justice" system for dealing with poor performance.
A "Purification Center" stands near the lake and is used to administer Scientology's Purification Rundown program to base staff. Nearby is a circular feature which has been used for the "running program", used as a punishment. Vicki Aznaran, formerly the president of Scientology's Religious Technology Center, alleged that after she disagreed with a plan to restructure the Church's finances in 1982, she was ordered to run around an orange pole every day from 7 am to 9:30 pm for about 120 days, with ten-minute breaks every half-hour and thirty-minute rests for lunch and dinner.
North side
Scientology's international management is based on the north side of Gold Base. Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard's mansion, "Bonnie View", occupies a prominent spot on high ground with panoramic views of the San Jacinto Valley. According to property records, the residence cost $9.4 million and is equipped with a lap pool and a movie theater. It has been described as "high-end beautiful but not ostentatious", but Hubbard died long before it was completed. According to ex-Scientologists, it is meant to be used by Hubbard when he returns after being reincarnated.Miscavige Hill, "Mom" It is used in part as a museum, housing most of Hubbard's belongings.
Bonnie View is still maintained as if Hubbard is due to turn up tomorrow, with glasses of water covered with plastic wrap, toothbrushes set out in multiple personal bathrooms and "identical sets of Thom McAn black thongs ready for him to step into after a shower or bath." A full-time staff regularly launders Hubbard's clothes and cleans the property. His cars are kept in a garage with full tanks of gas and the keys in the ignition, ready to be used at a moment's notice. The rear of the house incorporates guest apartments and amenities which have reportedly been used by Tom Cruise on some of his visits to the base.
Adjacent to Bonnie View is the RTC Building, the headquarters of the Religious Technology Center chaired by Miscavige, who succeeded Hubbard as the church's leader. The building, which was completed in 2004, is said to have cost over $70 million to construct. According to Tom de Vocht, who was put in charge of completing construction after it fell years behind schedule and vastly overbudget, the RTC Building had been already completed twice over at a cost of over $47 million – $1,200 per square foot – but on each occasion the entire interior had to be ripped out as it did not meet with Miscavige's approval. De Vocht discovered the building had been so shoddily built that it would have collapsed during even a minor earthquake. The walls were not connected to the floors; the building had a tilt; and there were no architectural drawings, only renderings of how it should appear. De Vocht was ordered to rebuild it, which cost a further $23 million. Millions more had to be spent on landscaping after Miscavige decreed the building, which is situated in the middle of the Californian desert, should appear to be set in a forest.
Three villas left over from the old resort, known as the Upper, Middle and Lower Villas, stand below Bonnie View. They have been used as executive apartments by Miscavige and other senior figures. Alongside the Villas is the Star of California, a replica clipper ship now used as a site for community events. Other buildings located nearby include the "Ranchos", a cluster of buildings used to house the book compilation, editing, design and typesetting units; the "Del Sol" building (formerly the Hotel Del Sol) used for staff training; and various additional facilities for Golden Era Productions.
One of these buildings, known as "Studio One", houses the "LRH [L. Ron Hubbard] Music Studio Complex" with state-of-the-art music recording facilities. Headley describes it as containing "very upscale conference and dining facilities for visiting musicians that are brought up to the Studio for recordings." Another studio on the north side, known as "Studio Two", houses additional audio production facilities.