| Gold Base | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Gold Base from the west | |
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| General information | |
| Location | 19908-19998 Gilman Springs Rd, Gilman Hot Springs, San Jacinto, Riverside County, California |
| Coordinates | 33°50′01″N 116°59′13″W / 33.8335°N 116.9869°W |
| Construction started | 1978 |
| Owner | Church of Scientology |
| Dimensions | |
| Other dimensions | 520 acres (2.1 km2) |
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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 85 miles (137 km) 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.[1] 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.[2] 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".[3]
- ^ New Scientology magazine boasts that David Miscavige is now a Florida fixture. Ortega, Tony. The Underground Bunker. 11 March 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
- ^ Goodstein, Laurie (2010-03-06). "Defectors Say Church of Scientology Hides Abuse". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-02.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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