Gold Base

rdf:langString Gold Base

rdf:langString Gold Base

rdf:langString Gold Base

rdf:langString Aerial view of Gold Base from the west

rdf:langString 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 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 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. Secretly bought for cash in 1978 by Scientology, using 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. Scientology leader David Miscavige, senior church officials, and up to 1,000 of the church's elite Sea Org 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 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 caught and returned 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 guarantees 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".