Plot hole: The tunnel at the base of the stairs under the church wasn't connected to the stairs and seems to only have been reachable with the elevator system.
National Treasure (2004)
1 plot hole
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Christopher Plummer, Sean Bean, Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha
Factual error: As Ben is clinging to the staircase while it is falling apart, there is a close-up of a nail being pulled out of the wood. This nail is round-headed, rather than square as it would have been over 200 years ago. It's also shiny instead of rusty, which indicates that it's galvanized. Galvanization as an industrial, metal-preservation process was not patented until 1837, and was not used in building materials until well into the late-1800s. Since the film states the staircase was made by "the Founding Fathers, " and there was no galvanization of iron nails in any industrialized nation in 1780s-1830's, this is a huge anachronism.
Riley Poole: Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?
Trivia: When Ben is talking to Riley in front of the Lincoln Memorial, you see a long pool behind them. This pool is filled with computer generated water, because the pool was drained at the time of shooting.
Question: Ben explains the code on the Declaration reading 'Heere to the Wall' refers to the corner of Broadway and Wall St. But inside the church he reads 'Beneath Parkington Lane' and assumes that must mean beneath the church. But why is there no explanation for what Parkington Lane is and why wouldn't Ben think it's just another clue?
Answer: He doesn't simply assume "Beneath Parkington Lane" means beneath the church: Parkington Lane is the name etched on the tomb hiding the entrance to the tunnels. When he saw it, he naturally deduced what he had to do.
Sereenie