The Avengers is possibly the biggest movie of the summer if not the year. It’s the first time this many super heroes are appearing in the same movie after many of them have previously had their own story lines showcased in individual blockbuster films. Plus, it’s directed by one of my favorite writer/director, Joss Whedon. While Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America and Nick Fury take to the silver screen we wanted to take a look at the place Earth’s Mightiest Heroes call home: Avengers Mansion.

Now in the movie, Stark Tower acts as the headquarters to the Avengers and in the comics it’s also known as Avengers Tower, but the actual home for the Avengers is located at 721 5th Avenue in New York City and is known as Avengers Mansion. As is often the case in comic books, this home had a real life inspiration. The creator of the Avengers along with many other Marvel heroes, Stan Lee, used to walk past this enormous mansion in New York called the Frick Collection and houses a very prestigious collection of art and furniture. This museum spans a New York City block and Stan Lee saw this as the perfect model for a home to contain the likes of Thor & the Incredible Hulk.

In comic book lore, Avengers Mansion was originally owned by the Stark family until Tony Stark donated the home to the Avengers. The Stark family butler, Edwin Jarvis, was the caretaker for the home and also looked after the needs of each of the Avengers.

The exact square footage of the Mansion is under debate, but it is referred to as spanning an entire city block and is noted to have 3 floors above ground to go along with multiple basement levels. The main floor of the Mansion housed the library, dining room and living quarters for Edwin Jarvis. The second floor has 8 private bedrooms for any Avenger seeking a place to stay. The third floor was primarily a space for landing and taking off in any type of air transportation vehicle.

The underground levels of Avengers Mansion are the place where business gets done. The basement level was highlighted with training rooms, medical stations and a lovely cryogenic containment area should any Avengers need to be temporarily frozen until a remedy could be found for what ailed them. Sub-Basement Level 1 is home to the Assembly Room where planning meetings were held for their next mission. And of course Sub-Basement Level 2 was used for what us mere mortals use basements for: storage.

Just like any home, Avenger Mansion required some updating over time. Rooms were rearranged to accommodate new members or enhance security systems with the latest technology.  In fact, in the early days of the Avengers, Thor and Iron Man pushed the entire mansion 35 feet back from Fifth Avenue to gain additional privacy.

It’s safe to say that if Avengers Mansion were on the market today it would have an astronomical asking price and potentially be the most security-enabled home in existence.  Explore all the details of Avengers Mansion at Marvel Wikia.

If not Avengers Mansion, share your favorite super hero home in the comments.

Header image courtesy of Flickr user W_Minshull