It's the stunning home of our national collection of printed "knowledge" but it's what lies beneath the National Library of Australia that has had Canberrans whispering for five decades.
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For years the rumour that there's a moat under the library has stirred images of a dark, torch-lit Phantom of the Opera-style water passage keeping our collection safe from thieves and flooding.
And The Canberra Times can finally confirm the rumour is true: there definitely is a moat one floor below the National Library of Australia.
But it's less a Game of Thrones "first line of defence" style moat and more, well, if we're being honest, a shallow drain.
There aren't any crocodiles or lines of charging soldiers. And at 20cm deep and 20cm wide, there's no drawbridge required.
But, according to the library's director of building and security services, Erin Dampney, the moat has a very specific job.
"It's effectively a big storm water drain that goes around the perimeter of the library building," she said.
"It's on our lower ground floor and it collects all the water from the storm water grates that you see up on the podium when you walk into the building.
"On the podium there are these big brass copper grates and that's our storm water drain, so all the storm water that flows off the podium goes down into the moat and out into normal Canberra storm water drains."
The moat "definitely got a workout" on the weekend, Ms Dampney said, when more than 70mm of rain was dumped on Canberra in less than 24 hours.
While the moat, or more specifically a huge drain surrounding the library, was included in architect Walter Bunning's original plans for the Parkes Place building, it was staff working in the library in the late 60s and early 70s who coined the term "the moat".
Ms Dampney said she finds it hilarious that Canberrans have made the moat the centre of excited gossip.
"I've kind of heard the rumours," she laughed.
"We've also had questions about hidden tunnels in the past but we don't have anything like that - well not that we've come across anyway."
If you're keen to go behind-the-scenes and see the moat yourself, this year could definitely be the year.
"It's the library's 50th birthday this year and we're talking about having a tour later in August ... we're trying to think of things that people just never get to see," Ms Dampney said.
"The moat might just make the list."
