Our Journey : October 14, 2023 The Bunker at the Greenbrier

10/15/2023

October 14, 2023 The Bunker at the Greenbrier

The Greenbrier Hotel and Resort is located in White Sulfur Springs, WV. It has been around since the 1700s and started mainly because of the springs in the area. After December 7th, 1941, it became a place to keep the visiting dignitaries who were caught here when war was declared. It then became a hospital for our soldiers – over 24000 of them.

(Links below for more in depth history.)

When we arrived, we had to park across the street from the estate and were shuttled to the hotel.

It was MASSIVE.

From the outside – the first two are not my pictures:

The next are my pictures:

Beautiful landscaping:

Many porches all around:

And the inside, oh my:

This chandler was used in the movie, Gone With Wind – the last scene where she is walking up the Grand Staircase:

The lobby bar:

More sitting rooms:

One of the Grand Staircases:

The hallways with the rhododendron rug:

And this was only the lobby area. We walked by some of the banquet rooms and peeked in the doors – I was AWESTUCK!

The property is over 11000 acres and includes the resort hotel and all that goes with the hotel… horses and stables, shops to learn glass, silversmithing, etc., and so much more.

Here is a link to the resort: https://www.greenbrier.com/

The main reason we are here is to see the bunker.

In the late 50’s, a bunker was built for our Congress in the event of a nuclear bomb. This was a fallout shelter to support them for 40-60 days. This area was picked because it was felt that Washington DC might take a direct hit and White Sulfur Springs was outside of the blast zone. It was ready in 1962 and remained a secret and ready to go at a moment’s notice until 1992. Two federal employees blew the whistle on this secret, the Washington Post published the article revealing the bunker, and it was decommissioned.

For those 30 years, only a few people knew about this. The folks that were hired to maintain it, had to go thru background and security checks. It was maintained to be ready at a moment’s notice. Food, toiletries, clothing, bedding, etc. were rotated thru the hotel and replaced in the bunker.

I made reservations for the tour a few weeks ago (yes, this was also on my bucket list). Our tour guide met us in one of the rooms by the lobby bar. He gave a history of the Greenbrier property and hotel and what led up to the bunker build. From there we walked upstairs passed more banquet rooms to this area:

There is a moveable wall that conceals the door – 30 ton! It seals from the inside.

When we first walked in there was another banquet room that was always used for events. However, when the big “event” would happen, this door would be sealed and that big room would be set up with offices in order to keep the government running.

I do not have pictures because we could not take anything with us..

BUT..

Here are three great videos of the tour.

As you watch this - notice:

Beds – this was a dormitory not anything luxurious. Many of the dorms held 60+ people. Notice how much togetherness there would be.

The initial showers when they entered. Imagine, no clothes, blasting shower, then being handed 2 sets of military clothing and a toiletries bag.

This area was to house 1100 people for 40-60 days – Congress and their aids. The Presidential Bunker is not here.

The families of the Congress were housed in another area beneath the hotel. The families would not see their loved ones in the bunker.

It was built to preserve the government, not the individuals.

The main goal was to keep the government running in the event of a disaster.

As I said before, it was to be maintained ready. And it was for 30 years. Food, toiletries, clothing, bedding, etc. were rotated thru the hotel and replaced in the bunker.

Water, Sewage, and Electrical Systems are still in use by the hotel today.

Theory is there are over 1000 of these such places throughout the country. Hmmmm!!!

Here are the videos that can better describe and show you the bunker (since I could not take pictures):

The Bunker at the Greenbrier Tour

UFO Hunters: Secret Government Bunker Under Hotel

The Cold War Bunker Beneath the USA's Grandest Hotel (1996)

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There is a lot of information on the web. Here are some of the better sites if you would like to know more:

NUCLEAR SUPER BUNKER Hidden (Long one with lots of detail)

The Greenbrier Resort's Secret Cold War Bunker

https://www.npr.org/2011/03/26/134379296/the-secret-bunker-congress-never-used

https://ronnysalerno.com/queencitydiscovery/2018/01/charleston-greenbrier-resort-and-secret.html