WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS W.Va. (WVDN) – Many of us have visited The Greenbrier luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs and seen all of its beauty; however, there is a part of The Greenbrier you may not have visited or even know about.
The Greenbrier Resort is renowned not only for its luxurious accommodations and scenic Appalachian setting, but also for its intriguing secret Cold War bunker.
The Greenbrier has been a premier destination since opening in 1778. Known for its elegant architecture, world-class golf courses, and historic charm, the resort has long been a favorite retreat for presidents, celebrities, and travelers.
During its history, The Greenbrier became the site of a top-secret Cold War bunker project known as Project Greek Island. Today, formally, the code name was Project X, then Project Casper, and then, by the 80s, Project Greek Island.
Built between 1958 and 1961 into the mountain beneath the hotel, during the Eisenhower administration, the underground bunker was intended as a fallout shelter for the US Senate, the House of Representatives, and Congressional support staff. Congressional family members would have been allowed to stay in the hotel. It was designed to ensure government continuity in the event of a nuclear attack. The bunker cost over $14 million to build.
The Greenbrier was chosen due to its proximity to Washington, DC, the availability of the railway, and the mountains surrounding the Greenbrier, which would make it a hard target to hit in a nuclear attack. Eisenhower also had a brother on the C&O board at the time.
The bunker remained a closely guarded secret for 30 years. It features many tunnels, conference rooms, and living quarters capable of sheltering 1,100 people. The bunker is over 112,000 square feet.
In the bunker, there are public-facing spaces including the Governor’s Hall and the Mountaineer Room, meeting rooms, assembly rooms and practical facilities such as a laundry area adjacent to the exhibit hall and a television repair shop to conceal operations. The communication area is on two levels, consisting of briefing rooms, telephone rooms, a radio room, a mail area, and an audio recording booth.
The complex was built to be self-sustaining with its own power plant capable of sustaining operations for up to 40 days. The infirmary, over 6000 ft., had a substantial expansion in the 1980s in a national preparedness program containing 12 beds, an operating room, an intensive care area, a dental unit, a pharmacy, and a nurses’ station. Military physicians and nurses would’ve been alerted and brought there to staff the medical clinic in the event of an attack.
The entire kitchen and cafeteria is a large space at 7,500 square feet, designed to serve hundreds of people, stocked with MREs. There are also three 25,000-gallon water tanks and three 14,000-gallon diesel tanks for the generators accessible in the event of a national emergency.
I recently toured the bunker with two of my coworkers, Sandra Holmes and Heather Felts from The West Virginia Daily News and The DayTripper magazine. I wanted to see the bunker firsthand. I knew that visiting The Greenbrier bunker would offer a firsthand opportunity to step back into a period in history and witness the lengths the government went to safeguard democracy.
I was able to see how the federal government had prepared for an emergency and how meticulous it was in making sure it was fully functional, even including an incinerator to take care of waste.
There were 18 dormitories containing wall lockers and metal bunk beds that could each sleep 60 people. There was a shower, a toilet facility, and a small lounge. The only other housing was accommodations for the congressional leadership. They had individual beds in their own conference area.
The bunker was designed to be airtight, and when all three of the doors were closed, there was enough air to last 72 hours for 1,100 people. We all wondered while on the tour if there actually would have been enough air to last that long in the bunker if there had been a nuclear attack. They believed so, and after 72 hours, if a nuclear attack had occurred, it would be safe to open the ventilation system.
If members of Congress were swiftly brought to the bunker, they would promptly dispose of the clothing they were wearing and enter high-pressure decontamination showers. After decontamination, they would be given Army-issued clothing to wear.
The design and the architecture suggested to me it would’ve been functional effectively as a secure point for Congress for an extended period of time. The most intriguing room in the bunker to me was the briefing room, where Congress would have addressed the Nation, letting the world know they were safe and they were taking care of business. This room had murals on the walls of the US Capitol, which I believe would have served as a backdrop when addressing the Nation. There were clocks on the wall showing the time in various parts of the world, so they could keep track of the time; when in isolation, this would have been necessary.
The tour provided us with an educational experience combining history, politics, and engineering, which makes it perfect for history buffs and students.
The bunker is located in The Greenbrier in the West Virginia Wing of the hotel, and what I found intriguing is that without even realizing it, you’re inside the bunker. They believed that the best way to hide the bunker was to put it in plain sight. The design deliberately blends the underground
rooms with the public spaces.
Sandy, Heather, and I looked around at each other when our tour guide told us we were in the bunker. It felt as if we were still in part of the hotel; it did not look like a bunker. It looked to be part of The Greenbrier.
The bunker is 720 feet into the hillside under the West Virginia Wing and is surrounded by ceiling and walls that are three to five feet of reinforced concrete. Additionally, there is 20-60 feet of dirt covering the substructure of the West Virginia Wing. The bunker has three entrances, each protected by large steel and concrete doors.
One of the doors at the west tunnel entrance weighs approximately 25 tons and is 12 feet wide, 10 feet tall, and 18 inches thick, designed to withstand a modest nuclear blast approximately 15 to 30 miles away and to protect from radioactive fallout. Even though the door is massive and weighs 25 tons, it does not take an army to close it. It is pressure-activated, so it can be closed by one person. As we were standing there looking at this huge door. It was hard to believe that one person could close this door if needed.
The doors were among the things Heather found the most interesting during the tour. When discussing the bunker, she said, “The decontamination hallway, the weight of the door, the fact it wasn’t built for the president, and the thought that went into needing the incinerator to burn waste,” is what she found fascinating.
It wasn’t until 1992 when The Washington Post published a story about the bunker that the public learned of its existence. A government official, who was believed to be involved in the first stages or planning of the bunker, leaked the secret, transforming it into a historical attraction.
Today, the Greenbrier bunker draws over 50,000 visitors annually, who come to explore this hidden chapter of American history. The Greenbrier bunker is an unforgettable destination that neither I nor my coworkers will forget.
Speaking about the tour and the bunker, Sandy said, “It’s such a big area once you get inside and see it. To imagine back then, they had such a well-thought-out plan to cover everything needed just blows my mind. Not sure the 72 hours of pure, clean oxygen were thought out enough.”
The Greenbrier resort owns the bunker and operates it. Today, the bunker itself is leased by CSXIP after previously being leased by the US government. CSXIP stores records for 17 Fortune 500 companies in the bunker; this area is not open to the public. However, they allow The Greenbrier to do tours of the bunker. The Bunker guided tours last about 90 minutes and offer a rare glimpse into what lengths the government went to protect Congress. Some rooms are available to be rented through The Greenbrier for private events.
The bunker is surprisingly unlike a bunker. You will not be disappointed touring it. It’s definitely not what you expect. Also, our tour guide, Deanna Hylton, was very informative during the tour, and it was a lot of fun. If you would like to tour, The Greenbrier invites visitors to the bunker. No cell phones or bags are allowed. Reservations are required through the Greenbrier. This is a great day trip!
