Codename: Project Greek Island: 1959 - 1992
Coordinates: 37.7867° N, 80.3050° W
On the surface, literally, The Greenbrier is a National Historic Landmark and world-class resort that has been in continuous operation since 1778. Surrounded by the Allegheny Mountains, it's 11,000 acre grounds are centered on natural mineral springs that drew the first hotel guests. Yet during the Cold War years from 1959 and 1992, the hotel was an underground partner to the US Government.
The Greenbrier website boasts that 26 US Presidents have stayed at the resort, along with royalty, celebrities and business leaders, offers exclusive services and amenities, such as championship golf, fine dining, designer boutiques, as well as 103,000 square foot gaming and entertainment venue. Can't they just say "casino"? What is doesn't mention is that among the facilities at THE Greenbrier is a massive underground bunker built to house all of the US Congress in the event of a nuclear exchange (presumably between the USSR and the US).
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| Declassified construction photo. |
How this came to be is partly rested on The Greenbrier's reliability for the US Government. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and the subsequent declaration of war on both Germany and Japan, the resort became an army hospital as well as a relocation center for some of the Axis diplomats interned as enemies of the United States. That is, The Greenbrier became an executive-class prison camp for German, Italian and Japanese diplomatic personnel.
Also making The Greenbrier attractive to Uncle Sam planners is the resort's proximity to Washington DC, while offering the natural protection of the Allegheny Mountains. Most strategists during the 1950s would bet that the two big dogs on the planet would inevitably duke it out. The problem was that the weapons of choice were nuclear. So The Greenbrier was approached, and Project Greek Island was born.
The whole project was highly classified, and construction took place at the same time as the resort's new West Virginia Wing was built. The wing was an above-ground addition to the hotel, For 30 years following completion of construction, The Greenbrier owners maintained an agreement with the federal government that, in the event of an international crisis, the entire resort property would be converted to government use.
Project Greek Island was huge—epic in Greek terms. It was protected by two-foot thick walls made of reinforced concrete designed to withstand a nearby atomic blast. The bunker included a dormitory, kitchen, hospital, and a media center for members of Congress. The largest room in the facility is referred to as "The Exhibit Hall." The space is almost 90 feet by 186 feet with a ceiling
Also making The Greenbrier attractive to Uncle Sam planners is the resort's proximity to Washington DC, while offering the natural protection of the Allegheny Mountains. Most strategists during the 1950s would bet that the two big dogs on the planet would inevitably duke it out. The problem was that the weapons of choice were nuclear. So The Greenbrier was approached, and Project Greek Island was born.
The whole project was highly classified, and construction took place at the same time as the resort's new West Virginia Wing was built. The wing was an above-ground addition to the hotel, For 30 years following completion of construction, The Greenbrier owners maintained an agreement with the federal government that, in the event of an international crisis, the entire resort property would be converted to government use.
Project Greek Island was huge—epic in Greek terms. It was protected by two-foot thick walls made of reinforced concrete designed to withstand a nearby atomic blast. The bunker included a dormitory, kitchen, hospital, and a media center for members of Congress. The largest room in the facility is referred to as "The Exhibit Hall." The space is almost 90 feet by 186 feet with a ceiling
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| A simple screen camouflaged one of the blast doors. |
height of about 20 feet. One of two smaller auditoriums seats 470 people, which accommodated the 435-member House of Representatives. The other was intended as a temporary Senate chamber. During its active maintenance period, the bunker had a six-month supply of food.
Based on the strategy of hiding in plain sight, Project Greek Island was designed to be incorporated into the public spaces of the hotel to avoid drawing attention. So portions of the bunker space were visible but went unidentified. In fact, spaces used by The Greenbrier guests for business meetings were actually a disguised workstation area for members of Congress. Government workers posed as hotel audiovisual employees, aoperating under a front company called Forsythe Associates. The "company's" on-site employees had the supposed role of maintaining the hotel's 1100 televisions.
The Greenbriar still maintains the bunker complex, with much of the facility remaining as it was in 1992 when the secret was revealed in the national press. That was the result of a The Washington Post article exposing the bunker. Immediately following, the bunker was decommissioned. Now it is little more than a tourist attraction, although parts of the bunker house private sector data storage.
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| The Communication Center remains preserved. |
