Long Before Dick Cheney Had A Secret Undisclosed Location...

...The Greenbrier was home to a top secret bunker, not of the golfing kind. Helen Ross writes about it in entertaining detail for PGATour.com, including the story of the writers who revealed its existence:

That was during the height of the Cold War, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the leaders of Congress wanted a safe place where the U.S. government could continue to function in the event of a national emergency. Eisenhower's affection for the resort, where he recuperated during World War II and was a frequent visitor, coupled with its secluded location in the Allegheny Mountains and relative proximity to Washington, D.C., made The Greenbrier a perfect fit.

So the top-secret, two-story facility was built 720 feet in the hillside under the West Virginia Wing of The Greenbrier. When it was finished, there was room for 1,100 people -- all the members of the Senate and House of Representatives, as well as key staff -- with a self-sustaining infrastructure and enough provisions for up to 60 days.

The bunker was maintained, fully functional, for the next 30 years until a May, 1992 story in the Washington Post revealed its existence. Since the facility had been compromised, it was no longer useful to the government and the lease with The Greenbrier ended three years later.

Update on Thursday, July 29, 2010 at 08:31 AM by Geoff

**Thanks to reader Neal for the original Washington Post story that revealed the bunker.

Comments

[Smails]

Admit it Geoff, you are really bummed you arent at the Greenbrier this week so you can tour that bomb shelter.

I know i am--what married guy doesnt want a bob shelter to hide in from his family.

[thusgone]

looks a lot like the vault where ping stores all those golden putters.

[Jim S]

Geoff--any architectural news from the Women's British Open to share? It seems so far that the women have their hands full with Royal Birkdale.

[Taylor Anderson]

Any location that relies on secrecy, but requires hotel employees and construction workers to keep their mouths shut about it, is a failure before it starts.

[Jimmy]

My step-father mentioned it probably 35 years ago. I guess it was fairly common knowledge. An open secret.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Bomb and Gouge at the Greenbrier!

[Brad S]

Didn't Sinatra play there in '62? I though I remember hearing something about a round with JFK at the Old White Course followed by a soiree in the bunker, with Bobby and Sammy Davis doing lines off Marilyn's butt cheeks.

[Brad S]

"I thought" that is, I guess I need a proof-reader. I must have "misunderestimated" the impact that the numerous essays I wrote in college as a History major had on my spelling. ( And you can certainly tell I didn't major in English by that last sentence's structure.)

[Average Golfer]

Great place to play checkers with Elvis.

[vwgolfer]

been there, pretty impressive. Eating crackers with your fellow Senators, getting your teeth cleaned while the Russians bombed the hell out of Washington, Sounds swell. Wonder if they planned on any lady entertainment? Anyway as I recall something there was named Project X. Thought that was funny.