...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.
Geoff