Federal Underground Bunker to Be Open to Resort Visitors

CHARLESTON, W. Va. — A posh mountain resort has a new tourist attraction: a once-secret underground bunker built during the Cold War to house members of Congress and their families in case of nuclear attack.

After 40 years, the Defense Department recently relinquished control of the bunker, which is deep beneath the West Virginia Wing of the Greenbrier, a resort about 80 miles southwest of Charleston in White Sulphur Springs.

The government gave up its lease July 31, says a letter from Assistant Defense Secretary Emmett Paige Jr. that was released by Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W. Va.). Paige said the action wasn’t announced until now at the request of the resort’s owner, CSX Corp. of Jacksonville, Fla.

Greenbrier President Ted Kleisner said he will decide by the end of the year when to allow public entry to the bunker, which was completed in 1956 at a cost of $14 million.

“At this time we are not allowing anyone to see it or tour it, and it’s only because of physical and safety concerns and a few documentation issues,” Kleisner said.

He said he would like to turn part of the bunker into a casino.

Greenbrier officials unsuccessfully lobbied the Legislature to allow casino gambling at the resort, which has three golf courses, luxury spas and gourmet cuisine.

The bunker’s existence had been an open secret in Greenbrier County for years. One report said it can sleep 800 people.