August 31, 2014

This is one of the main points of the trip that we had planned from the beginning.  Greenbrier Resort is a fabulous facility.  It makes the major hotel in Nashville look like one of the small, cheap competitors.  The size is unbelievable and the offerings are unreal.  They have tennis courts, indoor and outdoor pools, and bike rentals.  They offer dance lessons, cooking demonstrations, paint ball, and much more.  They have rooms, suites, and cottages.

 

 

The gardens are absolutely beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The interior is as breathtaking as the gardens;

 

however, this is not the reason we came here.  We came for the Bunker tour.  In 1950 President Eisenhower approached the owner of the Greenbrier about building a secret radiation fallout shelter for the entire congress.  An agreement was reached between the owner, President Eisenhower, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the House of Representatives.  It was decided that this facility would be “hidden in plain view.”  Since there was always construction at the Greenbrier, no one really thought about the deep hole that was being built and the major construction.  Three different major construction companies were used and they had no coordination so that none knew what the other was doing.  We were first led into a huge room which was (and is) used for trade shows, etc.  This room was also the main meeting room for the entire congress.  The ceilings were thick concrete with reinforced steel.  There are 50 ton steel doors which were concealed behind fake walls covered in the same wallpaper as the rest of the walls.  Once we went through that first steel door, we entered hallways that went to various rooms.  There was a room set up for the House of Representatives to meet which was used by companies to have meetings.  There was another room set up for the Senate also used by companies.  There were rooms with bunk beds and a large kitchen/dining area.  The doors to these rooms had previously been marked “Danger – High Voltage.”  There are water tanks that held enough water for 60 days, air tanks with 30 day supply for 500 people and MREs for 30 days for the entire congress and their families.  Prior to the expiration date of the MREs they were pulled and sent to troop areas and replaced with new MREs.  An area was built for the families as well as the officials although they would not be together.  This secret was kept for 35 years until an unhappy government employee leaked the information to a newspaper.  Once it became public, the facility no longer had a use and the government moved all of their equipment out.  Part of the area is now leased by a data storage firm and the large room is still used for trade shows.  Although the government paid for the facility, they never owned it since a deed transfer would be public information.  The Greenbrier paid the property taxes the entire 35 years that it was used by the government.  Pictures are not allowed on the tour because the data company is concerned about data theft.  If you ever have a chance to go, this is a great tour.  Leaving there we drove to Kingsport, TN for the night.

 

 

 

Should be coming home tomorrow!!