The Secret Congress Bunker in Greenbrier Resort

The Secret Congress Bunker

FOUND JUST IN TIME TO MAKE SOME MONEY

Front Entrance of The Greenbrier Resort Via NPR

Image of Bunker Door Via NPR

Rows and Rows of Beds Via NPR

Food Supply Storage Via NPR

Late in the 1950s, during a time when fallout shelters were becoming popular, Congress hid a bunker in the Greenbrier Resort. The bunker was hidden for over 30 years until it was 'uncovered' in 1992 by the Washington Post. (Honestly? Congress was probably already done building their next bunker in 1992, and was just trying to make a little money back- or distract from where the new bunker had been built.) Although the reporters who 'broke' this story claim to be heroes, they are largely viewed as a bunch of idiots who wasted a bunch of taxpayer dollars trying to get 'the big story'.

The place is pretty cool though and the NPR digital audio and article is very well done, detailing the back story of the bunker, the clues found over the years, etc. (My favorite being the random TV technicians working for 'Forsyth Associates' who could be found at Greenbrier, who were actually undercover government agents tasked with keeping the bunker up-to-date.)

Today the government is making its money back by turning the shelter into many things. The Greenbrier Bunker which used to have such a momentous use is now a tourist attraction, a data storage center, and has been used as a conference location on many occasions. Such a sad shame to see something so incredible go misused.

The US government has apparently built a lot more bunkers since 2000 too, as the article states:

"In a groundbreaking series of reports in 2010, Washington Post reporters Bill Arkin and Dana Priest revealed that 33 building complexes for top-secret intelligence work are under construction or have been built in Washington, D.C., and the surrounding area since September 2001." -NPR

So don't worry, Congress still has bunker to run to..

And we can vacation in this one.

xoxo disaster girl