A Cold War-era nuclear shelter located near White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, the Greenbrier Bunker was a secret underground facility constructed beneath The Greenbrier resort to house the United States Congress in the event of a nuclear attack. Built between 1959 and 1962, the bunker was part of Project Greek Island, a classified continuity-of-government program designed to ensure legislative functionality during national emergencies. The facility featured living quarters, a power plant, water purification systems, medical facilities, and communication centers capable of sustaining 1,100 people for up to 60 days.
The bunker's existence was concealed from the public for over three decades, with construction disguised as a hotel expansion. Employees were sworn to secrecy, and the site was maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its location within a luxury resort provided both logistical convenience and plausible deniability. The facility remained operational until 1992, when its existence was publicly revealed by a report in The Washington Post, triggering immediate decommissioning.
Today, the Greenbrier Bunker is open to the public as a museum and tourist attraction, offering guided tours through its original corridors, control rooms, and dormitories. It stands as one of the most thoroughly documented and preserved Cold War bunkers in the United States, drawing interest from military history enthusiasts, urbex explorers, and students of nuclear-era civil defense. The site is frequently cited in discussions of government secrecy, Cold War preparedness, and the architecture of survivalism.