Inside the bunker that was a secret for five decades and designed to hold all of Congress after a nuclear strike – that you can visit today

Buried more than 700 feet beneath a sprawling luxury resort in the mountains of West Virginia lies a massive bunker designed to house and protect every member of Congress in the event of nuclear apocalypse.

Located on 11,000 acres of land in the Greenbrier in the remote Allegheny Mountains, the underground stronghold has all the necessary facilities federal lawmakers need to continue carrying out their duties if the worst happens – all behind 25-ton blast doors.

The bunker was built at the height of the Cold War, when fears of nuclear apocalypse were at their worst, and its existence was known to residents, many of whom held other positions at the Greenbrier Hotel, although it was a closely guarded secret from the government.

Its existence was documented in 1992 by journalist Ted Gup and published in washington post, An end to more than fifty years of mystery and speculation.

Today, the dystopian facility has been the subject of several books and documentaries, and is even open to the public for tours.

Build a bunker

The Greenbrier, about five hours southwest of Washington, D.C., was used by the federal government as a detention facility for Japanese, Italian and German diplomats during the latter part of World War II.

In 1942, the entire resort was purchased by the U.S. Army and converted into a 2,200-bed military hospital.

In 1949, a decade before ground was broken on the bunker, Defense Secretary Louis Johnson met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretaries of the Army, Air Force and Navy at the Greenbrier Hotel for what the resort’s history calls “top-secret discussions of postwar military strategy.”

Construction of the bunker (codenamed “Project Greek Island”) began in 1959, one year after it was authorized by Congress, at a time when politicians and ordinary citizens were most concerned about a Soviet nuclear attack.

After two and a half years and some 50,000 tons of concrete, the project was completed—at a time when John F. Kennedy Jr. and Nikita Khrushchev were going toe-to-toe over the Cuban Missile Crisis and the country was scrambling to build its own backyard bomb shelter.

A country’s underground organization

According to Cupp, the bunker was “custom-built to meet the needs of a hidden Congress, complete with a Senate chamber, a House chamber and a huge hall for joint sessions.”

Two separate auditoriums with green corduroy-covered chairs and red carpets leading to the stage were designed to hold congressional meetings. The larger of the two can seat about 470 people, enough for 435 members of the House of Representatives. The smaller auditorium seats about 130 people and is large enough to be used as a temporary Senate chamber. A separate exhibition hall was originally intended for joint sessions of Congress.

Elsewhere, there is a television studio that lawmakers will use to deal with the country’s remaining problems if a nuclear warhead falls on U.S. soil. There is also a radio and communications room and special soundproof phone booths equipped with code machines.

In addition to work facilities, lawmakers who have been herded into bunkers will need a place to live — possibly long-term.

The underground hideout has more than 1,000 bunk beds, a 400-seat cafeteria, a full kitchen and numerous offices. Workers reported seeing more than 100 urinals being transported to the construction site, which also featured showers, storage rooms and huge water tanks.

There is also a huge garbage incinerator that morbidly serves as a crematorium.

“Once the blast door is sealed, no one can get in or out until the crisis has passed,” Gup noted.

Door

Standing between the MPs and nuclear evaporation are four massive doors, each weighing 18 to 30 tons.

The blast doors were made by Mosler Security, an Ohio-based manufacturer known for its vaults and safes that had contracts with the government to build several relocation centers and bunkers during this period.

According to Goop’s report, two of the four doors – dubbed “GH 1” and “GH 3” – were large enough to allow vehicles to pass through. GH 1 is 12 feet 3 inches long, 15 feet tall and weighs over 28 tons. GH 3, weighing over 20 tons. According to Mosler’s order report, both doors are 19.5 inches thick and hang from two hinges, which themselves weigh 1.5 tons.

The other two doors were much smaller, including a hatch-like door measuring 3 feet by 3.5 feet, and a “personnel door” measuring 7 feet wide by 8 feet high.

In 1957, Mosler successfully tested a vault door at the government’s Nevada Test Site, claiming the door could withstand the impact of an atomic bomb blast.

The doors were shipped by train from Mosler’s factory in Hamilton, Ohio, to West Virginia, even though they were too large to fit in a regular truck. They must be transported standing, tilted or tilted, or in a special car that is low enough to avoid colliding with tunnels or other obstacles along the way.

a regrettable revelation

“The Greenbrier was different in that, more than any rocky mountain, it relied on an element of secrecy to protect it from incoming bombs,” Cupp wrote in his article. Post’s The magazine was published on May 31, 1992.

“However, despite the caution exercised by resort staff, it was widely known that there was some kind of hidden government facility there.”

Perhaps for this reason, the article angered not only government officials but also locals themselves, who consider it a point of “pride” to have secrets unknown to the rest of the country, according to lifelong Greenbrier resident Trish Parker.

“They felt very betrayed when someone they thought was an outsider came in and revealed this,” Parker told Smithsonian Magazine.

Although they knew the bunker existed, many were still surprised to discover its true purpose and that it was large enough to house 1,100 of the country’s most important and high-profile figures.

Gup’s revelations also revealed that of all Greenbrier employees, a seven-person team from “Forsythe Associates”—ostensibly responsible for repairing the resort’s electrical equipment—oversaw the maintenance of the vault.

In a statement released at the time, congressional leaders expressed “regret” over the incident Post’s It was decided to publish Gup’s work.

“It has become clear that if the secret of the facility’s location were revealed, the effectiveness and security of the program would be compromised, if not terminated,” the statement read.

Tours and Pricing

The Greenbrier Bunker was declassified shortly after its existence was made public, and the bunker has been featured in numerous articles and documentaries. Tours have been ongoing since 1995, both scheduled and private.

Today, adult general admission is $52 per person and youth admission (ages 10 to 17) is $24 per person.

For private tours for up to 25 guests, prices vary based on time. Before 5:00 p.m. Large private tours cost $1,205.20, rising to $1,766 before 6.30pm and $1,815 before 8pm

The bunker tour departs from the Trellis lobby near the lobby bar, guests are advised to allow ample time for parking, arrive 15 minutes earlier than the designated time, and wear comfortable shoes.

According to the official website, the bunker will be closed to the public from March 9 to 12, 2026.