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Chris Higgins
The Congressional Bunker
by Chris Higgins - February 27, 2007 - 11:00 AM

In 1959, construction began on a top secret bunker, hidden underneath an expansion wing of the Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia. The bunker was designed to hold up to 1,000 people, including the entire U.S. Congress, in the event of a nuclear war. The bunker’s concrete walls were three feet thick and the complex included dormitories, a medical clinic, power and water plants, a television studio, and even a crematorium.

Bunker Blast DoorIn 1992, a Washington Post story blew the figurative doors off the bunker. The article contained extensive details about the bunker — surprising since it was still top secret at the time. After the article’s publication, the Pentagon decommissioned the bunker, presumably since their cover was blown. Today, the Greenbrier offers guided tours of the bunker — see links below for more information and a photo tour. (Pictured at left: one of the blast doors to the bunker.)

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Comments (5)

  1. The surprising thing about the bunker in Greenbrier is that most of the residents of WV knew it existed well before the report in 1992. I remember being told about it as a kid, and we all thought it was a bit amusing when people made such a big deal about it when it was “exposed.”

    Apparently if you want to hide something, stick it in WV and let us all know about it; we’ll accept it and not give it a second thought. Ha.

    posted by meagunn on 3-1-2007 at 5:16 pm

  2. Funny you should mention — my family is from WV, and when I first visited the Greenbrier in ~1990, my uncle (who lives in Charleston) told me all about the bunker. I thought it was just another of his conspiracy theories. But clearly — common knowledge in the state.

    ;Chris

    posted by Higgins on 3-1-2007 at 9:30 pm

  3. Makes you wonder what else we’re hiding in WV, huh? ;)

    posted by Lisa on 1-10-2008 at 6:50 am

  4. I’m going to mail all my diaries from high school to WV, so they can be secret for 33 years.

    I figure that’s long enough.

    posted by Sarah on 1-10-2008 at 10:38 am

  5. This makes me think of the giant underground bunker in the book Closing Time by Joseph Heller.

    posted by Josh on 1-10-2008 at 12:45 pm

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