30-07-2011, 04:19 AM
http://www.northernstar.com.au/story/201...action-us/
Hidden Tourist Attraction in US
Hidden Tourist Attraction in US
GUESTS staying at America's oldest and most luxurious resort during the Cold War era from the 1960s to '90s, had no idea they were cavorting above a bizarre subterranean world that could have come straight out of James Bond, the fertile mind of Graham Greene, Hollywood's Dr Strangelove or maybe even TV's M*A*S*H.
Because below them was a cavern with concrete walls 1.5m thick, chambers big enough to secrete the entire US Congress and House of Representatives and senior staff and the ancillary services they would need to govern the country in the event of an A-bomb attack on America.
The Greenbrier Resort at Sulphur Springs in West Virginia, 400km south-west of Washington DC, opened as an inn in 1778 for those wanting to "take the waters" from its mineral-rich pools and springs.
Over the years it's grown into a vast five-star palace with banks of restaurants, cafés, bars and lounges, casinos, live-show theatres, and limitless sporting opportunities sprawling more than 2600ha (6500 acres.)
But it was in the 1960s that it entered its clandestine role, one conceived by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as "the secret White House", nestled in the backwoods of the Allegheny Mountains.
Few were briefed on what was to happen, and those who were sworn to State Secrecy.
Everything and everyone had a code-name from President Eisenhower whom the Secret Service dubbed "Providence" to the so-called "management company" that would maintain this subterranean national secret, and whose bland cover-name for 30 years was Forsythe Associates.
The actual project itself was code-named Project Greek Island, but was usually just called The Bunker.
Because below them was a cavern with concrete walls 1.5m thick, chambers big enough to secrete the entire US Congress and House of Representatives and senior staff and the ancillary services they would need to govern the country in the event of an A-bomb attack on America.
The Greenbrier Resort at Sulphur Springs in West Virginia, 400km south-west of Washington DC, opened as an inn in 1778 for those wanting to "take the waters" from its mineral-rich pools and springs.
Over the years it's grown into a vast five-star palace with banks of restaurants, cafés, bars and lounges, casinos, live-show theatres, and limitless sporting opportunities sprawling more than 2600ha (6500 acres.)
But it was in the 1960s that it entered its clandestine role, one conceived by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as "the secret White House", nestled in the backwoods of the Allegheny Mountains.
Few were briefed on what was to happen, and those who were sworn to State Secrecy.
Everything and everyone had a code-name from President Eisenhower whom the Secret Service dubbed "Providence" to the so-called "management company" that would maintain this subterranean national secret, and whose bland cover-name for 30 years was Forsythe Associates.
The actual project itself was code-named Project Greek Island, but was usually just called The Bunker.