Inside the Cold War-era nuclear bunker built 700ft below luxury hotel in West ... trends now
The Greenbrier Hotel has long enjoyed a reputation as Washington DC elite's favorite vacation spot.
But it is also the location of a secret bunker that can hold the entire US Congress.
The luxury hotel located in Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, concealed an emergency bunker hidden 750 feet below the surface that was developed in 1958 specifically for US politicians to take shelter in the event of a nuclear attack.
False walls in the hotel concealed 25-ton blast doors, which led to the steel-reinforced concrete bunker that featured 1,100 beds, a briefing room and intensive care unit.
The Government Relocation Facility, codenamed 'Greek Island,' was also stacked with a six-month supplies of food, water, and medicine.
It is not known if Congress has ever fled to the underground bunker, but it was decommissioned in 1992, allow the public to walk through what was called 'The Last Resort.'
A false wall conceals a 20-ton steel door that leads down to the bunker. This door was designed to move with only 50 pounds of force, meaning a single person could open or close it.
The Greenbrier Hotel's rooms start around $400 a night for one full-size bed and near $3,000 a night for the Congressional Suite. Located in the New River Valley, the resort boasts four on-site golf courses.
The bunker's prison-like dormitories consisted of metal bunkbeds and shared lockers. All 1,100 beds were assigned to members of the government in the case of a nuclear attack or other disaster that drove them underground.
In the midst of the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, the threat of nuclear war felt very real, and politicians were serious about ensuring that they survived if that should happen.
And what better place than the gorgeous resort hotel in the New River Valley - complete with golf courses and top-of-the-line suites.
The US government had already bought the resort from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1942 to intern Axis diplomats during World War 2.
And so began the Greek Island Project's bunker.
The sprawling subterranean facility contains everything that would have been needed to support life in the wake of a nuclear attack.
Monumental doors would keep occupants safe from nuclear fallout, blasts, or invaders.
Some were hidden behind wallpapered interior walls, while larger ones for vehicles were concealed behind false doors.
Chemical decontamination showers inside entrances would wash away radioactive fallout as people sought refuge in the bunker.
Spartan living quarters, a far cry from the luxury hotel 720 feet above, were furnished with little but metal bunkbeds and tiny lockers.
A briefing room with rows of green velvet chairs was set up for surviving politicians to address the nation on TV in the event on an attack on American soil.
A medical clinic was set up to care for any health issues that came up, and an operations room with small arms and communications equipment was there to keep occupants safe.
This door, which long held a 'high voltage' warning sign, concealed the bunker's west entrance.
Behind the 'high voltage' sign hid this 28-ton door meant to allow authorized vehicles into the bunker - and everyone else out.
The 'communications briefing room' in the bunker was meant to serve as a TV studio for official addresses to the nation, assuming there were people left in the US to watch them.
At the time of its construction, rumors flourished among residents of the small West Virginia town, even though it was technically a secret project.
Local companies were contracted to excavate a mystery hole next to the luxe hotel and pour endless truckloads of concrete down it - an estimated 4,000
