Pub. 1 Issue 3

VIRGINIA AUTO DEALER www.vada.com 14 T he Greenbrier, 11,000 acres located in the Alleghe- ny Mountains of West Virginia, is called America’s Resort. It o ers all the things you would expect at a resort, such as swimming (indoor and outdoor), play- ing golf, tennis, or pickleball, and participating in many other activities, including gambling at the on-site casino and watching tennis at Center Court at Creekside, a tennis stadium for pre- mier tennis events. ere is even an indoor bowling alley. e Greenbrier also o ers at least one thing you wouldn’t expect: tours of a decommissioned Cold War fallout shelter, called the bunker, which was intended to house the members of Congress in the event of a nuclear war. It has room for more than 1,100 people. e resort is located in White Sulphur Springs. People rst began visiting the area in 1778 because they thought bathing in the water might cure chronic illnesses. A hotel called Old White opened in White Sulphur Springs in 1858. By 1880, White Sul- phur Springs was a popular place to go to escape summer heat. e Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&O) was completed in 1873. at made it easier for people to get to the resort. C&O bought the hotel in 1910 and expanded it. at’s when the golf course and a new mineral bath went in. ey upgraded it in the 1930s, but the resort was used for other things during World War II. C&O commissioned Dorothy Draper, an important interior designer, to update the hotel between 1946 and 1948. She took an interest in everything: in addition to decorating the hotel itself, she also designed matchbook covers, menus, and sta uniforms. Her work in the resort’s Victorian Writing Room has been featured in many photographs. e Greenbrier opened its doors to visitors again in 1948. The historical furnishings are what really make the place special. For example, there is a lovely painting of Princess Grace, and an elevator that is so old that parts are no longer being made for it. In the bar, there is a spectacular chan- delier. A recent visitor was told it was from the movie set for Gone With the Wind, which was released in December 1939. These and other treasures are collectively worth more than the hotel itself. Governor Jim Justice bought the resort in 2009, which is when the casino and a second golf course were added. (Dorothy Draper’s company, which is still in business, was back to deco- rate the casino.) The Greenbrier Classic was added to the PGA Tour, and the New Orleans Saints started holding a football training camp there, too. The Greenbrier River Valley flooded on June 23, 2016 because of heavy rainfall. The flood killed 23 people and caused approximately $300 million of damages. The Greenbrier took in many flood victims and after the flood decided to rebuild, renovate, and update the resort, with the help of many donors, one of which was VADA.VADA donated $75,000.00 to the rebuild project. During its long history, the Greenbrier has been visited by 26 presidents and many celebrities. There is no place like it in the entire world. The Greenbrier