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Before there was a renowned resort here, there built in 1835, the Cupola is, in the words of resident
was a mineral spring. White settlers began arriving in historian Robert Conte, the “center of the universe” for
the late 1700s to “take the waters,” like the Shawnee The Greenbrier. The Cupola symbol is repeated eve-
Indians before them. By 1808, people came to what rywhere on the resort, from carpet patterns to insignia
had become The White Sulphur Springs spa to cure on employee uniforms.
afflictions from rheumatism to ulcers.
After breathing in the mild sulfur fumes, we head-
A grand hotel -- nicknamed “The Old White” -- ed over to the Art Colony shops that line the complex’s
was built near the springs in 1858. The C&O Railroad north side. Currently, the Greenbrier has 710 hotel
purchased the place in 1910 (the hotel is walkable from rooms and 33 suites, enough for the biggest confer-
the White Sulphur Springs train station), then tore ence wing-ding or golf tourney. But in The Old White
down The Old White and began the current Green- days and afterward, the prized accommodations were
brier hotel building in 1913. A year later came the first in surrounding cottages. The cottages, which now in-
golf course. clude some of the resort’s oldest buildings, are in rows
scattered about. The seven Art Colony shops are con-
Over time, the hotel expanded, added facilities,
verted cottages of the former Alabama Row.
was used as an Army hospital in World War II and
played a – shhhh -- secret role in the Cold War. (A se- After strolling among paintings, wind sculptures,
cret we’ll reveal later in this story.) polished fossils, hand-made furniture, and jeweled
bracelets the folks at Virtu, a glass gallery, directed
The Greenbrier is dizzying enough in its history,
us to an adjacent glass blowing facility where we
opulence, floral wallpaper, and size, but the Great
watched blobs of molten glass being transformed
American Eclipse of 2017 made our stay even more
into art.
extraordinary. When we set out on our first morning
to explore the place we had one eye on the surround- Then came sports. The tennis, golf and outdoor
ings and one on the sky. pool facilities are clustered at the edge of The Old
White TPC golf course, the first of The Greenbrier’s
First stop: the Cupola. This Classical Greek-looking
five courses. Would it surprise you to learn that the
domed building covers the original sulfur spring. First

The “Cupola” marks the original mineral
spring. The “center of the universe” for the
Greenbrier. Below: Entertainment for after-
noon tea in the main hotel lobby.

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