When it comes to doomsday bunkers no other house does it quite like this Las Vegas underground mansion. Passerbys could be forgiven for thinking it’s just a fairly normal-looking house, however, nothing could be further from the truth…
The History of the Las Vegas Underground Mansion
Girard B. Henderson was an American businessman and philanthropist from New York. He was a director of Avon Products and founder of the Alexander Dawson Schools. In 1969, while in his mid-60s he relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Between 1974 and 1978 Henderson had a bunker constructed at 3970 Spencer Street, Las Vegas, Nevada (not long after the Cuban missile crisis). From the outside, it today looks like a fairly modest two-story suburban house, however, the house didn’t exist at this time, it was just an empty lot with a large cluster of rocks in the yard.
Behind those rocks, you’ll find several air conditioning units, as well as access to a secret doomsday bunker some 26 feet below ground. The house which is at that location now, wasn’t built until years later, after the death of Mr. Henderson.
An elevator shaft takes you down to a 15,000-square-foot basement. The subterranean bomb shelter features a five-bedroom house with a kitchen, bathroom, and additional rooms for guests. There is also a faux courtyard, fake trees, fake flowers, and hills painted on the walls.
Other features include a fountain, swimming pool, pool table, theatre, a bar, two hot tubs, a sauna, a golf putting green, and a dancefloor. Since this Las Vegas underground mansion is also a fallout shelter, it includes fire and smoke alarms, an intercom system, and large food storage pantries.
To mimic outside lighting conditions, this Las Vegas underground mansion has lights that dim or brighten depending on what time of day it is, while at night stars can be seen on the ceiling. Behind the scenes, this incredible Las Vegas underground mansion also has a generator, a 1,000-gallon water tank, and air conditioning.
Girard B. Henderson would live underground in this property with his wife, Mary, for the rest of his life, until his passing in 1983 at the age of 78. After his death, Mary decided that she no longer wanted to live underground and built a modest property above ground in the same location.
Las Vegas Underground House Today
Mary lived in the newly built house above the bunker for the rest of her life, passing away in 1988. After her death, the property changed hands, at one time the bunker was rented out for events and retreats, it became known to locals as the “Underground House”.
In 2014 this Las Vegas underground mansion was purchased by the Society for the Preservation of Near Extinct Species for £1.15 million. This secretive group states its mission is to provide scientific information and educational services to the public in the areas of cryobiology and extending the healthy human lifespan.
In 2021 the property was back on the market, this time for $18 million, quite a jump from its 2014 price. However, the Las Vegas underground mansion failed to sell and the price has now been reduced to $6 million.
Realtor Stephan LaForge stated that the price adjustment of the Underground House reflects the range of offers that have been received since the property was first listed. To build a comparative property today would likely cost six times the current asking price.
Will this Las Vegas underground mansion find a new buyer soon? Who knows, the possibilities are endless. A buyer could live in the house above ground and make a steady income from the bunker on Airbnb, hire it out for functions, or maybe just one giant man cave full of TVs, arcades, pool tables, and more!
