It's a bit of a trip from Massachusetts or Washington, D.C., but it's worth the trip if you want to get away from it all. The shelter, referred to in documents at the time as the "Detachment Hotel," is on Peanut Island, off the coast of Palm Beach, Fla. Navy Seabees built the shelter in December 1961, and Kennedy did stay there, for brief periods of time, twice.
Trees camouflage the entrance, and passersby who happened to notice the shelter were told that it was a munitions dump. Incredibly, it was maintained for a few decades before falling into disrepair in the 1990s. (No doubt the funding ran out, just like for many other military installations.)However, some new money was found and the bunker is now open to the public, in a promotion that organizers hope will put the tiny island on the map.
Visitors can take a step into the recent past, viewing the 15 metal bunk beds, ham radio, petroleum jelly, castor oil, and K-rations (not to mention the gas masks that would probably be the most sought-after item of supply if things really got rough). Fittingly, the shelter also contained a bona fide escape hatch, in case the cover was blown and a full-scale physical invasion was under way.
You can book your tour of the bunker, which is now a museum, at any time, really, since the organizers are quite happy to show anyone around. Crowds have become sparse, as has funding.
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