Thunderbird Lodge (Lake Tahoe, Nevada)
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Whittell Estate
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| Location | 5000 State Route 28 |
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| Nearest city | Incline Village, Nevada |
| Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Area | 6.51 acres (2.63 ha) |
| Architect | Frederick DeLongchamps |
| Architectural style | Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals, Other |
| NRHP Reference # | 00001207 |
The Thunderbird Lodge (also known as the Whittell Estate) is a 6.51-acre (2.63 ha) waterfront estate located on the east shore of Lake Tahoe. It was built in 1936 as the summer home of Captain George Whittell Jr., an heir to one of San Francisco's wealthiest families. George Whittell, Jr. was born in San Francisco, CA in 1881 into great wealth. Upon his father’s passing in March of 1922, he was left with an inheritance of $29 million. His father had been the founder of PG&E, the Northern California utility corporation along with many other businesses. Whittell was able to invest the $29 million inheritance in the stock market, growing it to $50 million ($60 Billion in 2015 dollars) before liquidating himself of all stock holdings just weeks prior to the infamous 1929 Stock Market Crash, making him one of California’s richest, at age 49. Captain Whittell, as he liked to be called, is quoted as saying: "When men stop boozing, womanizing and gambling, the bloom is off the rose." By establishing a residence in Nevada, Whittell avoided the higher income taxes in California, where he spent the bulk of each year at his 50-acre Woodside estate – now the site of Kings Mountain Vineyard. In 1935, Captain George Whittell Jr. purchased the 27 miles of Tahoe shoreline and nearly 40,000 acres from Norman Biltz, which encompassed all of the real estate from Crystal Bay, Incline Village, Sand Harbor, Glenbrook, Cave Rock, Zephyr Cove to Round Hill. Whittell paid approximately $2.7 million or $81.00 per acre—essentially 95% of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Tahoe. Between 1935 and 1969, Captain George Whittell continued to amass a vast majority of the acreage in Washoe, Carson, and Douglas Counties on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe. He began construction of his magnificent summer home, Thunderbird Lodge, in 1936 and completed construction 2.5 years later. His now famous yacht, Thunderbird, remains housed in the Lodge’s boathouse after being re-claimed from casino magnate, Bill Harrah. Today, the Thunderbird yacht can be seen cruising Lake Tahoe on warm summer evenings.
As the years passed, George grew more reclusive, gradually abandoning his casino development plans for Tahoe’s Sand Harbor in favor of maintaining his own secluded hideaway and lifestyle. He entertained only a few people to Thunderbird Lodge, including his neighbors Ty Cobb and Howard Hughes for the occasional all night card games.
During the 1950s, the State of Nevada began negotiations with Captain Whittell to purchase land for a state park.
In 1954, Captain Whittell broke his leg and remained in his Woodside, California estate the following years until 1957. Perhaps unintentionally, Captain Whittell left a legacy of pristine Lake Tahoe shoreline along with many memorable stories surrounding his colorful time in Nevada. Captain Whittell is credited for the unspoiled nature of today’s Lake Tahoe’s beautiful eastern shoreline. His failure to allow development on the 27 miles of shoreline that he owned was more of a result of his need for privacy and seclusion, versus conservation. Captain Whittell’s dislike for unwanted visitors and curiosity-seekers is reflected by a loud siren that continues to operate at Thunderbird Lodge’s dock that he used to frighten them away. Whittell also owned almost 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) of the Nevada shore of Lake Tahoe, and planned to develop it, but decided that he "liked not having neighbors."[1] Or, it was more complicated, involving environmentalist pressures and eventually the state of Nevada pressing with eminent domain claims to take much of the land for a state park.[2]
In addition to the main house, the estate contained an "Elephant House"—home to Mingo, Whittell's two ton Indian Elephant --, a 600 feet (180 m) underground passage complete with a dungeon, and a boathouse containing the 55-foot (17 m) Thunderbird yacht.[1][3] The house has no guest rooms as Whittell wanted no overnight visitors.[4]
Captain George Whittell, Jr. died of Melanoma on April 18, 1969 with his wife, Elia by his side and much of the property went to the state or the U.S. Forest Service.[4] The Lodge is currently owned by the non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society, and is now a popular tourist attraction. Tours are by reservation only.[4]
It includes numerous small buildings designed by Frederic DeLongchamps, before a date in 1937, or by firm DeLongchamps and O'Brien after that date.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Flinn, John A peak inside Lake Tahoe's house of mystery San Francisco Chronicle. July 14, 2002.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. and accompanying 84 photos
- ↑ History - The Lodge Thunderbird Lodge Historic Site
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Extravagant Rusticity: A rich man's folly has become on of Tahoe's treasured historical estates San Francisco Chronicle July 21, 2007.
External links
- Thunderbird Lake Tahoe - official site
