Thunderbird Lodge (Lake Tahoe, Nevada)
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The Thunderbird Lodge, also known as the Whittell Estate, is a historic waterfront estate located on the east shore of
Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a Fresh water, freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City, Nevad ...
, in western
Washoe County, Nevada Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statist ...
. It is now within
Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...
.


History

George Whittell Jr. was born in San Francisco in 1881, an heir to one of San Francisco's wealthiest families. His father was the founder of
PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered in the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, in San Francisco, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 milli ...
, the Northern California utility corporation, along with many other businesses. Upon his father's death in 1922, he received an inheritance of $29 million, which he invested in the stock market. It had grown to $50 million (Roughly $700 million in 2015 dollars) when he liquidated all his stock holdings just weeks prior to the
1929 Stock Market Crash The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...
, becoming one of California's richest people then at age 49. Captain Whittell, as he liked to be called, despite having no military service, 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, California Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. Woodside is among the wealthiest communities in the United States, home to many technology billionaires and investment manager ...
estate, the present day site of Kings Mountain Vineyard. In 1935, George Whittell Jr. purchased the 27 miles of Lake Tahoe shoreline and nearly 40,000 acres from Norman Biltz. It encompassed essentially 95% of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Tahoe — all of the land from Crystal Bay, Incline Village, Sand Harbor, Glenbrook, Cave Rock, and Zephyr Cove to Round Hill. Whittell paid approximately $2.7 million or $81.00 per acre. Between 1935 and 1969, Whittell continued to amass a vast majority of the acreage in Washoe, Carson, and Douglas Counties on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.


Buildings

In 1936 construction began the summer residence, Thunderbird Lodge, designed in the
Rustic style Rustic architecture is a style of architecture in the United States, used in rural government and private structures and their landscape interior design. It was influenced by the American craftsman style. According to the National Park Service, †...
by Frederic DeLongchamps for George Whittell Jr. The stone house was completed 2½ years later. The estate includes numerous small buildings, before 1937 designed by Frederic DeLongchamps, and after by the design firm DeLongchamps and O'Brien. and The house had no guest rooms, as Whittell wanted no overnight visitors. In addition to the main house, there is a Card House, Caretaker's Cottage, Cook/Butler's House, Admiral's House, Boathouse with adjoining tunnel, Gatehouse, and the "Elephant House"—home to Mingo, Whittell's two ton
Indian Elephant The Indian elephant (''Elephas maximus indicus'') is one of four extant recognised subspecies of the Asian elephant and native to mainland Asia. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild po ...
. The large boathouse housed his custom mahogany and stainless steel
yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...
, the ''Thunderbird''. As the years passed, Whittell grew more reclusive, gradually abandoning his casino development plans for Sand Harbor in favor of maintaining his own secluded hideaway and lifestyle. He entertained only a few people at Thunderbird Lodge, including his neighbors Ty Cobb and Howard Hughes, for the occasional all night card games. Whittell's dislike for unwanted visitors and curiosity-seekers is reflected by a loud siren that operated at Thunderbird Lodge's dock, that he used to frighten them away. He sold his yacht, the ''Thunderbird'', to casino magnate
Bill Harrah William Fisk Harrah (September 2, 1911 – June 30, 1978) was an American businessman and the founder of Harrah's Hotel and Casinos, now part of Caesars Entertainment. Early years and education Harrah was born in South Pasadena, California, the ...
in 1962. After a succession of owners, it is again housed in the Lodge's boathouse.


Land

Whittell eventually owned almost of the Nevada shoreline area on eastern Lake Tahoe. He had originally planned to develop the land into "high-class" summer properties, a ski resort, and a $1 million hotel-casino.Thunderbirdtahoe.org: History
/ref> He later decided that he "liked not having neighbors."Flinn, Joh
A peak inside Lake Tahoe's house of mystery
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
. July 14, 2002.
In addition, development became more complicated, and involved environmental protection pressures and the state of Nevada pressing with eminent domain claims for much of the land to create a state park. During the 1950s, the State of Nevada began negotiations with Whittell to purchase land for a state park. His refusal to pursue development on the 27 miles of shoreline he owned was more from his need for privacy and seclusion rather than intentional conservation. Nonetheless, Whittell is credited for the natural and unspoiled beauty of Lake Tahoe's present day eastern shoreline.


Later years

In 1954 Whittell broke his leg, and remained at his
Woodside, California Woodside is a small incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, United States, on the San Francisco Peninsula. Woodside is among the wealthiest communities in the United States, home to many technology billionaires and investment manager ...
estate until 1957. After Whittell broke his hip late in life he refused surgery to repair the fracture, and was confined to a wheelchair. George Whittell Jr. died of melanoma on 18 April 1969, with his third wife Elia by his side. After Whittell's death, Thunderbird Lodge and the adjacent 10,000 acres of property were purchased by Jack Dreyfus of Dreyfus Investments. Dreyfus later sold most of the land, excluding the residence, to the
U.S. Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
— Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Nevada State Parks—
Lake Tahoe – Nevada State Park A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the World Ocean, oce ...
.Extravagant Rusticity: A rich man's folly has become on of Tahoe's treasured historical estates
''
San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' July 21, 2007.


Residence conservation

In 1998 the developer
Del Webb Corporation The Del E. Webb Construction Company was a construction company that was founded in 1928 and developed by Del Webb. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, United States, it became the Del E. Webb Corporation a publicly traded company on the New York ...
purchased the Thunderbird Lodge and its remaining 140 acres of private land. In 1999, the American Land Conservancy facilitated a three way land exchange. The U.S.
Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
conveyed to Del Webb nearly 4,000 acres of
Clark County, Nevada Clark County is located in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,265,461. Most of the county population resides in the Las Vegas Census County Divisions, which hold 1,771,945 people as of the 2010 Census, across ...
land near Las Vegas and the U.S. Forest Service received the 140 acres of Lake Tahoe land without the residence compound. The Thunderbird Lodge buildings were conveyed to the non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society with a $9.8-million debt payable to Del Webb/
Pulte Homes PulteGroup, Inc. is an American residential home construction company based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The company is the 3rd largest home construction company in the United States based on the number of homes closed. In total, the compa ...
. In 2009 the Society acquired title to the buildings. Thunderbird Lodge is currently owned by the non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society. It is now a popular tourist attraction, with public tours by reservation. Thunderbirdtahoe.org: Public Tours
/ref>


See also

*
Vikingsholm Vikingsholm is a 38-room mansion on the shore of Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe, in El Dorado County, California, U.S., and on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been called "one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in ...
*


References


External links


Official Thunderbird Lodge Lake Tahoe website
{{Authority control Houses in Washoe County, Nevada Lake Tahoe Historic house museums in Nevada Museums in Washoe County, Nevada Houses completed in 1938 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Nevada National Register of Historic Places in Washoe County, Nevada History of Washoe County, Nevada Rustic architecture in the United States