Photos: Frances Rivetti
In the decades that I have visited Lake Tahoe once or twice a year, I had yet to discover the allure of the east shore's mysterious Thunderbird Lodge. It's always a thrill to find something new to explore on even the shortest of mini-breaks and so thanks to enthusiastic Frannie behind the counter in the Incline Village Visitors Center, I returned from a wedding on the North Shore in June with a glossy brochure touting Thunderbird's elegant gardens, underground tunnel, lagoons, waterfalls, fountains, the history and architecture of a gilded age burning a hole in my pocket.
Fortunately, my three intrepid Tahoe trekker Glamper girlfriends had never visited Thunderbird either and so we hatched a plan to add a tour to our busy late-August hiking/swimming trip itinerary.
There are a few different options for taking a docent-guided tour — by land (shuttle bus transportation from Incline Village), wine and cheese tours, a cruise with breakfast and picnic lunch aboard an historic wooden boat from South Shore, by kayak on a paddle tour from Sand Harbor State Park or a private group, family or school activity tour. Reservations are required for all tours (see link at the end of the article).
We opted for the shuttle bus land tour without any added extras as, coming from Sonoma County, we had plenty of great wine and cheese of our own back at the cabin.
The mystery and ornate legacy of the lodge was evident the moment our shuttle bus driver pulled in through decorative electric, wrought-iron gates. Born to super wealthy San Franciscans of German Irish stock in 1881, George Whittell Jr., took his privacy on the east shores of pristine Lake Tahoe extremely seriously. He had an elaborate security system built into the extensive stonework that leads down to his lodge.
George, otherwise known as The Captain, was a world traveler, handsome and eccentric and not in the least interested in ivy league schooling or society living in the city. By 1936, he was, however, not opposed to the idea of a lavish summer estate on the water's edge at Tahoe. This development in his unscripted life came after he had run away and joined the circus. He had toured with Barnum and Bailey in his younger years, self-funding, or most likely family-funding trips to Africa to catch wild animals for the ring. He was fanatical about his animals and built an elaborate stone building at Thunderbird for his elephant, Mingo. Bill, his beloved African lion sat beside him in his Murphy convertible roadster as he drove around the lake.
He'd met his third wife, Elia Pascal as an ambulance driver and army captain in France during World War I. Elia didn't spend all that much time at Thunderbird, she considered it a little too rustic for her tastes, preferring the couple's year-round residence, theater, pool and small private zoo in Woodside, CA and her chateau in France. It surely helped in the running of these Gatsby-esque abodes that the Captain had cleverly extracted some $50 million in stocks and bonds before the 1929 Great Crash of Wall Street and relocated to Nevada which he used as a tax haven.
With massive cash in his pocket, George bought up most of the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe and tapped famous Reno architect Frederick DeLongchamps as his designer for Thunderbird Lodge. Though he had in mind originally to develop 40,000 acres into a ski resort, casino and neighboring summer properties he grew increasingly reclusive in his private lakeside life and opted to focus his all on his own spot, far from the increasingly popular lake resorts. We have the Captain to thank for the wild beauty of the east shore, though it sounds like it wasn't entirely an unselfish decision to stop anyone else from getting their hands on the land.
The Thunderbird yacht, a custom-built 1950s mahogany speedboat became his most treasured possession. And to house it away from the prying eyes of the lake-going public, he housed it in a 100-foot long boat house, connected to the lodge by a 600-foot long tunnel.
Welsh miner immigrants blasted this winding underground tunnel out of solid granite with dynamite. It took some time to build as you can imagine and, as we discovered on our tour, it veers off into rooms from the servants quarters and kitchen downstairs to a creepy, unfinished swimming pool, an austere little stone dungeon and probable safe room/opium den.
A card house drew fellow recluse Howard Hughes and other Hollywood friends, though the Captain had a secret escape route back into the lodge should all the socializing of all-night poker games become too much — or, if he didn't like the company.
Our docent showed us a porch light on the lodge that indicated to incoming boat parties of scantily clad showgirls and cohorts if George's wife Elia happened to be at home. The couple did not have any children and as far as it is known, there were no other claims to his paternity. One historian called him a “king-sized playboy,” and despite his reclusive nature he made plenty of time for “fast things, including cars, airplanes and women.”
Exotic pets were constant company when there was nobody else around. Although there are plentiful animal hides and taxidermy within the lodge's decor today, it's not clear whether George would have had any large hunting trophies on display given his love of wildlife.
Downstairs the kitchen and staff rooms were considerably more modest and must have been freezing cold come fall, making the lodge unappealing for a winter stay.
He left most of his estate to various wildlife organizations. After George Whittell, Jr. died on April 18, 1969, aged 87 his beloved lodge was bought by a man named Jack Dreyfus of Dreyfus Investments. Until then, no land holdings had been sold. However, after immediately selling much of the land to the Nevada State Parks and the Forest Service, Dreyfus set about modifying the lodge to his own taste and needs, adding an entertainment room to the original light house as well as a two-story wing on the original garage decking, connected by an enclosed glass bridge.
Dreyfus and his wife painted the beautiful wood of the original lodge interior white to suit the era. It has since been returned to its original, natural beauty.
In 1998, the estate and 140 acres were bought by a corporation named Del Webb for $56 million. Del Webb swiftly exchanged the land but not the lodge in a deal with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management for 4,000 acres of Clark County near Las Vegas.
The Forest Service wasn't interested in managing the lodge and the non-profit Thunderbird Preservation Society was created in partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno.
The estate was gifted to the National Register of Historic Places in the year 2000. It has become the de facto repository for the region's art, films, photography, furnishings, records, maps, lake artifacts, family heirlooms and hotel and casino and recreation memorabilia.
By 2003 the university no longer wished to be a part of its preservation and disassociated itself from the non-profit society.
In 2009, with gifts from Pulte Homes, which took over Del Webb, the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and a bunch of fundraising campaigns, the Preservation Society settled debts and has kept the lodge afloat with tours, weddings and special events ever since. More than 10,000 visitors tour the intersection of Native American, westward expansion, Anglo settlement, lumbering, mining, railroading, maritime transit, conservation, recreation and environmental activism each year.
George Whittell's legacy is one of conservation, no matter his range of motives. His ownership and stewardship provides us with an east shore landscape that has been virtually untouched by development today. It's pretty amazing.
Click here to select a tour that works for you.
If you've $5,000 or more to spare, the yacht itself is available to rent for an hour-long special event. With the cost of fuel these days, it's likely even pricier today to take this vintage vessel out on the lake for a spin.
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