Thunderbird Lodge

1935

George Whittell Jr. bought 27 miles of shoreline in 1935

In 1935 George Whittell Jr. bought 27 miles of Lake Tahoe shoreline and nearly 40,000 acres from Norman Biltz. It was essentially 95% of the Nevada shoreline. He had made his fortune in the stock market and sold all his holdings just weeks before the 1929 crash.

95%of the Nevada shoreline of Lake Tahoe was his

The lodge

A stone lodge in the Rustic style, with no guest rooms

Construction began in 1936 on the summer residence, designed in the Rustic style by Frederic DeLongchamps. The stone house was completed 2½ years later. It had no guest rooms, because Whittell wanted no overnight visitors.

The grounds

A 600 foot tunnel to the boathouse, and an elephant named Mingo

The estate has many small buildings: a card house, a gatehouse and a boathouse with an adjoining 600 foot tunnel. The boathouse held his 55-foot mahogany and stainless steel yacht, the Thunderbird. There was also an Elephant House, home to Mingo, Whittell's two ton Indian Elephant.

Keep out

Whittell wanted no visitors and kept a siren on the dock

Whittell grew more reclusive with the years. He entertained only a few people, including his neighbors Ty Cobb and Howard Hughes, for the occasional all night card games. A loud siren at the lodge's dock was there to frighten curiosity-seekers away.

Kept

He never built on the east shore, and it stayed open

Whittell had planned a hotel-casino and a ski resort, then decided he liked not having neighbors. His refusal to develop came more from his need for privacy than from conservation, yet he is credited for the unspoiled look of the east shore today. The lodge is now owned by the Thunderbird Preservation Society.