Quest is on to save Tahoe’s famous Thunderbird Lodge
By Adam Rasmussen, Channel 2 News
The Thunderbird Lodge and yacht in Lake Tahoe first opened in the early 1930s, and over the years have become one of northern Nevada’s biggest cultural tourist attractions.
But the lodge is struggling, and now the Thunderbird Preservation Society is raising money to keep the famous yacht at Lake Tahoe. Officials say keeping it in the water and maintaining it is important to the community.
“It’s kind of like a racehorse,” says Dave Marion, captain of the yacht. “You put it in gear and it wants to go even at idle speed.”
The Thunderbird yacht is arguably the most valuable wooden boat in the country. Described as a mix of a car, a boat and an airplane, George Whittell Jr. first put in the Lake Tahoe waters in 1940. It entertained celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Ty Cobb. It was bought by Bill Harrah in 1962, who put two Allison aircraft engines in it. But any future boat rides could be coming to an end soon.
“Our mission is to preserve the historic estate, the yacht, and to educate the public,” says Bill Watson with the Thunderbird Preservation Society.
And to preserve the yacht, the Thunderbird Preservation Society needs to raise $1.5 million. They say if they can’t raise that much, it could be moved from Lake Tahoe. And while the boat has entertained so many celebrities over the years, it’s one today that is doing his best to keep the boat floating in Tahoe.
“This is certainly a part of the history of Tahoe, and it would be such a waste, such a shame if it were no longer taken care of,” says C.B. Sullenberger.
Maybe if they made the place a bit more accessible to the public they could make more money. More frequent tours, charge a few bucks. Or even a buncha bucks. Look how many people swarm all over Valhalla. Granted, it’s free, but even if they charged, people would be willing to pay to keep such a beautiful, historic place open. Many of us would love to be able to spend a day just wandering around the grounds and the beach and the rocks. But that doesn’t seem to be an option.
My opinion exactly.
I feel one of the main roadblocks to having more visitors is the fact that you have to take a bus in from Incline Village. If they allowed people to park along 28 and in the parking lots I really think more people would visit, even if $39 each.
The boat ride up from the south shore to the Thunderbird is a great treat..but $100 per person isn’t the easiest thing for a family to fund. You get breakfast and lunch, the boat ride and tour, so the value is good, just high for most.
The Thunderbird Lodge is not something for the average citizen as it is used by a select few.
If you want it to be something that our Lake residents support then it would be nice to have access to it,
To be blunt it just looks like another private estate for a select few who can afford the $200.00 per person for wine tastings or other fund raising purposes and nothing that involves a community supported venue
It seems to me if this continues as it is I really do not see our community supporting it’s survival.
What could possibly cost $1.5 million on a yacht, to be able to keep it at Tahoe?
Please explain. Maybe if we knew the details it might be easier to give something. Quite frankly, we have been bombarded by so many, asking for so much, and thanking us for our generosity in the past, that I have started asking for refunds. At this point, it hurts to give, and give, and give!
In reading the article again, did the Thunderbird Preservation Society borrow money against the yacht? It says if you can’t pay back $1.5 million by next year, the yacht will leave Lake Tahoe.
They could provide a free shuttle from Sand Harbor to Thunderbird. Make it on the hour on the busy summer weekends (Fri. – Monday). And have tours setup on the hour. The bus driver could handle ticket purchases too.
There is definitely a lot more the organization could do to get people there. Thousands of people tour the historic Vikingsholm and Pine Lodge on the West Shore. People pay for a guided tour. So, why can’t Thunderbird use the same model?