Then and now: Lodging on the South Shore

According to E.B. Scott’s book “The Saga of Lake Tahoe”, Ephraim “Yank” Clement opened his three-story Yank’s Hotel on homesteaded land at the South Shore of Lake Tahoe in 1875.

Upon being purchased by Elias “Lucky” Baldwin in 1881, the hotel was renamed the Hotel Tallac (aka Tallac Casino) in recognition of adjacent Mt. Tallac and its famous “T” snow cross (photo No. 1).

Hand-colored postcards dated 1908 (photos Nos. 2 and 3) show the majestic hotel. Room rates were $3 per day (without bathroom) or $5 per day (with a bathroom) for one person. Total capacity of the hotel and cottages was 250 people.

A promotional brochure from the early 1900s shows the view from the casino porch (photo No. 4) and the era attire of its customers at play (photos Nos. 5 and 6).

The brochure quaintly states: “AUTOMOBILING: Tallac is easy of access. Every season a great many autos make the trip to Tallac from Los Angeles and San Francisco. A good mountain road and any good machines can make the trip. Mrs. Joseph Chanslor, of Los Angeles, made the trip from Sacramento to Tallac in eight hours.”

The brochure also emphasizes the Truckee-to-Tahoe City train connecting to the steamers Tahoe and Nevada and Meteor going to the Tallac.

The hotel was razed in 1927. Many artifacts of the hotel and the 2,000-acre Baldwin Estate are on display in the Baldwin House Museum at the Tallac Historic Site next to Camp Richardson.

All brochure info, photos and postcards are courtesy of Theresa and Darrell Eymann.

— Bill Kingman