Roof repairs for historic lodge to be completed with donations

INCLINE VILLAGE -- Enough donations have been secured to complete $350,000 in roof repairs to the historic Thunderbird Lodge on Lake Tahoe's northeast shore, officials said.

A call for donations that went out shortly before Christmas was answered when an anonymous donor pledged $50,000 toward the project on the condition it was matched by Jan. 1, said Bill Watson, manager and curator of the lakeside retreat.

One local resident gave $35,000 and others accounted for the rest by the deadline.

"As a result of this outpouring of support, Thunderbird Lodge will have a new state-of-the-art, fire-resistant roof while retaining the historic elements that lend the estate it's distinctive character," Watson said.

The project already is under way but would have been cut short without the donations, leaving major portions of the roofs unfinished, Watson said. The donations will allow repairs to be completed to seven aging roofs later this year.

The Thunderbird Lodge was flamboyant real estate magnate George Whittell's summer estate until he died in 1969 at age 87.

The "Castle," as it also was known, had never been open to the public until 2002, when a land deal transferred ownership to the nonprofit Thunderbird Lodge Preservation Society.