National Register #73000401
Sugar Pine Point State Park
Highway 90 Three Miles South of Homewood
Sugar Pine Point

Walter Danforth Bliss designed this Lake Tahoe summer home for San Francisco businessman I. W. Hellman. It was named Pine Lodge.

The building site was a sand hill. Tons of topsoil were brought from the back country to provide the base for lawns and gardens. Most of the building materials for the house were obtained locally, the granite from Meeks Bay and the lumber from Hobart Mills, north of Truckee.

The house was equipped with the modern utility systems including electric lights and complete indoor plumbing. Steam generators produced electricity until commercial power was available in 1927. Water was obtained from General Creek and later pumped directly from the Lake.

Hellman's daughter, Florence Hellman Ehrman inherited the estate.

In 1965 the house and grounds were acquired by the California State Park System. The house is maintained as a house museum and as an example of the opulent tradition in Tahoe summer homes.

Source: California Department of Parks and Recreation