The Hellmann-Ehrman house

One place in Lake Tahoe that I absolutely have to visit is the Hellman-Ehrman house.

I have been fascinated by Issais Hellman since I learned about him when I was giving tours downtown. Boy do I miss giving tours. I have no idea if an when I’ll be giving tours again. By the late 19th c. Hellman moved from LA to San Fransisco, there he was one of the founders of the Banking side of Wells Fargo. Today, that is all we know of that name, but back in the day, transportation was their main business.

Early in the 20th century, Hellman bought a large plot of land and built this marvelous summer home. Today this is a state park, Sand Harbor. Hellmans’ daughter Ehrman actually enjoyed the house much longer than her father. By the mid-sixties, taxes were impossible (gee, we are back at the same point again) so the land was donated to the state and there are tours inside the house.

This is the front of the house that faces the lake. Looking at the website, I saw we were one day late to have the tour inside. I bumped into a maintenance worker, he laughed at me. I wasn’t a day late, I was a year late, they never opened the house this year.

Me in front of the house.

The house was named Pine Lodge.

Looking from the lake towards the home.

The gorgeous lake front.

Since there was so much space, the house was only for the family and guests, servant quarters as well as storage and landscaping equipment was in a separate area. As you can see, equally close to the lake.

This log cabin was onsite before Hellman bought the land. I don’t remember the name of the man who built this, it was the first permanent structure on the lake.

I’m loving every angle of this house.

One can rent the outdoor space for private events such as weddings. Once again, I don’t think this happened this year. What a lovely visit, what a beautiful serene location.