From the mountainside, you can see Fanette Island and just barely make out the box-like shape of a stone teahouse on top. In 1884, Lora gave birth to their only child, a son Nathaniel, who later married Helen Fargo, heiress to the Wells Fargo banking dynasty founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Soon after, Lindbergh approached the Knights to fund his groundbreaking trans-Atlantic flight. But in 1910, Nathaniel suddenly died. In 1873, engineer Alexis Von Schmidt recommended the site for the proposed James Lick Astronomical Observatory that would house the world’s most powerful space telescope. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. Some parts of the structure contain no nails or spikes, as a result of old-fashioned construction methods. It was paradise, as Mrs. William H. Armstrong described, offering a “safe harbor, beautiful white sand beach, wildflowers, pure ice-cold water, matchless cliffs, mammoth pine and cedar, waterfalls and an exquisite island.” They didn’t want to leave. Did shutting down outdoor dining fuel Calif.'s COVID-19 surge? Carved dragon heads are common as both interior and exterior decorations, as they were used in old Viking castles to divide the main room between the chieftain and his most honored guests from the women and children. Lora Josephine Knight was a philanthropist who valued community and education. In 1928, Mrs. Knight had her mind firmly set on Emerald Bay to build her “castle of the sky.” She gave the family who owned the land an offer they couldn’t refuse. Tag: Lora Josephine Knight. Here's how to spot one. After a short marriage to Henry Knight, yet keeping his last name, Lora Knight went to work on creating the castle of her dreams to blend in with the bay. Comment: Spine creases, wear to binding and pages from reading. The locally quarried granite boulders were ferried by barge to the island where derricks lifted them stone by stone. As fate would have it, Lora married James and her sister Ada married William. In order to preserve the natural environment of Emerald Bay, Knight insisted that local Tahoe materials be used with the exception of the leaded windows with pastel stained-glass panes imported from Sweden. Who wins: A Lodge Blacklock Dutch oven or a Le Creuset... 4 alternatives to The Mirror if you want more from your... Our readers’ favorite N95 and KN95 masks just dropped... How a virtual movie club has helped me survive the pandemic, This $10 produce keeper is actually helping me eat healthier, 'WandaVision' is at its best when it's not about superheroes, High West's A Midwinter's Night Dram is the PS5 of whiskeys, This $5 chopper will change how you cook ground meat. Tahoe historian Mark McLaughlin is a nationally published author and professional speaker and former freelance writer for Tahoe Magazine. Support timbers were hand hewn and interior wallboard meticulously hand planed, while metal fixtures like fireplace screens, hinges and latches were hand forged on-site. She died there in 1945 at the age of 82. Lennart Palme said: “The problem of placing Vikingsholm without disturbing the trees was perhaps the trickiest I have had to solve either abroad or in these United States.”. They agreed to be major supporters. Drugs were suspected. For great images click the Photo Gallery just above the map below. They traveled across Scandinavia for research and inspiration before laying the foundation in the late summer of 1928 for Vikingsholm. Boy oh boy…it’s been a while, lots happened, great stuff and fun celebrations. The Vikingsholm foundation was laid in 1928; the building was constructed in 1929 by 200 workers. Knight had already spent 16 summers in Tahoe before she built Vikingsholm. She hired architect Myron Hunt, a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright. She then commissioned Lennart Palme, a Swedish architect to whom she was related by marriage, to design Vikingsholm. Eight years before her marriage to Harry Knight, Mrs. Josephine Moore purchased the land at Chinquapin from descendants of Lake Tahoe timber baron Duane L. Bliss. In early 1916 they bought a home near Santa Barbara hoping that the mild Mediterranean climate might improve his condition, but he died on July 20, 1916, leaving Lora an estate worth $15 million. This was an era when Tahoe was first establishing itself as a summer haven for wealthy tourists who sought an escape from California’s cities. “From there they strolled back down to Vikingsholm.”. The widowed heiress is Lora Josephine Knight. The house included stables for 60 horses and a bowling alley. 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