Tourism

The history of the Pine Knot Lodge and the Big Bear Lake Village have always been linked very closely together.  Recently revealed documentation, published in Charles Peckham’s book “Big Bear Lake”, shows just how closely linked they actually were.  It turns out that both the Pine Knot Lodge and the location of the Big Bear Village were actually the vision of one man –  John H. Fisher.  This video tells Fisher’s story, and how he, along with the help of other Big Bear pioneers such as Fred “Dad” Skinner and Hollywood producer Cecil B. DeMille, laid the foundation for Big Bear Lake community that we have today.

The Historical images for this video were provided by the recently published “Vanishing Big Bear-2” and the “Big Bear Lake – The Struggle For Water Land & Power”, and from the historical collections of Rick Keppler, Mark Durban, and Charles Peckham. “Vanishing Big Bear-2” is a hardbound 8.5” x 11” book. It is available at Butchers Block and other retailers in Big Bear Valley, and online at FascinatingBigBear.com and at Amazon.com.

BIG BEAR’S NATURAL LAKE Big Bear lake is a man made lake. All of the published history to date, including this author’s book Vanishing Big Bear, tells us that Big Bear Lake was originally created when a Redlands farmer by the name of Frank Brown built a… The story of our multi arch dam dates back to 1885, when a Redlands farmer by the name of Frank Brown built a rock dam at Big Bear which created the lake that we have today. This original rock dam still exists today, about 50 yards upstream from our current dam, and… WE’RE GETTING A NEW BRIDGE Ever since 1925, the majority of traffic entering Big Bear Valley has crossed over the old bridge currently atop the dam. It has served our valley well. Construction began in April 2009, on a new bridge that will replace the old… Construction on a new bridge that will replace the old existing bridge across the top of Big Bear’s multi arch dam as the main artery into Big Bear began in April 2009. This new bridge will completely bypass the old bridge and the dam. It is estimated that it… The August 25, 2012, Big Bear Classic Boat Show had a wonderful selection of old classic boats on display. One in particular was a beautifully restored 26‘ Chris Craft named “Step In Again 1”. Sixty years ago, this boat was a familiar site on Big Bear Lake. It was… The August 25, 2012, Big Bear Classic Boat Show had a beautifully restored 26‘ Chris Craft named “Step In Again 1”.  Sixty years ago, this boat was a familiar site on Big Bear Lake.  It was part of a fleet of four “Step In Again” high performance tour boats that…

As of September 24, 2011, the removal of the old bridge across the top of the Big Bear Lake dam is about two thirds complete.

Jeanne Richards and Kaela Fengler of Big Bear Lake, check out the progress of the removal of the old bridge from the top of the Big Bear Lake dam. – © Rick Keppler.

A close up view of the bridge removal process on the Big Bear Lake dam. – © Rick Keppler.

Note:  The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler.

The last sections of the old historic bridge across the Big Bear Lake dam are being removed.  The bridge was built back in 1924.

Removal of the old bridge across the Big Bear Lake Dam is nearly complete as of October 2, 2011. © Rick Keppler.

The last couple sections of railing, and what is left of the road that was built in 1924, look out across the Big Bear Lake dam towards the South Shore road where it once connected. © Rick Keppler.

Note:  The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler.

THE BEAR VALLEY HOTEL – 1888

In 1888, just four years after the rock dam was built that created Big Bear Lake, two local Big Bear ranchers, Gus Knight Jr. and John Metcalf built Big Bear’s first resort hotel. Big Bear village didn’t exist yet, and the only two roads into the valley should have been called trails. In spite of the difficulties involved in getting to Big Bear, the new hotel was booked solid with advance reservations.

The little hotel was located on today’s Pine Knot Avenue, and it was strictly a summer time operation. But, it had a monopoly on Big Bear’s tourist trade that lasted until Christmas Eve December 24, 1900, when the hotel mysteriously caught fire and burned to the ground. The hotel had been closed for the winter, and the cause of the fire was never determined. Since there were no other resorts in the valley, Big Bear’s resort industry was wiped out overnight.

Here are a few photos of that early resort.

This is the Bear Valley Hotel in 1889, just one year after it opened. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Bear Valley Hotel 1889. – Rick Keppler Collection.

The Bear Valey Hotel in the mid 1890’s. By now it had been renamed Knight’s Hotel. – Rick Keppler Collection.

This hotel went through several name changes during it’s short but successful twelve year existence. It started out as the Bear Valley Hotel, then it was Knight’s Hotel. In it’s last years it was called the Bear Valley Resort. The photo below is of a promotional brochure from the hotel’s later years.

According to this brochure, a trip to Big Bear Lake from the bottom of the hill took about eleven hours. – Rick Keppler Collection.

THE PINE KNOT LODGE

The success of Knight’s Bear Valley Hotel had been noted by the board of directors of the water company that owned the lake. As a result in 1906, a group of wealthy investors, which included Bear Valley Mutual Water Company directors Herbert Garstin and William Glass, got together and formed a syndicate to purchase what was left of the old Bear Valley Hotel property. Claiming to have almost unlimited financial resources, they proceeded built a huge first class resort.

It was called the Pine Knot Lodge, and it was the center of the Big Bear Lake community in the early 1900’s. Check out the article entitled Lodges and Tourism for more on this story. Here are some photos of that early resort.

The Pine Knot Lodge as it looked in the 1920’s. – Rick Keppler Collection.

The interior of the main pavilion at Pine Knot Lodge. Notice the gas lamps hanging from the ceiling. This photo was taken years before Big Bear had electricity. – Rick Keppler Collection.

Manager Fred “Dad” Skinner worked overtime promoting Big Bear and the lodge with the movie industry. This photo shows an early western being filmed in front of the main pavilion. – Rick Keppler Collection.

The lodge snowed in during the winter of January 1916 – Rick Keppler Collection

A busy weekend in Big Bear Lake during the 1920’s. The building on the far left is headquarters of the Mountain Auto Line which provided stage service to Big Bear. – Rick Keppler Collection.

This photo taken in 1917, shows the main offices and dining hall of Pine Knot Lodge being consumed by flame. Big Bear didn’t have a fire department. All they could do was watch it burn. If the fire had spread it could easily have destroyed the whole community. – Rick Keppler Collection.

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A Hollywood movie set at the old Pine Knot Lodge at Big Bear Lake in the 1920’s – Rick Keppler collection.

In March of 1911, a film company from Hollywood, called the Essanay Company, arrived at the Pine Crest Resort near Lake Arrowhead. They unloaded their equipment, and began filming a short one reel film entitled “Romance of the Bar O”. It is believed that this was the first movie ever made in the San Bernardino Mountains.

In July of 1911, the Bison Motion Picture Company arrived at the new Pine Knot lodge in Big bear and begin filming. They had traveled out here from back east, not Hollywood. They brought with them 28 actors and actresses, along with five wagon loads of equipment and props. They stayed in Big Bear for about two months, and it was reported that they could complete about one movie per day. That summer in 1911, Hollywood and Big Bear Lake began a love affair that has continued to this day.

WINTER, PINE KNOT LODGE, & HOLLYWOOD:

At the same time that the film industry was getting started in Big Bear Lake, tourism was began to take off. Lodges were being built all over the valley. Real Estate values were soaring. Business was good, but only during the summer. During the winter months, the lodges and most resort businesses would close down and their owners would leave the hill. Except for a hand full of hard core locals, Big Bear sat empty. The ski resorts didn’t exist yet. During the winter months, there was absolutely nothing going on in Big Bear.

Until Pine Knot Lodge opened it’s doors to the movie studios, Big Bear was a ghost town during the winter. – Rick Keppler collection.

However, there was a local guy back then, by the name of Fred C. Skinner, who wanted to do something to try and change that. Fred was manager of the new Pine Knot Lodge, which was Big Bear’s largest resort. He had organized Pine Knot’s, first Chamber of Commerce., and in 1914, Fred informed Hollywood production companies that the Pine Knot Lodge would remain open during the winter if they wanted to film. He even brought in a generator, and Pine Knot Lodge had electrical power five years before electricity reached the valley. The movie industry enthusiastically supported Skinner’s efforts, and began filming right through the winters. Few people in Big Bear today realize just how important Fred’s work was back then. Until the ski resorts came along, it was the film industry, not the tourists, that kept the Big Bear community alive through the long winter months each year.

The Big Bear community and the movie industry pretty much grew up during the same time period. The film companies mixed easily with the local community, and Big Bear residents enjoyed working as extras on films whenever they were needed. Many early Big Bear pioneers including Dad Skinner, Bill Knickerbocker, Henry Shay (of Shay Ranch), and some of the Talmadges of the IS Ranch, all worked as extras in these early films.

Lassie getting ready to perform on the shore of Big Bear Lake. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Big Bear Lake it self was used many times as a movie set. In this photo “Lassie” is performing in a scene on the north shore of the lake.

Actress Evelyn Keyes receives an invitation to a local community event from Judge Jack Mathew’s and Constable Coy Brown, while filming “Mrs. Mike” in 1949.

BIG BEAR VILLAGE

Filming the TV show “The FBI” on Pine Knot Boulevard in Big Bear village – Rick Keppler collection.

Big Bear Village was often used as a movie set. In the late 1970’s, Andy Griffith was all over Big Bear Valley in the late 1970’s filming his “Winter Kill” TV series. In the above photo a film crew is set up on Pine Knot Boulevard preparing to film Eferm Zymbalist Jr. in an episode of the popular 1960’s TV show the FBI.

GOLD MOUNTAIN

At the north/east end of Baldwin Lake is Gold Mountain. It was here that Elias J. “Lucky” Baldwin built a 40 stamp mill back in 1873, and started a second gold rush. However it turns out that gold wasn’t the only thing that Baldwin’s stamp mill produced. Years later in the 1930’s, long after the gold rush was over, “Through The Wrong Door” and “Rocky Mountain Mystery” were both filmed at this historic site.

Gold Mountain Stamp Mill. – Rick Keppler collection.

SHAY MEADOWS

If you have lived at the east end of Big Bear Valley for any length of time, you have probably noticed an old log cabin sitting in the meadow off of Shay Road, out by Baldwin Lake. All of the homes in this area sit on what was grazing land for the Shay Ranch. Many locals believe this old log building was once the main ranch house of the old Shay ranch. The truth is, it isn’t even a real log cabin. It was built as a movie set back in 1940, for the film “Brigham Young” starring Dean Jagger. If you look at it closely, you can see that the logs are fake. The building is actually a historical relic left over by the film industry.

This old log cabin in Shay Meadows isn’t real. It is a movie set from the 1940’s. – Rick Keppler collection

It has been almost 100 years since Hollywood first discovered Big Bear. Since then, hundreds of movies, TV shows have been made in Big Bear Lake the San Bernardino mountains. The history of Hollywood’s relationship with Big Bear is still being written.

Demolition continues on the old bridge across the top of the dam at Big Bear Lake.  The removal project is about one third complete.

September 10, 2011, the old bridge across the dam is now about on third gone. – Rick Keppler collection

Here is another image of the bridge at Big Bear Lake when it first opened in 1924.

In 1924, the traffic was so light that it was possible to park on the bridge and enjoy the view of Big Bear Lake before continuing on to the village. – Rick Keppler collection

Note:  The copyrighted information in this article have been presented here with permission from Rick Keppler.

Unlike most of the other early Big Bear resorts that were being built in the 1920’s, the Pan Hot Springs Hotel and the Peter Pan Woodland Club were unique in that they were located at the east end of Bear Valley, away from the lake. The Pan Hot Springs Hotel main attraction was that it was located on a natural hot spring. The hotel had two swimming pools that took advantange of the natural hot mineral waters.

The Peter Pan Woodland Club was also built in the same area at about the same time as the Hot Springs hotel. The Woodland Club is remembered today as the most exclusive of all of the early Big Bear resorts. It was also responsible for the community of Big Bear City.

For more information on these two important resorts check out the articles under Big Bear City Lodges. Here are a few photos of these two lodges.

THE PAN HOT SPRINGS HOTEL

The Pan Hot Springs Hotel, circa 1926. The hotel was located just east of today’s North Shore Drive and Paradise intersection in Big Bear City. – Rick Keppler collection.

Pan Hot Spring Hotel’s main ballroom – Rick Keppler collection

Pan Hot Springs Lobby – Rick Keppler collection

Another exterior view of the Pan Hot Springs Hotel at Big Bear. – Rick Keppler collection

The outdoor swimming pool at the Pan Hot Springs Hotel. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Pan Hot Springs indoor pool in the late 1920’s. – Rick Keppler collection.

In the early 1920’s, before the hotel was built Phelix Scheer was hired to drill into the hot spring to increase the water supply for the two swimming pools that were planned for the hotel. – Fred Ransom collection.

The Pan Hot Springs hotel was never rebuilt after it burned in 1933, but the swimming pools were restored and opened to the public. They served the community until the early 1990’s when they were eventually closed because of earthquake damage. – Rick Keppler collection.

THE PETER PAN WOODLAND CLUB

From the mid 1920’s through the late 1940’s, the Peter Pan Woodland Club was the most exclusive club in all of Big Bear Lake. It was solely responsible for creating the community of Big Bear City which sprang up around the lodge. Check out the “Big Bear City Lodges” article on the right for more information on this fabulous resort.

Located in Big Bear City at the intersection of Country Club and Greenway, the Peter Pan Woodland Club was established in 1925. – Rick Keppler collection.

This view of the Peter Pan Woodland Club looks west from Greenway. – Rick Keppler collection

For many years this statue of Peter Pan greeted guests as they entered the Woodland Club’s grounds. – Rick Keppler collection.

This 1920’s distant view of the Woodland Club looks south along Greenway (on the left), and across what is now the east end of the Big Bear City’s airport runway. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Woodlands club’s lavish dining room. – Rick Keppler collection

The main lounge of the Peter Pan Woodland club had a huge rock fireplace. The fire pit was large enough to hold the front end of a truck. It also had a model railroad built into it with a train that wound it’s way through the rocks. – Rick Keppler collection.

A view of the massive rock fireplace from the opposite direction. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Woodland Club had it’s own golf course, tennis courts, bridal paths, a movie theater, and a unique figure eight shaped swimming pool. This view looks north-east towards Greenway. – Rick Keppler collection.

This view of the Peter Pan Woodland Club’s unique figure eight shaped pool looks north across the golf course. Today, this is the east end of the runway at the Big Bear City airport. – Rick Keppler collection.

A rare 1930’s winter view of the Peter Pan Woodland Club. – Rick Keppler collection.

The Peter Pan Woodland Club’s reign as Big Bear’s most exclusive resort came to an end on June 18, 1948, when the main club house was reduced to ashes by an early morning fire. – Rick Keppler collection.

© Rick Keppler

Most of the content appearing on this website comes from the information and material acquired during the production of our weekly TV series the Big Bear History Show on Channel-6, and in the publishing of the book “Vanishing Big Bear”.