Rebuilding of fire-destroyed Mount Charleston Lodge to start in spring
Plans to rebuild the Mount Charleston Lodge are still in the works as winter sets in on the Spring Mountains, officials said.
Reached Wednesday, the lodge’s operations manager Thomas Schneekloth said rebuilding the mountain restaurant after it was destroyed in a fire this fall is an ongoing process. The lodge’s owners hopes to break ground in the spring, he said.
An accidental fire destroyed the lodge restaurant on Sept. 17, leaving rubble in place of the iconic A-frame restaurant. No one was injured. Both site cleanup and construction depend on the winter weather and the speed and effectiveness of the supply chain, Schneekloth said.
“Unfortunately, with winter coming in hard and fast, that’s going to even tie our hands on being able to get any of that done at this time,” he said. “But we are starting to work on plans and we’re optimistic that we’re going to get it all moved out and break ground in the spring as soon as the weather cooperates and as soon as the supply chain gets back in line.”
The former lodge was built in 1962, though another structure operated there from at least 1948 before it was destroyed in a 1961 fire.
Architectural plans for the rebuild have not been made official yet, Schneekloth said. Officials intend to keep the traditional A-frame, but update some of the facilities.
The lodge’s neighboring 23 cabins were unaffected by the fire and remain open. Schneekloth said the fall was a bit slower without the restaurant, which often served as a wedding and other events venue. But snowfall and the Christmas holiday brought reservations back up.
The lodge is even continuing its 15-year tradition of Christmas breakfast with Santa. Normally in the lodge, the Santa event will instead be held in the cabins’ “hospitality suite” that was created to serve continental breakfast and happy hour to cabin guests in place of the restaurant.
“We’re trying to keep as many memories alive with the families that have come up year over year over year, and unfortunately we can’t provide them restaurant service, but we’re doing everything we can to make the experience that the cabins as memorable as possible,” Schneekloth said.
Representatives of the Ellis family, which owns the lodge and restaurant along with Ellis Island Hotel, Casino and Brewery, did not respond to a request for comment.
McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.
