MILEPOSTS #1103

By Bill Pumford, Image from the ROWHS Collection

TITLE: LAKEVIEW LODGE IN LAKE ARROWHEAD: Many readers are familiar with the old Lakeview Lodge located across the road from the upper Lake Arrowhead Village. The Lodge was originally built in 1926 as a boarding house which, at the time, was a common way for people to find living accommodations. By the early 1930s the Lakeview Lodge had become a convalescent facility, also referred to as “The House of Health,” operated by a registered nurse by the name of Clara Ida Stegmann. The house offered good food and a physician on call. In 1937 the Lake View Lodge was put up for sale for $9,500 and shortly thereafter was purchased by the Belfrage family. The property was known locally as the Belfrage Lodge, this week’s image, where it received an extensive renovation. In the 1940s and 1950s the Lodge was owned and operated by Anna (also known as Ann) Shafe who was to become well known in the community. Mrs. Shafe was a member of the Women’s Club of Lake Arrowhead and in 1947 was elected president of the Club. A brochure from that time advertised the wonderful mountain experience and rooms that ranged from $5-$8 per day depending upon size and whether you had a private bathroom. Anna’s son, Warren, helped her run the Lodge and when he married in 1947 he and his wife, Ella Mae, resided at the Lodge until their home in Lake Arrowhead could be built. The next several decades brought in different owners with different styles. Part of the 1980s saw the building used by the Mountain News but became available when the paper moved out. In the 1990s new owners Kurt and Bonnie Campbell did some renovations and labeled the Lodge with the name Romantique. Each of the rooms had its own personality and names such as Love Letter, Blue Boy, and Romantique. The property is now known as Arrowhead Lake Inn.

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