MILEPOSTS #1017

By Bill Pumford, Image from the Russ Keller Collection

TITLE: THE RAVEN HOTEL LAKE ARROWHEAD: This week’s image is a photo of the Raven Hotel located near the Village in Lake Arrowhead. In 1919 two enterprising sisters named Ann Copeland and Mabel Leonard built the Raven Hotel. The hotel was three stories tall and contained 28 rooms with rates in 1924 of $2.50 per day under the European plan. In 1925 a large addition was built that included a 60-person seating capacity dining room plus some extra bedrooms. Later the Raven Hotel featured both European and American plans (pay for meals and room separately, or meals and room one price, respectively). During the Christmas holidays in 1928 turkey dinners were offered for $1.25 with regular dinners for $1. In 1929 the sisters took out a lease with an option to buy the La Palma Hotel in Palm Springs. In the 1930s Ann Copeland’s son, George Leonard Copeland, helped manage the Raven Hotel for his mother and aunt. As with many other hotels and restaurants on the mountain many community events were held at the Raven by organizations such as the Lake Arrowhead Woman’s Club and the Rim of the World Real Estate Association. In 1943 the world lost both sisters – Ann died first in January and then Mabel in June. George took over operation of the hotel. In 1951 George died and the Raven Hotel was eventually purchased by Elmer Luther who was a well-known local businessman, whose interests included ownership of the popular Chalet Restaurant. Luther expanded the operation by purchasing the land around the hotel and building the cottages that you see there today. The Raven Hotel was renamed the Arrowhead Inn and Cottages. In the early 1980s the facility was acquired by investors and renamed the Saddleback Inn.

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