South Lake Tahoe in El Dorado County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)

Valhalla Grand Hall at the Heller Estate

Photographed by Tatiana Zavala, October 10, 2024

1. Valhalla Grand Hall at the Heller Estate Marker

Inscription. This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior

Erected by United States Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings.

Location. 38° 56.268′ N, 120° 2.536′ W. Marker is in South Lake Tahoe, California, in El Dorado County. It can be reached from Valhalla Road. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1 Valhalla Road, South Lake Tahoe CA 96150, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in California’s Sacramento Metro,

in the Sierra Nevada,

and in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain

and also Mexico’s Alta California.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Room for Friends (about 300

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feet away, measured in a direct line); New Life for an Old Building (about 300 feet away); "The Only Way to See Lake Tahoe" (about 500 feet away); Riding into the Winner's Circle (about 600 feet away); A Room with a View (approx. 0.2 miles away); Supporting a Life of Ease (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Pope Estate (approx. 0.2 miles away); Tea Time at the Gazebo (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in South Lake Tahoe.

Also see . . . Valhalla Grand Hall at the Heller Estate (Valhalla Tahoe).

Walter and Claire Heller’s love of Tahoe was undying, and they used the estate on as their summer home from 1924 to 1956. Shortly proceeding Walter’s death in 1956, Claire Heller Strauss sold Valhalla to Wilbur Kuhl. In 1960 Wilbur Kuhl sold the estate to Santa Cruz lawyer Raymond H. Goodrich, who sold two shares of Valhalla to two Santa Cruz dentists. In 1965, following the death of one of the co-owners, Raymond Goodrich and the remaining co-owner sold Valhalla to the South Tahoe Valhalla Corporation.

The South Tahoe Valhalla Corporation proceeded to form a Yacht Club offering membership to interested
Photographed by Tatiana Zavala, October 10, 2024

2. Valhalla Grand Hall at the Heller Estate
parties. The andirons placed in the massive Valhalla fireplace were boat propellers and are still in use today. Not enough memberships were sold to cover expenses, so in 1971 Valhalla was sold to the Department of Agriculture, US Forest Service for $550,000. The USFS had obtained the Pope Estate in 1965 for $750,000, and following Dextra Baldwin Winter McGonagle’s death in 1967 had purchased the Baldwin-McGonagle Estate for $650,000.

For many years the three estates were used as dormitories for summer USFS workers and firefighters. The estates were closed for a period of years until they were opened up and restored with the support of Valhalla Tahoe (founded 1979) and the Tahoe Heritage Foundation (founded 1996). (Submitted on October 11, 2024.)

Photographed by Tatiana Zavala, October 13, 2024

3. Heller Estate "Valhalla"
Wayfinding sign along a nearby walking trail

Credits. This page was last revised on October 16, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2024, by Tatiana Zavala of Orange County, California. This page has been viewed 312 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 11, 2024, by Tatiana Zavala of Orange County, California. 3. submitted on October 16, 2024, by Tatiana Zavala of Orange County, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.