In the beginning, The Arrowhead Lake Company,
a Los Angeles syndicate, bought Little Bear Lake (the original
name of the area) and surrounding land (approximately 4,800
acres) in 1920, and changed the name to Lake Arrowhead,
(taking the name from the rock formation in the form of
an Arrowhead on the face of the San Bernardino Mountain,
near Arrowhead Hot Springs, which is rooted in Indian legend
and found at the bottom of Highway 18).
The
Arrowhead Lake Company's plan was to develop the
mile high man-made lake into an exceptional recreational
and residential area. Between 1921 and 1923, the
original Lake Arrowhead Village, built in the Norman
style, was erected and included a dance pavilion,
an outdoor movie theatre, restaurant, beach and bath
houses. Three hotels were also built -- Arlington
Lodge, Village Inn, and North Shore Tavern. Over
$8 million was spent developing Lake Arrowhead, a
private lake, into the most upscale resort in the
Southern California mountains. The Village held its
official opening on June 24, 1922. |
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The
promotion for Lake Arrowhead Village was done via postcards,
newspaper and magazine advertising. Artists
were encouraged
to paint Lake Arrowhead Village and the surrounding
area. Many of the paintings were turned into postcards
to help
advertise Lake Arrowhead Village. This promotion made
the Village an immediate success and the promotion
of the new “High
Gear Road” made Lake Arrowhead a popular tourist
destination.
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Some
of the lakeside land was subdivided and sold
for private homes and secluded north shore
estates. Many Hollywood stars stayed at the
hotels during the 20’s, 30’s
and 40’s, and some purchased homes
in the resort. The studios frequently used
the area for locations for major motion pictures.
During
the war years, Lake Arrowhead Village was
a popular rest and recuperation area for
service
men. Because of gas rationing, tourists
became scarce. Throughout the next few decades
Lake
Arrowhead Village continued being a wonderful
tourist attraction as well as the “downtown” of
the mountain communities. |
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