lora josephine knight

Vikingsholm is administered by the California Park System. Lindbergh approached the Knights about helping fund his effort to be the first to fly nonstop across the Atlantic at a St. Louis airfield where Harry, an aspiring aviator, was taking flying lessons. Despite the expense and effort, the tea house was rarely used, even though Lora spent all her summers at Vikingsholm until her death in 1945. It was the first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory in the world and for nearly 10 years its telescope was the largest ever built. Before starting construction of the summer home late that year, Mrs. Knight and her architect traveled to Scandinavia to gather ideas for the construction of the house. James Lick, a Pennsylvania Dutchman, first struck it rich in the California Gold Rush and then parlayed his luck into a fortune by investing in San Franciscos booming real estate market. In later years, Charles Lindbergh frequently visited Lora Knight at her Santa Barbara estate and the Vikingsholm castle as well. Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news. Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. Her parents were good friends with Knight, and Smith spent 14 summers visiting Vikingsholm as a child. -- Tahoe's Hidden Castle. Nearly all of the materials were sourced on site or nearby. Historic Vikingsholm Castle offers one of the most spectacular views of Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay - one of the most photographed bays in the world. The bridge was not the only major . Astronomers suggested that a high-altitude mountain location above atmospheric dust and away from city light would be the best location. Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s). Shes recalled some of those memories in a booklet and, more recently, as a park ranger. She married James Hobart Moore, who she met while he worked with her father in his law practice, and who along with his brother became rich by gaining controlling interests in a large number of companies such as the Diamond Match Company, U.S. Steel, Union Pacific, and Nabisco. Knight had already spent 16 summers in Tahoe before she built Vikingsholm. During the 1920s, Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight had Vikingsholm built, as well as the Tea House on Fannette Island. [4][10], "The legacy of Lora Knight and why Vikingsholm is one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in North America", "The mysterious castle in Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay", "The History of Lora Knight and Her Vikingsholm", "Vikingsholm: A Brief History (Nordic Castle at Emerald Bay)", "The mysteries and stories of the Harry F. Knight House", "LORA J. KNIGHT; Former Wife of Stock Broker, Financed Lindbergh Flight", "GETS DIVORCE IN RENO COURT California Digital Newspaper Collection", "Clipping from Reno Gazette-Journal - Newspapers.com", "Historic Vikingsholm at Emerald Bay always in need of attention, support", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lora_Josephine_Knight&oldid=1101022867, This page was last edited on 28 July 2022, at 22:31. There was a problem getting your location. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. You can always change this later in your Account settings. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a6c48a6eb8c72e2209552e8955337afe" );document.getElementById("a260d01730").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Hi, Im Greg and I can help you to have your piece of the Tahoe Lifestyle, sitemap admin 2023 All Rights Reserved Real Estate Website Design by IDXCentral.com. Their Wisconsin chateau boasted 27 rooms, a wine cellar and a two-lane bowling alley. Subscribe and Download now! Lora and her sister Ada married two brothers, William and James Moore, who worked as partners in their fathers law firm. She built a castle on the island and served tea to her visitors. Lora Josephine Knights legacy is enshrined in the magnificent Scandinavian castle Vikingsholm that she had built at Emerald Bay in 1929, but her first property at Tahoe was actually located at Chinquapin, a sheltered cove just east of Dollar Point in Carnelian Bay. They visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden as they inspected buildings dating back 1,000 years. Nathan was an avid golfer and a participating member of the American Olympic team that won the gold medal at the 1904 Summer Games in Missouri. Look to the western shore of Emerald Bay and admire the grand 38-room mansion, which is considered one of the best examples of Scandinavian architecture in the country. This is a carousel. For 32 years, the Armstrong family had spent long, golden summers along the shores of Emerald Bay. Read More. Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA. We will review the memorials and decide if they should be merged. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Please enter your email and password to sign in. The items she couldnt import she had replicated. He had planned to make the area into a development for Hollywood elite, but the plan never materialized and he sold the property to Harvey West. One newspaper article, published in the Reno Gazette Journal, said Nathaniel was lavish with money. He once invited a few friends to Broadway and hosted a $20,000 dinner. She commissioned her nephew by marriage, Lennart Palme, a Swedish architect, to design the house. Apparently, she chose the Scandinavian motif because she had admired Palmes own Scandinavian-designed home in New York. [5] As president of the St. Louis Flying Club, Harry Knight knew Charles Lindbergh, and the Knights were major financial backers of Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight from New York to Paris in the Spirit of Saint Louis. Currently it is used as a hiking trail by those wishing to visit this remarkable castle. Drugs were suspected. Summer days at Vikingsholm were relaxed, with a bit of structure. Today, the historic estate feels almost as much a part of Emerald Bay as Eagle Falls, Fanette Island or the centuries-old trees. Today, Lora Knights Viking castle is considered perhaps the finest example of Scandinavian architecture in North America. Inspired by Scandinavian architecture and 11th century Nordic churches and castles, widowed heiress Lora Josephine Knight built Vikingsholm in 1929. Lora had a life-long reputation for her generous hospitality, philanthropy and numerous financial contributions to youth groups in California and Nevada. Flickr photos, groups, and tags related to the "lorajosephineknight" Flickr tag. Add to your scrapbook. Apparently, she chose the Scandinavian motif because she had admired Palmes own Scandinavian-designed home in New York. Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Unfortunately, they were not happy together and divorced after just a couple of years. A system error has occurred. In 1884, Lora gave birth to their only child, a son Nathaniel, who later married Helen Fargo, heiress to the Wells Fargo banking dynasty founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. Their Wisconsin chateau boasted 27 rooms, a wine cellar and a two-lane bowling alley. The trailhead to the late Lora Josephine Knight's '20s-era holiday home looks deceptively summery, but remnants of one of the region's longest winters-it snowed on June 6- has all but eliminated typical mid-June activities. During the summer months she would take guests to the island for high tea. Today, Vikingsholm welcomes tourists from across the planet. The Moore brothers had a controlling interest in a handful of large corporations, including United States Steel, Union Pacific, Rock Island Railroad and National Biscuit, or Nabisco. Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters. They visited Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden drawing inspiration for centuries old buildings and castles.. Construction of Vikingsholm began in the fall of 1928. This teahouse was used by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight, who also owned the famous Vikingsholm mansion. In early 1916 they bought a home near Santa Barbara hoping that the mild Mediterranean climate might improve his condition, but he died on July 20, 1916, leaving Lora an estate worth $15 million. Search for: Browse by Date Your email address will not be published. Pieces of wood resembling spikes adorn the gutters in a nod to the Scandinavian custom people used to ward off evil spirits. In the early 1920s, Lora Small Moore married Harry French Knight, a stockbroker from St. Louis. Impressed by her architect nephew Lennart Palme's Nordic-inspired home in New York, Mrs. Knight travelled to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and . She spent 15 summers at the mansion before passing away peacefully in her home in 1945 (and leaving a thousand dollars for each of her employees for every year they worked for her). I've heard stories about the wealthy woman who built the teahouse on the island. She also exhibited baskets made by the famous Washoe weaver Dat-So-La-Lee. Her father Edward A. Many communities were interested in Licks $2 million estate and several protested the Tahoe location insisting that they were better suited for an observatory than the snowbound lake. Timber was hand-hewn, though Mrs. Knight specifically demanded that the footprint of her house be built around the old-growth trees on the property. Lora was the only heir to his estate, which was rumored at the time to be worth as much as $100 million (though Lora told the San Francisco Chronicle in 1921 that it was "nearer one-tenth that sum"). The email does not appear to be a valid email address. They also spent time at their luxury homes in Illinois and Wisconsin. The house is available for guided tours . During construction of the main house Lora turned her attention to Fannette Island in the middle of Emerald Bay. Lick leaned toward Von Schmidts recommendation, but the dying benefactor designated a committee to make the final decision. The estate is also considered to be one of the best examples of Scandinavian architecture on the continent. Knight, a prominent philanthropist and backer of Charles Lindbergh's historic 1927 transatlantic flight, was inspired by her frequent European travels . Which memorial do you think is a duplicate of Lora Knight (110560461)? The sibling entrepreneurs eventually amassed quite a fortune with controlling interest in a number of large American corporations such as the Diamond Match Company, U.S. Steel and National Biscuit (Nabisco), the maker of Oreo cookies. 11 of 25 11. In 1884, Lora gave birth to their only child, a son Nathaniel, who later married Helen Fargo, heiress to the Wells Fargo banking dynasty founded in San Francisco during the Gold Rush. It was the first permanently occupied mountaintop observatory in the world and for nearly 10 years its telescope was the largest ever built. Many people assume that Mrs. Knight was of Scandinavian origin because of her decision to build Vikingsholm but she was actually of English decent. Life was good for the Moores, but after their purchase of the Tahoe property, James health began to fail. Lora then purchased about 240 acres of land at the head of Emerald Bay, as well as Fannette Island, from the William Henry Armstrong family for $250,000. EDITORS NOTE: This article was originally published in the Summer 2017 edition of Tahoe Magazine. She writes about Lake Tahoe and mountain communities throughout the West. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel. Required fields are marked *. It was there she decided to build a structure that would incorporate the atmosphere and design of an old Viking castle of stone construction. Emerald Bay reminded her of fjords she had seen on numerous travels to Scandinavia. Their Wisconsin chateau boasted 27 rooms, a wine cellar and a two-lane bowling alley. Small, was a corporate lawyer who accepted two . Lora and her husband, James, traveled extensively in California and to foreign countries. 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