by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | History, Hollywood Connection
A Hollywood movie set at the old Pine Knot Lodge at Big Bear Lake in the 1920’s – Rick Keppler collection. In March of 1911, a film company from Hollywood, called the Essanay Company, arrived at the Pine Crest Resort near Lake Arrowhead. They unloaded...
by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | History, Hollywood Connection
Hollywood producer/director Cecil B. DeMille used Big Bear Lake as a film set for many years. He had a home on the lake, and was a familiar face in the Big Bear community. – Rick Keppler collection. Famous film director/producer Cecil B. DeMille was one of the...
by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | History, Hollywood Connection
The old Cedar Lake mill. – Rick Keppler collection A couple miles west of the Big Bear village, up in the hills off of USFS road 2N10, nestled in the woods, is a small manmade lake. This lake is the home of the Cedar Lake Christian Camp that provides lodging and...
by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | Historical Photo Albums, History
Unlike most of the other early Big Bear resorts that were being built in the 1920’s, the Pan Hot Springs Hotel and the Peter Pan Woodland Club were unique in that they were located at the east end of Bear Valley, away from the lake. The Pan Hot Springs Hotel...
by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | Historical Photo Albums, History
In 1909, the Bear Valley Mutual Water Company accepted John Eastwood’s design for a new dam at Big Bear Lake to replace the original rock dam that had been built in 1885. Eastwood’s unique design called for an all concrete structure without any rock or...
by Kathy Hoffman | Mar 22, 2019 | Historical Photo Albums, History
THE BEAR VALLEY HOTEL – 1888 In 1888, just four years after the rock dam was built that created Big Bear Lake, two local Big Bear ranchers, Gus Knight Jr. and John Metcalf built Big Bear’s first resort hotel. Big Bear village didn’t exist yet, and the only...
