Grand View Lodge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Grand View Lodge
|
|
Grand View Lodge's main building from the southeast
|
|
 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 23521 Nokomis Avenue, Nisswa, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Area | 16.26 acres (6.58 ha) |
| Built | 1916, 1921 |
| Architectural style | Rustic |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002034 |
| Designated | May 23, 1980 |
The Grand View Lodge is a popular resort located on Gull Lake in Nisswa, Minnesota. It first opened in 1916. Over the years, it has grown a lot! Now, it has seven restaurants, a spa where you can relax, two golf courses, a big meeting center, and over 200 cabins for guests to stay in.
Two of the buildings at the Grand View Lodge were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This means they are important because of their unique rustic log style and because the older building was one of the first resorts in that area of Minnesota.
Contents
History of Grand View Lodge
The land where Grand View Lodge now stands was first settled in 1896 by the Bergh family. They were immigrants from Denmark. However, they didn't do very well and sold the land in 1908.
By 1915, new owners had turned the old Bergh family log cabin into a small fishing lodge. The next year, in 1916, a real estate developer from Minneapolis named Marvin V. Baker bought the property. He started selling parts of the land as individual lots along the lake.
Baker let people who were thinking of buying land stay in the existing lodge. This lodge became so popular that he decided to build a brand new, bigger place for guests.
Building the Main Lodge
The building that became the Main Lodge was built using red pines that were cut right there on the property. Gull Lake's water level used to change a lot because it wasn't dammed yet. So, the lodge was built far enough away from the lake to be safe.
The Main Lodge opened in June 1921. It had guest rooms, a restaurant, a lobby, and a large ballroom on the second floor. In 1928, the second floor was changed to have more guest rooms. The event space was moved to the new basement. Baker also added two new guest cabins every year.
New Owners and Growth
Then came the Great Depression, which made it hard for businesses to make money. In 1937, Baker sold the resort to Reynolds Frederick Brownlee "Brownie" Cote and his wife Judy. They already owned two camps for children on nearby Lake Hubert. They wanted a place where the parents of their camp guests could stay.
The Cotes worked hard and made Grand View a very successful resort. They even opened another resort in Arizona. This gave them and their employees a warm place to stay and work in the winter.
Modern Additions
Grand View Lodge opened its first full-size golf course in 1960. Two years later, in 1962, the Cotes bought out all the remaining cabin owners and other investors. This made Grand View Lodge fully part of their family business.
In the 1970s, the resort became famous across the country for its tennis courts. Many new buildings and features were added over the years:
- The Norway Conference Center was built in 1984.
- The Pines Golf Course opened in 1990.
- The Preserve Golf Course opened in 1996.
- The Glacial Waters Spa opened in 2002.
- The Gull Lake Center opened in 2009.
The Grand View Lodge also hosted the Minnesota Governor's Fishing Opener in 1976 and again in 2014. This is a big event where the state's governor officially starts the fishing season.
Main Lodge Building
The Main Lodge building sits on a small hill about 400 feet (120 meters) from the lake. It's a rectangular building with three stories. Some newer parts have been added to the west side.
The main entrances are in the middle of the north and south sides. They are under large gables, which are the triangular parts of a roof. The walls are mostly made of logs placed horizontally. Some areas have logs placed vertically. The third floor has lap siding, which is made of overlapping wooden boards.
The wood is painted brown. The trim around the windows and doors, and the ends of the beams that stick out, are painted white. There are also log balconies that stick out from the third floor.
See also
