{"nrhp_refnum":"87000497","name":"Heller Estate","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"NW of US 50 and CA 89 jct. on N side of CA 89","address_restricted":false,"city":"South Lake Tahoe","county":"El Dorado County","state":"CA","lat":38.93013482750004,"lon":-120.04298286631615,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Economics","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A lakeside estate known as \"Valhalla\" on the north side of California State Route 89 near South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California, built in the 1920s. It includes a Main House (1924), a Boathouse and the Twin Cabins (1923), on about 8.79 acres.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the estate has architectural and historic significance. The 1924 house combines shingle style, colonial revival and rustic elements outside with a dramatic Nordic-themed great hall and stone fireplace inside. The estate also forms part of an enclave of estates linked to early, wealthy California families, including the Tevis, Pope and Baldwin families.","narrative":"Valhalla, the Heller Estate, is a group of 1920s buildings on the shore of Lake Tahoe near South Lake Tahoe. The main house, built in 1924 for San Francisco financier Walter Heller, is a large shingled structure with a gambrel roof and a wide porch edged with bark-covered log railings. Outside, it echoes the refined style of the neighboring Pope Estate. Inside, a single great hall rises under a beamed ceiling with stenciled Scandinavian patterns and a massive two-story stone fireplace, built by a Scandinavian engineer and mason using pulleys and tackle to lift the stones. The Twin Cabins of 1923 and a gambrel-roofed boathouse complete the surviving core. The estate was listed for its architecture, especially the powerful interior, and for its place among adjoining estates tied to early wealthy California families such as the Tevis, Pope and Baldwin families.","period_of_significance":"1900-1920s","architect_builder":"Rankin (?) - the designer is reputed to have been an architect named Rankin; the fireplace was designed and built by a Scandinavian engineer/mason","architectural_style":"Shingle style and colonial revival with rustic elements; Nordic-themed interior","criteria":[],"status_note":"Main House condition described as generally good; Boathouse and Twin Cabins in fair condition, with some deterioration of the cabins' sills, piers, lower walls and porch. The form's status boxes mark the property as unoccupied.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:27.967391-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/87000497.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858615","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":null},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/el-dorado-county/heller-estate-87000497/"}