20th Century Blog

Timberline Lodge is the showplace for the Works Progress Administration projects in Oregon. Its construction was financed with nearly a million dollars from the WPA and additional funding from the Federal Art Project for furnishings and art. Workers came primarily from the WPA, but some jobs—including excavation, road building, and laying the terraces—were performed by the younger men in the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The WPA workers lived at Summit Meadow and CCC workers came from Camp Zigzag. The construction was supervised by Lorenz Brothers. When Timberline Lodge Mt. Hood was first opened to the public, the main way up the mountain for skiers was a rope tow, and in 1939 an electric chairlift was installed. Although these additions to the Mt. Hood Timberline Ski Resort Oregon were popular, the lodge did not at first see widespread success, and in the 1950's Timberline Lodge Mt. Hood was all but falling apart. Richard Kohnstamm, whose family still operates the lodge and ski area, is credited with saving the resort from bankruptcy and bringing it to its current status as a successful ski resort. Timberline Lodge Oregon is now privately owned, rather than being a government owned property. The lodge has also made an appearance in a number of films, including, The Shining, Hear No Evil, Bend of the River, and All the young Men.