By RHEA-FRANCES TETLEY
Staff Writer
This New Year’s Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31, will be the first chance to celebrate both the incoming of the year 2024 plus the centennial anniversary of the Tudor House in Arrowhead Villas.
“The New Year’s Eve party and centennial celebration will be a two-part party,” said John Conner, owner of Tudorville which includes the Tudor House, the Bracken Fern Manor and the other buildings in the complex.
Conner added that, from 7 to 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, the Speakeasy Jazz Band featuring Shannon Bizzy will be playing 1920s swing music and great jazz era songs. “We are encouraging everyone to come dressed in 1920s Prohibition-style clothing and join in the dancing and the other fun, all for only $85. There will be free hors d’oeuvres, and they can stay until after midnight, when there will be a free champagne toast to welcome the new year.”
From 10 p.m. until midnight, said Conner, there will be a DJ playing more modern dance music with a $45 entry fee for those who come at 10 and stay through the New Year countdown.
All evening long, on the big screen, will be telecasts of New Year being welcomed in at major cities around the world, and nationally in New York, Chicago, Dallas and other fireworks celebration shows welcoming 2024.
The exterior of the Tudor House has retained its basic appearance over the past 100 years.
It wasn’t always called the Tudor House, but the building has a 100-year-long history with many famous and colorful names connected to the building.
The Tudor House gained its current name from its English design from the era of King Henry the VIII. The building itself, with its beautiful, vaulted arch ceilings with carved wooden supports, makes it an eye catcher. It was constructed in 1924 as a clubhouse and community center for the 160-acre, 1,500-lot Arrowhead Villas private resort development. It was then called “Club Arrowhead in the Pines,” when noted architect William H. Kraemer designed it. The contractor was W.F. Nelson.
The main room of Club Arrowhead is 70 feet by 30 feet, with massive archway construction. It had beveled panes of glass that refracted the shining sunlight across the room, creating rainbows on the walls. The room had excellent acoustics and a massive 16-foot-wide stone fireplace constructed from 70 tons of native stone. It is said to have cost two to three million dollars to build this three-level clubhouse.
The Club Arrowhead in the Pines Resort, as it was called, was described in a promotional brochure: “Situated in the heart of the 160 acres of the attractive Arrowhead Villas, the community center will naturally be the center of all things, and through the far sightedness of the Atkins Realty Company in maintaining a high standard in building design and construction, blending with the natural beauty of the property, it will always be a permanent attraction and asset to every property owner.”
The community center complex had a well-shaded cement tennis court, a bath house with lockers, dressing rooms and shower. Fleming Creek provided the pure mountain water for the swimming pool; it was filtered and warmed before entering the oval-shaped, cement pool. There were stables with excellent riding horses, tennis courts and a nearby ski lift. “There was a children’s play yard and a perfect grass, sod putting green,” the brochure stated, making the development sound very enticing.
But it was during the first five years, during the prohibition years, that the whispering says that a young Benjamin Siegelbaum from Brownsville in Brooklyn, N.Y. (aka Bugsy Siegel) was operating a gambling room and speakeasy for the mob, in the basement of Club Arrowhead in the Pines.
Bugsy was not the typical looking mobster; he was 5’10” with what was considered movie star looks, blue eyes and black wavy hair. Whether the gangster stories of Bugsy Siegel and his conflicts with Mickey Cohen at Club Arrowhead are true or not is still a matter of speculation, as are the questions of the hauntings and other happenings at the Bracken Fern Manor, across the street from the Tudor House.
However, other aspects, not well understood at the time, are known about this development. The Atkins Realty Company of Los Angeles had developed a “new idea” in investment/vacation properties in the late 1920s. Some people at the time considered it a swindle. It is now known as time sharing.
The Atkins Company “would sell their client a lot and, upon payment, they would finance, build and furnish a unique Mountain Villa, which could be used by the owner whenever desired and, when not in use by the owner, could be offered for rental to other vacationists desiring such accommodations close to Lake Arrowhead.” These Villas homes had electric lights, water and “a lavatory and bath inside the house.” During the later 1920s, only members of the private club could use the clubhouse and facilities.
Then the Depression hit and, it is said, this is when Bugsy Siegal and his mobster friends were frequent visitors. They offered a price to purchase the Club and, of course, who would dare to refuse to sell to him?
The card room with its gaming machines was located in the basement, away from prying eyes, but it was a popular activity at the Club. In case of a raid by the constable, all illegal items could be quickly hidden behind false walls. It is said many Hollywood stars visited the plush resort during the Prohibition years, which lasted until 1933.
After the 30s and the war years, the subdivision continued to flourish and the Tudor House became a restaurant, and for a while was a private home. It is a visible reminder of the glory days of the Arrowhead Villas and mountain communities.
There are many exciting stories that John Conner may tell on New Year’s Eve of the 100 years of the Tudor House and the colorful stories of people and events that have happened there over the decades.
Come join the 100-year anniversary celebration at the Tudor House this New Year’s Eve; RSVP at www.TudorHouseEntertainment.com.
On New Year’s Day, Monday Jan. 1, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Tudor House will be hosting a huge open house showing the parades and football games on the big screen and house music all day for free. “Come on by and enjoy our New Year’s Day open house and party,” said Connor. There will be charcuterie boards, desserts, light hors d’oeuvres and Bugsy’s Bar will be open for your holiday drinks.
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