all major projects are funded by individuals, corporate donors and foundation grants   

AMPHITHEATER

Amphitheater Restoration Project (1999-2006) is a testimony to the importance of project timing, the chemistry of people that like to make things happen, and a little magic on the side.

Positioned for a direct view south towards Mount Jefferson, long wooden benches arranged in dramatic fashion accommodate 200 people for outdoor concerts and alpine weddings yet provide a quiet spot for individual relaxation and reflection. 

The $187,000 restoration project began with a gift from Sylvia Owens in the name of her late husband Don Owens, whose father was a stone mason at the Lodge. From there as a result of fortuitous conversations, years of countless design meetings and spirited fundraising efforts, actual reconstruction took but three months. A labor of love for all.   

NATURALISTIC POOLS

Naturalistic Pools Restoration Project (2016-2021)

An original (1938) landscape element is now back to operational status. Six years of volunteer work and $175,000 later (all private donations) the Pools appear once more like they did for so many years. 

Like three round river rocks stacked on top of each other, the smallest pool is located at a slightly higher elevation which drains into the lower two. When filled and flowing the largest pool reflects the image of Mt. Hood clearly on the surface.  

 

WINTER ENTRANCE

Winter Entrance Competition (2003-2004) sought to find a modern replacement for the time tested “Quonset Hut” utilitarian look of the 1950s. An intense international design competition with public viewing of the top entries yielded a seemingly timeless choice, one that is almost perfect in its simplicity.

Resembling a new fallen snow drift, or perhaps an inhabited snow cave or igloo, especially when lit at night, a suggestion of intrigue and wonder makes for conversation.   
Winter Entrance Project Fundraising and Construction (2004 - 2009) 

Serious fundraising and grant writing plus corporate and individual donor appeals ($636,425 in donations and $154,988 in-kind) paved the way for activity. Necessary reconstruction of the Lodge front steps and landing (to make a solid foundation) proved to be more work than first thought. 

Designed to withstand snow loads of 720 pounds per square foot, this elegant and seemingly weightless structure inspired a coalition of carefully selected contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to install the finished product by October 2009. 

2009 FOT President and Volunteer of the Year Joachim Grube's unwavering commitment made the Winter Entrance project a reality.   

LIGHT UP THE ART

Light Up The Art Project (2012-2016)

Following the success of the Light Up The Lodge Project (2010), the first LUTA phase brought an awakening to numerous Works Progress Administration (WPA) paintings and carvings which had been hidden for decades in the relative darkness of the Lodge interior.

By the end of the project, FOT raised $535,000 to accomplish the task of providing adequate and energy efficient lighting for these pieces that had been long overdue.
  
Once referred to as "an art gallery masquerading as a hotel, eminently worthy of thoughtful, careful stewardship," today's Lodge visitors can once again linger, look and wonder.