6 / Newell posts & covered wagon pioneer scene
To the direct right of front entrance, a set of stairs lead you to one of several ways to the Main Lobby. Recycled telephone poles from Portland enabled wood carvers to create newel posts for many of the stairways of the lodge. Here, a carved fawn leads you up to a wooded Oregon Pioneer scene, “Covered Wagon.” This three-piece relief carving by Valentine Weise and Melvin Keegan was inspired by Keegan’s great-grandmother’s pioneer stories. This stairwell also features newel posts of a carved fawn, pelican, and eagle. Decorated ends of the twisted hand-forged iron rails are pinecones.
At the top foyer of the stairs stands a great 1833-pound front door decorated with wrought-iron hardware and a deer head knocker. This door remains open during the summer months where you can see the south-facing Cascade volcano mountain range, particularly Mt Jefferson, Broken Top and the Three Sisters. President Roosevelt dedicated the historic lodge from the Observation Deck on September 28, 1937. Iron tables and chairs are set during summer months for you to enjoy the view with a beverage or snack. Side stone stairs lead you back down to the lodge parking lot.
More free-standing wrought-iron pedestals rest here on the floor across from an iron display case of the carefully hand forged iron hardware, signage and decor pieces.
Carved wooden Newel Posts of Fawn, Eagle and Pelican by WPA carvers, 1936-37
Newel post plaster molds created by Florence Thomas, 1936-37
Wood relief carving, Covered Wagon, by Valentine Weise and Melvin Keegan, 1936-37
Hand forged iron handrails by Daryl Nelson and Russell Maugans, 1989
LOCATION: FRONT ENTRANCE STAIRWELL (RIGHT) GROUND FLOOR TO MAIN LOBBY
WOOD - IRON