LUTSEN, Minn — There are many reasons people loved the historic Lutsen Lodge.
"All full-size logs, as you see," said former owner Scott Harrison, while giving a tour in 2010. "So, it feels like you are in the woods, but you look out that front door and you have nothing but Lake Superior on 180 degrees of vision."
Harrison saw the same beauty that Lutsen founder C.A.A. Nelson saw in the North Shore when he immigrated from Sweden.
"He fell in love with this place. It reminded him of Sweden — the same climate — and the birch trees and the pine trees and all that," said Nelson's grandson, George, in 2010.
Nelson built his home in 1885 and began renting rooms.
The tradition continued through generations of the Nelson family, as they expanded and developed other parts of the area, adding the popular gondola and a ski resort — fitting because Olympic skier Cindy Nelson was part of the family
But the Lodge was the historic center of it all, even when ownership changed hands in 1988.
"It was a point of significant value for us to preserve that history and tradition," Harrison said.
Scott Harrison and Nancy Burns continued the tradition, preserving and remodeling the lodge.
"It's been expensive. This is a big lodge and an old lodge, and it takes a lot of capital to reinvest in this place to keep it the way it was, or hopefully, enhance it over time," Harrison said in 2010.
The resort changed hands again with new renovations done by the new owners — before the entire lodge burned down in a fire early Tuesday morning.
"Losing an iconic destination, it's completely devastating," said Linda Jurek, executive director of Visit Cook County.
Jurek said that for people growing up in the area, working at the Lutsen resort was a rite of passage.
"I think everybody did some kind of work there, or did some kind of friendship with workers there," Jurek said. "It's just a great place to come, particularly when it's hot and humid in the Twin Cities."
Tourists often share similar memories of family vacations and honeymoons. Melissa Vogt writing, "My husband and I went there for our honeymoon in 2008... I do hope they rebuild so we can stay there again in 2028 for our 20th."
Jurek is confident this week's fire does not mark the end of the story for the Lutsen Lodge.
"They are already talking about what they will do to replace the resort," Jurek said.
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