Cal-Neva Resort may replace famous Tahoe cabins

CRYSTAL BAY - Forty years have passed since Frank Sinatra owned the Cal-Neva Resort on Lake Tahoe's north shore. But in a way, Ol' Blue Eyes and his buddies have never left the building.

The ghost of Sammy Davis Jr. is said to have begged visitors for a little peace and quiet. And Marilyn Monroe's spirit has spooked guests inside the bungalow where she reportedly had tried to kill herself.

But if this ghostly gang hopes to rest in peace, wait till they hear what the current owner has in store.

As part of a plan to build time-share units on the site, developer Chuck Bluth wants to relocate the two cabins used by Monroe and Sinatra, then tear down the three other lake-view chalets where Rat Packers once slept and assorted swingers once swung.

Fans worldwide think the idea, as Sinatra would say, is coo-coo.

"These cabins are part of a very rich history," said Amy Condit of the 1,400-member Immortal Marilyn Fan Club. "To get rid of them is a crime. Somebody like J.Lo will be forgotten in 10 years, but Frank and Marilyn are American icons."

Not only is Cal-Neva supposedly haunted, with guests reportedly seeing celebrity ghosts splashing around the swimming pool, it's also hip-high in legends, from gangster tales to unsubstantiated rumors of on-site trysts between Monroe and John F. Kennedy.

And therein lies the irony: After cashing in for years on that history, Bluth now plans to mess with the very cabins where much of the shenanigans took place. Critics worry he's about to destroy a pop-culture shrine and have launched a letter-writing campaign.

"Mr. Bluth has capitalized for so long off Cal-Neva's history, and now the dollar signs have blinded him," said Margaret Baker, a college student from Gilroy.

She first got wind of the time-share plan when she took a tour of the secret tunnel Sinatra built to usher him and his guests from the performer's showroom back to their cabins without wading through the hoi polloi.

Bluth says he will preserve as much of the resort's history as possible. But he's moving forward with plans to add 54 time shares to his property straddling the California-Nevada line - along with a 20,000-square-foot spa, a new restaurant and a 2,500-square-foot wedding chapel.

"History makes a place," said Bluth, a former Southern California developer who uses the resort's rich lore as a PR tool, from pushing "Lakeview Celebrity Cabins" (from $89 a night) to throwing Sinatra-themed dinners (veal parmigiana for $21.95, including wine.

"We're turning two of the cabins into museum pieces," he said. "Moving them won't compromise their integrity."

Bluth points out that the five cabins, modest accommodations with drop-dead views of the lake, have been refurbished over the years and bear little resemblance to the digs once favored by some of America's most playful pop stars. He says the chalets were falling apart when he purchased the property 20 years ago and were gutted.

The opposition got fired up by an unlikely champion. Baker is a psychology major at Foothill College.

She's not even a huge Marilyn or Frank fan. But with concerns that the time shares would be an "eyesore" beside the lake, she snapped into action.

Baker contacted historians and environmental groups. She sent a letter to the local paper and squealed to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, where Bluth's application is under review. She set off e-mail alarms with fan clubs for Sinatra, Monroe, Dean Martin and Ava Gardner. She even raised a red flag at the Web site for Hoboken, N.J., Sinatra's hometown.

The fans piled on. In a letter to Cal-Neva, Condit's group pleaded to keep the cabins where they were, suggesting there was more consumer appeal to staying where the blond bombshell once slept, "as opposed to staying in history-free new timeshares."

Cal-Neva seemed blindsided. At first, Baker said, she was told by the hotel that all the cabins would be torn down. Next, a resort publicist said nothing had been set in stone. Then in an interview, Bluth announced he would tear down just three cabins, but save and relocate two as "museum pieces."

Finally, in a July 14 letter to the Mercury News, Bluth suggested the Monroe cabin may not have as much historical significance as some suspect. "We have no idea," he wrote, "how many times Marilyn Monroe may have stayed at the Cal-Neva Resort."

At the same time, the hotel's Web site boasted that "Monroe was a frequent guest at the Cal-Neva Lodge during Frank Sinatra's ownership from 1960 to 1963" and that "Miss Monroe occupied a chalet which had the best view of the Lake. Sinatra reserved a special chalet for Marilyn to use at any time."

It could be a while before any cabins get splintered, said Julie Regan, spokeswoman for the planning agency. Part of the review process requires input from preservation groups, which have indicated an interest in exploring the cabins' historical pedigree.