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In 1995 and 1996 the group undertook the reconstruction of the Pavilion and Picnic Shelter on Inspiration Point. These structures are historically accurate in their form and construction. They were dedicated in a special ceremony in November of 1996. The Forest Service has said that the Pavilion is the largest structure in any National Forest to have been completely built by volunteer labor.

Below is a photo taken in the 1920's.    At bottom see photos of wind damage in 1997.

To the left above you see tracks leading off to the east.  This was the "One Man and a Mule Railway" with Herbert the mule as the engine that ran the railway.  Below are very rare photos of Herbert as he is pushing his trolley ahead of him (which was the way it was always done).   These tracks lead patrons down about 1 mile into other "non-charted" areas of the mountain which were in the wild.  It would probably be considered an "E" ticket ride at Disneyland.  Lowe had nothing to do with this enterprise, and any money collected was kept by the keeper.

For years, after wind and fire, all that remained of the Pavilion was the basic rock foundation.  It was our purpose to re-create the original structure per drawings we had made up from old photos supplied by Robert Wilde.  The above photo was taken in  1976.  It would be 20 years later that we undertook the project.

Notice the hill behind the Pavilion compared to the 1st photo above from 1920.  There had been a large fire in the Angeles Forest in 1994, and much of the chaparral, trees and underbrush were in a re-growth stage when these photos were taken in 1996.

Lee's Landcruiser winch trying to pull out buried ruins.    (From the Robert Wilde collection)

Brian Marcroft hiking up Castle Canyon Trail with view of Pavillion behind him.