Rebuilding Harbin with patience, love and dedication.

September 9, 2023

Below is a collection of photos showing some of the milestones we’ve made over the past eight years since September 12, 2015, when the Valley Fire destroyed 95% of Harbin’s structures. It’s difficult to show in photos the intensive cleanup and repairs made to Harbin’s infrastructure, roads, bridges, water lines, electrical and phone lines that were priorities in the early years after the fire. Pictures hardly express the dedicated expertise of so many highly skilled engineers, architects, construction teams, and artisans who are making Harbin’s rebuilding possible.

Historic hotel buildings, cabins, the Stonefront Building (which included a restaurant, market, cafe and library), and the Harbin Temple are simply not replaceable. But the opportunity to bring more sustainable construction to all of Harbin is a positive silver lining as we replace our guest facilities. Working with Sonoma based architectural firm Lars Langberg Architects assures that we can approach our rebuilding in alignment with our commitment to stewardship of the land and water.

Temporary buildings, trailers and food carts currently provide humble basic amenities for our guests while larger permanent structures are under construction, or in planning stages for the future. Looking ahead, we are excited to begin building the new Harbin Restaurant and two Mainside Hotel Buildings. These projects will be our focus for 2024.

While these photos are just a small selection of what’s occurred over the last eight years, you can see many of the milestones made. And as artisans continue to bring beauty to the land in the form of handcrafted Altars and delights like the Gazebo, one feels a sense of charm and magic that is the uniqueness so many love at Harbin, even amongst the day to day construction. Great care has been taken to restore beloved creations from the past whenever possible, to be given a second life. Harbin’s regrowth continues to be a work in process, like a garden, requiring much love, patience and dedication.

Our gratitude for the patience and support of our beloved members and guests is immeasurable during this period of Harbin’s regrowth. Thank you!