Built as a recreational property in the rustic architectural style, the West Bay Club is an example of the work of St. Paul, Minnesota master architects Charles Buechner and Henry Orth. Their prolific architectural firm designed over 100 private residences, commercial buildings, and public buildings in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, and Montana, including courthouses, theaters, a bank, and a children’s hospital.

The West Bay Club appears to be the firm’s only commission for a rustic-style “hunting lodge.” Buechner and Orth not only designed the Club, but were two of the original six partners in the venture, with Buechner’s brother Louis serving as construction supervisor and lodge caretaker. The Club became the summer getaway for the architects, their business partners, and their families.

The West Bay Club is also locally significant for its association with two important trends in outdoor recreation in Wisconsin: the movement of the middle class into the ownership of recreational property, and the emergence of shared ownership of recreational property by creating private clubs and ownership associations. The West Bay Club retains unusually high levels of integrity and is little changed from when it was built over 100 years ago. Rare for a waterfront property, its lakeshore setting is still secluded and its view-shed largely unchanged. Its location in a national park unit offers opportunities for long-term preservation and public understanding of this property.