Scott Schrantz's Blog

New Building: Alfred Chartz House

From No Safe Place: Ten Things That Are Better In Carson City. Not a list of why Carson is better than other cities, but a list of why Carson is better now than it was 15 or 20 years ago, and the many benefits that the city's growth has brought us. Sure there are more people in town, but having more people leads to improvements like a better hospital, better college, and better shopping selection. It's all part of the transformation from a small town to a real city, and it's happening as we speak.

New Building: Dat So La Lee House

New Building: Abe Cohn House

The Nevada Appeal today has a shockingly content-free article about the Ormsby House on the front page. The only real point to the article seems to be that work has stopped, and there are a couple of interviews that confirm that, yes, indeed, work has stopped. But the one big thing that goes unanswered is, "Why?" No reason is given for the work stoppage, which is kind of strange, even for the Ormsby House. In the past when they've given interviews they've always be careful to place blame on the city, or the permitting process, or some kind of surprise they found when they opened up a wall. But this time there's not a word about what's holding them up, just a vague "waiting for drawings" and "waiting for materials". Both of which wouldn't hold up any normal construction job, because all of that stuff is usually arranged for months in advance of when it's needed. "We are working on it diligently," says the owner. I wonder what definition of diligent he is operating under.

Work is supposed to resume in "a few months", with 50-100 workers back on the job by then. The aforementioned drawings are given as a reason that they're not at work now, but there are things that need to be done that don't require drawings. Like finishing up the rockwork that was abandoned months ago, with shims still in place. But at least they have big plans for the summer. The contractor says that if they work really hard, nothing unforeseeable happens, and if we don't have an early winter, they can finish the parking lot this summer.

The Empire State Building was built in a little over a year. The Golden Gate Bridge took four, and Hoover Dam five years. The Ormsby House has been closed nearly six years now. That's longer than most TV shows run. There are children in kindergarten that were born after the OH closed. Thousands of people have moved to Carson since then, that don't even remember when the Ormsby House was open. We're starting to get to the point where we've run out of slack to give the owners. The delays were reasonable at first, but they've quickly progressed to ridiculous. Soon it's going to become a full-blown Greek tragedy. The Ormsby House has become a joke, just like anything else that long been promised but is constantly pushed back.

The Ormsby House has become the Windows Vista of Carson City.

New Restaurant: Thurman's Ranch House

Should Jack's Bar be saved? Find out in this article how the south wall is being held up by a guy wire, the rock structure is crumbling, and the whole thing would probably come down in an earthquake. But since the building dates back to 1899, should it be saved, or torn down and rebuilt?

Looks like I scooped the Nevada Appeal this time. About a month ago I wrote about the Fuji Park Cemetery, where two Civil War veterans were buried back when the land was still part of the Ormsby County Poor Farm. And I also did Then and Now #16 about the Poor Farm itself. Well, look at the front page of today's Appeal, and what do you see? One article about the Fuji Park cemetery, and another little sidebar about the Poor Farm. It even uses the photo I did a Then and Now of. Coincidence?

Of course, they one-upped me with an interview with the guy, Ron Mason, that takes care of the graves and makes sure they stay groomed and looking nice. He's the one responsible for the white rocks, the flowers, and the flagpole, all of which he added over the last 18 months. And, there is a plaque in the works to tell visitors who the two men are and why they're buried there, which is one of the things I thought was conspicuous in its absence from the site. It's good that we have people like Ron Mason around to take care of the little important things like this.

New Restaurant: Villa Basque Deli and Cafe

Tonight at 6:30 is the first of the concerts in Minden Park. The band tonight is the Rip Tides, a Bay Area combo that considers themselves "a retro 60s, frat-party band." Folks from all over the valley will be there with picnic baskets and lawn chairs to enjoy the music.

Other things happening in Carson this weekend are the Kit Carson Wild West Tour, and a steam-up at the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

I know Memorial Day is supposed to be the start of summer, but don't expect to be able to go up and enjoy the beaches at Lake Tahoe this weekend. A cold front is moving in that will drop temperatures at Lake level down to the mid 40s tomorrow, with thunderstorms, and by Monday the temps will only be back up in the 50s. But the grand opening celebrations for the newly-rebranded MontBleu Casino are continuing all weekend, culminating in a fireworks show Saturday at 9pm. So grab your winter coats out of the closet and head up there to see that.