Tag: downtownermotorinn

The Downtowner Motor Inn has had a rough few years. It was closed for a while to remove asbestos, they had their electricity shut off for not paying bills, they've been through bouts of tax evasion, foreclosure, a revolving door of new owners, along with a whole list of other problems and violations. Plus people like me calling for it to just be torn down and made into a park. Whoever owns it now must think the name is cursed, because the motel is no longer known as the Downtowner. It is now the "Back on Track Inn."

The name alludes to the V&T Railroad that used to run down Washington Street, just a few yards from the front door of the motel. And the old railroad depot which is still standing across the street. It could also refer to the fact that the owners want to fix the problems with the place and get it "back on track" to being a respectable lodging house.

But I doubt a name change is going to fix any of the problems. It's still ugly, it's still probably going to cater to long-term residents rather than tourists, and changing the name isn't going to repair the reputation. If the owners really want to get back on track and gain respect, this is just the first of many long steps to take.

Update: Kirk Caraway points out in the comments an article he wrote in the Nevada Appeal from June about the name change. I guess it just took them a while to make the signs. And I remember seeing that article, but I forgot about the name change as soon as I read that the new owner wanted to paint the motel fluorescent.

There was an article in Tuesday's paper (not available online) that outlines the latest developments in the saga of the Downtowner Motor Inn. James DiMartino, who bought the motel at auction February 10, finally was able to take ownership of the place after getting a court to evict the previous owner, Ralph Ahmad. Under Ahmad's ownership recently both electric service and trash pickup had been discontinued due to the failure to pay bills. The motel was also closed from 2005 to 2007 while asbestos and mold abatement was carried out, but apparently not much renovation went on during that time. The new owner says the place is in a shambles and needs new carpeting, new furniture, and new heating and AC.

The biggest news in the story is that now that the new owner has taken over, he's served an eviction notice to all the residents. The people living in the motel, pretty much all of which live there long-term, need to be out by April 18th. After that the motel will be closed, remodeled, and sold again. What happens after that is still to be seen. Who will buy it? What will they do? Will it reopen as long-term residences? Will it be torn down? Will it be fixed up and marketed to tourists? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

News Carson City is reporting (Nevada Appeal too) that the Downtowner Motor Inn, Public Eyesore #1, has been shuttered by the city for not paying its taxes, This is three months after new owners were supposed to take over, and a year after reopening from a two-year remodeling job to get rid of mold and asbestos. All residents are being kicked out, and the building and land will be sold at auction.

You know what this means: THIS IS OUR CHANCE. This is the best opportunity we've had to get this motel torn down and immediately improve the look and feel of downtown. If the city wasn't broke (or giving money away to car dealers) they could buy it as part of the "Roundhouse District" they're trying to get going. Or the Children's Museum could buy it with the Hampton Inn money. It would be nice to see that place as a park or a public plaza, so the Civic Auditorium behind it would no longer be hidden. Abandon Washington Street and have the old V&T Depot be part of the park too, like in some of the blue sky plans for the future we've seen. But really having anything else built on that corner would be preferable to what we have now. Maybe we could take up a collection and buy it ourselves. I'll chip in the first five bucks.

Crossposted from the WNHPC Blog.

With the recent news that the Downtowner Motor Inn in Carson City may have new owners soon, Joe Childs was good enough to send in a scan of another old postcard of the motel. This one is dated 1969, and shows the motel when it was only seven years old.

This dusk shot almost makes the place seem inviting. The glow of the sign and the porch lights, as well as the Best Western crown, seem to have pulled in a lot of customers. Joe scanned the back of this one too, showing the message from “Poppy” to Miss Kristen Hendershot of Orange, Calif.

From the Nevada Appeal:

The Downtowner Motor Inn lost its business license Thursday at the city board of supervisors' meeting but will remain open as a new owner takes over the motel that was shut down in 2005 before reopening last year.

The potential new owners, the Shearer family, are working with the city to take over the motel now. No one will be asked to move out during the transition, city staff said.

Shearer said he is working with the city to find the best use for the hotel. He might keep it as the Downtowner, have a hotel chain take it over or give the land to the next door Children's Museum of Northern Nevada to use for expansion.

Dave Morgan also has coverage from a couple of days ago.

I'm sure Carson City will be considering the motel building to house the new library. But I've said before that this motel needs to be torn down. Figuring out what to do with the land is tougher. Leaving it as open space would be nice, because pictures I've seen from before the motel was built show a big open area with great views of the Civic Auditorium next door, and it would be nice to have that back. But "open space" is hardly a good use of premium land in a downtown area.

This land was originally part of the railroad depot, which still stands across the street. The train tracks and the passenger platform took up most of what is now Washington Street, but mail and delivery trucks would park where the Downtowner now stands so that goods could be offloaded directly off the backside of the train. This parking area can be seen in the photo below, from 1949.

The railroad tracks were torn up in 1950, and the lot stayed vacant until 1962 when the motel was built. Maybe that corner is going to enter a new era soon.