Tag: stcharleshotel

True West magazine this month has a feature story on the St. Charles Hotel and the work that has been done over the last few years to fix it up and turn it into a centerpiece of downtown. It's a wide-ranging article, alluding to the age of the hotel (146 years) and the poor condition it was in for much of the 20th century. It's been called a flop house, a slop house, and worse. But it's been fixed up beautifully, and now houses an excellent restaurant, the Firkin and Fox.

But the article does make one glaring error in completely ignoring the contributions of Bob McFadden in the hotel's current success. To read the article, it was the efforts of the current owners alone that brought it out of squalor. And while they need to be commended for four years of hard work, it was work that had already begun ten years before they owned the property. It was Bob that bought the hotel in the early 90s, kicked out the sleazy bar from the ground floor, stripped off the cracking plaster from the original brick, and rebuilt the balcony to its 1860s appearance. It was Bob that had the idea to put a classy restaurant in the ground floor, even though the space became a revolving door that was empty more than it was occupied. And it was Bob that took an eyesore of a building and made it into something Carson City could be proud of. In 2004 he decided he'd put enough of his sweat into the place and he sold it to the Lopiccolos. Sadly he died of a heart attack a few weeks later. But we can't let his contribution to downtown Carson City be forgotten.

Mark and Jenny Lopiccolo have continued the work Bob started, and in many ways succeeded where he faltered. Much of the money they've put into the building has gone into strengthening the structure, replacing columns and reinforcing the walls to make sure the St. Charles is around for another 140 years. They were also able to do something Bob never did, attract an excellent tenant for the ground floor. The Firkin and Fox Pub is one of the best additions to downtown in years. And the whole Third Street area really blossomed this past year, with Bella Fiore Wines opening, the new Farmer's Market starting up, and all the events that were constantly happening throughout the summer. The Lopiccolos really have to be credited for jump starting all that, along with Jim Phalan, the owner of the Firkin. But at the same time we can't forget Bob, who was the first one to have a little faith in a dingy building and a forgotten part of town.

The story isn't complete by any means, but let's flip through a St. Charles photo gallery, following it through the years.

The hotel in the 1870s, when it could still be considered in its heyday.

1930s, down on its luck.

A brief resurgence in the 1940s.

By the 1980s it was a scar on downtown, an eyesore that no one would look at twice.

2005. All the work here was done by Bob McFadden.

Jim Phalan launches construction in summer 2007.

Late 2007, when the Lopiccolos were fixing it up for the Firkin and Fox opening.

Hat tip to WashoeValley.org for the link to the article.

This photo was submitted to the Around Carson Photos section, but it was so good that I had to add it to the WNHPC. I'm also including the caption I wrote for it.

This fantastic view looks southwest from the dome of the Capitol Building in the winter of 1916. A layer of snow several inches thick lies on the ground and covers the streets, in the days before snowplows. The sidewalks have been shoveled, though.

There are lots of great details you can pick out of this photo, but probably the two hotels in the center can be called the star attractions. The dark hotel to the left is the St. Charles Hotel at the corner of Third and Carson streets, or at least that's what we know it as today. At the time of this photo, in 1916, I believe it was called the Golden West Hotel. The two sections were built as separate establishments; the three-story section to the north was commenced in April 1862, and was known as the St. Charles. The two-story building next door was started one month later, and was called Muller's Hotel. The two consolidated in 1894 as the Briggs House, then went through several more name changes over the 20th century.

The large light-colored building just right of center is of course the famous Ormsby House, but it went through a name change as well. Here in this photo it is called the Park Hotel, as you can see by the banner at the corner. It was built in 1860 at the corner of Second and Carson streets by Major William Ormsby, who was killed just months after its completion. At the time it was just a single story building at the corner; it was subsequently added to until it grew into what you see in the photo here. In the 1940s it had fallen into bad repair, and was demolished. The dark two-story building next to it survives to this day, though.

At the lower left corner is a block of buildings on Second Street. The single-story stone building on the corner was home to the Daily Appeal. The newspaper published from there for over 80 years before moving to larger quarters in 1948. All of those buildings were later razed to extend the Capitol Plaza south to the new State Legislature Building.

Many other little details can be seen in this photo. At the left edge, next to the St. Charles, is the false-fronted building that today houses Comma Coffee. At the lower right corner is a building along Carson Street that was torn down to build the Heroes Memorial Building. And in the background, residential Carson City sprawls out all the way back to the base of C Hill. At this point the town had been around for nearly 60 years, plenty of time for all those large trees to grow. A more in-depth study of the photo would certainly reveal many houses that are still around today, and just as many that have been torn down for new development.

We finally made it to the Firkin and Fox Pub and Restaurant for lunch Thursday. Only four weeks after they opened, not bad. And I have to say it was everything we expected. Nice, friendly staff, good food, and an atmosphere that makes you want to come back again and again.

I think we definitely have a new addition to our downtown dining choices. Which is good, because B'Sghetti's is a great place, but really you can only go there so many times before the waitresses start recognizing you.

I got the Shepherd's Pie, which was quite flavorful, if a little smaller than I expected. It came with a side of brown gravy, which I think you were supposed to pour over the top, but I used to dip fries into. My wife got the Greek Salad, and made it into a wrap. And while it could have used a little more feta cheese, there certainly wasn't anything wrong with it.

A variety of restaurants have come and gone into this ground floor space of the St Charles hotel, and most of them have been forgettable. The Cafe Del Rio is the only one that really stands out in my memory, and even they had to move up to Virginia City to make a success of themselves. But the Firkin and Fox is notable not just because of all the renovations they've done to the place (including freshening the outside of the building, and making it into one of the best-looking buildings in all of downtown), but also because it's a good restaurant that would probably be a success no matter what the location. The Firkin and Fox is usually packed even now, in the winter, when you have to dodge deep icy puddles to get to it. I can only imagine when the summer comes, and Third Street turns into a public market on Tuesdays, how packed and popular this place is going to be. I think the St. Charles has found a new long-term resident, finally, and it's about time it happened too.

Monday was opening day for the new Firkin and Fox pub/restaurant, located on the ground floor of the historic St. Charles Hotel. I haven't had a chance to eat there yet, because my wife's been working late this week. But the reviews are starting to come in among the blogosphere.

The first review comes from a blog I just discovered this week, Langdon Life. Now they may be biased, because they know the owners and they were invited to the pre-opening party, but they really enjoyed their visit.

It's definitely one of the nicest places to eat in Carson City! So if you live here, go check out the newest-oldest place in town.......you won't be disappointed!

The other review came from a comment on this very site you're reading. And it was...less flattering.

Well, we just tried out the newest restaurant/bar in carson. It was their second day open to be fair, but a chain like this should have provided better training. The service was the biggest stumbling block for this place. Every time we ordered a round of drinks it took like forever to get the drinks and I had asked for a side of dressing for salad and I picked away at half the salad before the dressinf arrived! She seemed to be trying. Lisa had a really cute butt, as my BF was commenting....Ok, I agreed too! The food was standard chain bar food ala, TGI Friday's, Benegains etc... maybe the place will get better if they practice more.

Looks like we need a third ruling here. Any volunteers?

Ask for Lisa.

It's been a long time since I've done one of these construction update posts. Probably because I rarely set foot in Carson City during the daylight hours anymore, owing to my stay-at-home dad status with the new baby. But it's winter break now, which means my bleary eyes get to emerge into the sunlight and snap a few pictures.

Bodine's construction, way down south at Clear Creek road, is coming along very nicely. The exterior wall panels are going up, and soon they'll be able to start working on the interior, fitting it out for a spring opening.

Work on the Marriott Courtyard hotel at the Casino Fandango is now entering the final stretch. The exterior work is almost completely finished; just a little rockwork on the ground floor remains. I'm sure interior work has been progressing just as fast, and look for this place to open within a couple of months.

But the real gem of Carson City is turning out to be the St. Charles Hotel. It is undergoing renovation to welcome the Firkin and Fox Pub into the ground floor, and I gotta tell you, it's starting to look Firkin Fantastic. I posted a few construction photos last month, but they've already made so much progress even since then.

A new coat of paint, new signs, new windows, new awnings; everything on the St. Charles has been moved from "old and dated" to "new and fresh". You don't realize how much of a difference can be made with just a little "curb appeal" until you see it in action. The hotel went from a neat old building that was easy to overlook to an absolute showcase for downtown. This is the kind of rejuvenation that many of the other storefronts on Carson Street need; maybe this project will kickstart more renovations throughout downtown.

And F-Day is fast approaching. They've tacked a sign on the door that announces the opening date for the Firkin and Fox Pub; it will be January 7, 2008. That's only about a week and a half from now. The doors will open at 5:00pm

Just for a kicker, here's how the St. Charles looked just two years ago. Actually, it looked like this up until last summer. If they put half as much care into running the restaurant as they did into renovating it, they should have a solid hit on their hands.

There's been a lot of construction activity going on at the St. Charles Hotel lately. They're working to build the Firkin and Fox Pub in the first floor restaurant/bar space. This is the new English pub that I first wrote about back in July. Construction on the restaurant is coming along nicely, but one of the side effects is that the spirit of renovation is spreading to the outside of the building, and the old hotel is being spruced up a little bit too. Mostly through the use of new signs, but it's a little change that make a big difference. Let's look.

The interior of the bar. They're leaving the old brick walls untouched, and putting in a nice dark wood to complement it.

The dining room. The booths here have the same dark wood as the bar.

This new Firkin and Fox sign takes the spot where the old St. Charles sign used to be. But on the right, you can see that they've also put up a corner sign, facing out at 45 degrees. This is good, because it's the perfect angle to see it from Carson Street. And, it advertises both the hotel and the restaurant.

I really like this new sign, advertising the hotel itself. It looks so authentically old that I had to go back in my archives to make sure it wasn't there before.

A smattering of other new signs from around the building.

This seems to the be the year for English Pubs. First there was the news that a new pub, Firkin and Fox, will be opening in the ground floor of the St Charles Hotel. Jim Phalan of High Sierra Food & Beverage sent me this picture of him and his brother hanging a sign off the side of the hotel, and let me know that construction should be starting very soon (if it hasn't already) and the opening date is set for November 1st.

Now, if this was just another bar I'd have no interest in it. As a non-drinker I don't give a firkin' fox about a new bar opening up in town. But everything I've been hearing about this place paints it as a full restaurant too; it's part of a chain that's already been established in Canada, and is now making waves into the US. It reminds me a lot of T.S. McHugh's in Seattle, so we'll probably be sure to check it out when it opens.

And apparently there's another English pub that's opening this weekend, out Long Street just one block off Hwy 50. Nowhere Nevada reports that this new place looks amazing and they really put a lot of work into the decor. It's located at 1881 E. Long St, and it may or may not be called the Feisty Goat.

The Nevada Appeal has an article about a new English pub that is supposed to be going into the ground floor of the St. Charles Hotel this fall. The owners are also trying to spruce up the Third Street neighborhood and get some new shops in there. I've always thought that area around the St. Charles, and the St. Charles itself, has a lot of unused potential, so it's good to see some life coming back to it.