Tag: virginiacity

Sometimes there's nothing you can do with an old house except tear it down. Carson City has had its share of tear-downs. This house, for example, which was just too old and too decrepit to survive, was torn down to build a two-story duplex on the site.

Other cities have varying degrees of tolerance for old buildings. In Las Vegas, for example, anything over ten years old is fair game for the wrecking ball. Other cities have historic districts where old houses are maintained and kept up. And in a place like Virginia City, the whole town is a historic district, and nothing is torn down without careful consideration by the whole community.

That's why it's so rare for a demolition to be scheduled in Virginia City. But sometimes the house is just too old, and there's nothing you can do. When the frame is disintegrating and the roof is collapsing, it's the only choice. And that's the case with the Sargent House, at 284 South D Street, across from the Mackay mansion.

It's a very photogenic house. The way it leans, the way the porch droops, the weathered boards and overgrown brush. It's like it was specially built to have people take pictures of it. Others have noticed too, like here and here. But the structure is falling apart. The roof has collapsed, the walls are disintegrating, and the owner fears that someone's going to try to explore inside and have the whole thing cave in on them. So they went in front of the Comstock Historic District board to get it torn down, and the board yesterday gave its approval.

It's one of only four or five houses that have been demolished in the last decade. Usually up there they try to save the houses if at all possible, even if it takes decades to find someone to restore it. That's what happened with the B Street Bed & Breakfast, which was empty forever until Carolyn and Chris Eichin came along to fix it up. But there's no one to save the Sargent House, and even if there were it's not even possible anymore. It's too fragile now. So it's time for it to go.

The history of the house is not really known. They think it predates the Great Fire of 1875, but they're not really sure. Their guess is that it was built in the 1860s or 1870, but there's no way to tell. The last residents of the house were the Sargent family, hence the name. They moved out in the 1950s and the house has been empty ever since. There's a story in the article about how the father, Jake Sargent, tore down the house next door for firewood and found money hidden in all the walls. And the boy who grew up in the house, Ross Sargent, is not only still alive, he's already read the article and added a comment to it.

Demolition isn't going to be for another four or five weeks. First they're going to go through and salvage any boards or decorative trim that's still good. And then there will be one more empty lot on the Comstock, one more house from the old days gone.

The website Great Streets has singled out Virginia City as one of their Great Main Streets. They're written up a fairly in-depth multi-page article about how well C Street works for pedestrians, and how most of that is because it was designed back in the 1800s, when there were no cars. In this case the lack of modernization has been a good thing, as it's kept the sidewalks wide, and covered with awnings to protect against the weather. The biggest downside they mention is that the only parking available in town is on-street, so that creates more traffic through the downtown core than there should be, as people search for a good spot. They also note how the overhead wiring is ugly as sin.

Go read the article, and be sure to click the little pictures at the bottom to get to the other pages.

How disappointing to live in Virginia City and never see any ghosts. From Karen Woodmansee in the Appeal:

Not that I haven't given them the chance to show themselves. I lived in the Silver Queen Hotel for about four months. It's supposed to be haunted, but I never saw or heard anything. I lived across from the cemetery and never saw anything. I frequent the Washoe Club, also supposed to be haunted, but never saw the cowboy that supposedly drinks whisky at the end of the bar and then disappears, and never saw an orb on the spiral staircase.

Maybe I should drink more.

Indeed.

A couple of stories of note in the Nevada Appeal today. First is the story about the fire that started at the Fourth Ward Schoolhouse in Virginia City Friday morning, which by all rights should have burned the place down. It was only because they had installed a sprinkler system during a previous remodel (using money from Jack Daniels, of all places) the the fire was put out and the historic building saved. The Nevada Appeal of course had to make a "firewater" joke here.

Second is the story about how the V&T is running out of money, and might not have enough to finish the rail line all the way down the Carson City.

Rich Moreno of the Backyard Traveler is at it again. This time he has a blog post detailing the history of Virginia City's churches.

Nevada Appeal: V&T agreement allows Grays to use new track:

The trains of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad will be able to travel on the new track for another year.

Tom Gray, owner of the Virginia & Truckee, reached an agreement with the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, which is building the track from Gold Hill to Carson City. The agreement allows the Virginia & Truckee to take its 4 p.m. train on the 1.4-mile stretch of track from Gold Hill to American Flat that was completed in 2006.

Hopefully the Grays really will get their steam trains running again this year, because I'm getting a little tired of seeing that diesel engine up there.

The painting above was coincidentally submitted to the site today. It shows V&T #13, the Empire, crossing the proposed railroad bridge over Hwy 50 in Mound House. It would be quite a feat if this could come true; currently the Empire is being held captive at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, one of three of our native engines that are being held against their will in a foreign land. We'd love to get the Empire, and her sisters, back to Carson City to ride the rails, but the outlook for that happening is grim.

Instead, the engine we'll really see pulling cars over the new bridge is this burly beast, #18 that was purchased from McCloud few years ago:

I was rooting around my other website's archives when I came across this story from a few years ago about the old International Hotel in Virginia City. There was also a link to a Nevada Appeal article about the hotel. The article pre-dated Around Carson, so I thought I'd dig it out and bring it to light again.

This International was actually the third International Hotel in Virginia City. it was built in 1876 after the previous International had burned to the ground during the Great Fire the year before. This third hotel was bigger and more opulent than any that came before, boasting six stories, 160 rooms, and the first elevator in Nevada. It couldn't escape the Curse of the International forever, though. This hotel also burned to the ground on December 12, 1914.

I've also created an article on Carsonpedia about the International Hotel. Hopefully I'll one day be able to write articles like this about every historic building in the area. I also found a bunch of old pictures of the hotel and added them to the Western Nevada Historic Photo Collection. You can see them all here. I especially like this picture taken in 1866, the only one that I'm aware exists of the second International Hotel, that burned in 1875.

You see, there have always been tourists in Virginia City. This picture was taken sometime in the 1940s, and it comes from the Johan Hagemeyer Photograph Collection. Johan was a photographer from San Francisco, and here it looks like he and his friends came up to the Comstock for a day or two. What's funny is how out-of-place they look; you can tell these are city people out for a jaunt, and not VC natives reminiscing about their days in the mines.

You can also tell by the picture that even in the 1940s Virginia City was catering to the tourist trade. The signs back then were much the same as what you'll find now: sandwiches, hot dogs, clean rest rooms. And the Suicide Table was on display even back then, hoping to draw people in with a lurid name and get them to stay for some gambling. This was 60 years ago, and you'd be hard-pressed to find many differences between then and now in Virginia City. Sure, a few buildings have collapsed, new ones were built, stores have come and gone, but the character of the town is the same. An Old West town, catering to visitors who want to relive the Old West.

I think Virginia City has been in the tourism game far longer than it was in the mining game. But unlike mining, the tourism boom shows no sign of stopping; it just grows bigger and bigger. These five tourists may be gone, but there are thousands more just like them, even sixty years later.

Go and check out the big version of the picture.

It seems like this story keeps coming around, and I've seen it so many times that it's hard to put any stock in it. But the Virginia and Truckee Railroad insists that next year, 2008, is the year that its flagship steam locomotive, #29, will hit the rails again. #29 was always my favorite engine; I took that picture of it back in 1995 as it was approaching the Virginia City depot. It's not native to Nevada, it was brought here in 1977 soon after the V&T was first reconstructed. It took over duties from #28, which is now running at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, and it ran with only minor repairs ever since.

Five years ago #29 went into the shops for an overhaul. Usually when #29 was down for repairs, the backup engine, #8, would be available to pick up the slack. But in 2002 both engines were down at the same time, so as a temporary solution the V&T brought in a diesel engine to pull the trains down the grade to Gold Hill and back. That "temporary" solution has lasted five years now, and it's about time to get steam back on the rails.

The diesel engine.

Still up in the air, though, is what's going to happen with the current Virginia and Truckee Railroad when the new tracks from Carson City are finished. The Railroad, that runs from Virginia City to Gold Hill, is privately owned by the Gray family, but the V & T Railway, which is under construction from Gold Hill to Carson, is being built by a foundation set up by the Legislature. Neither one can run trains on the other's rails without some kind of an agreement, and the details of that agreement have been in limbo for years. Obviously the Foundation is going to have to either enter into a long-term lease with the Grays to allow their trains to reach Virginia City, or they'll have to buy the Railroad outright. And with the Foundation already having their own locomotive, #18 that they bought from the McCloud Railway, what will be the fate of #29 after the V&T is fully reconstructed? Hopefully it will stay on the rails, and not be sold off.

I know it hardly feels like winter has even started around here, given that we haven't had any snow since September. But now that Thanksgiving is in our rear-view mirror, it's time to start looking forward to Christmas. Already decorations are popping up on houses around the area, and a whole host of civic Christmas events are planned for the next week. Here's what's coming up:

Carson City

Silver & Snowflakes Holiday Tree Lighting will be on Thursday December 6, 2007 from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Festivities begin on the Capitol grounds. The State trees will be lit, Santa will give out candy canes, and the 300 voices of the Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble will contribute the music. A warm feeling envelops the Capitol as families gather to hear children sing and to watch the tree and all of Carson Street spring to light. The young and young at heart all squeal with delight as Santa and his helper arrive in a decorated 1926 Model T, driven by Beau the dog. Sixteen creative willow "reindeer" made the week of the event by local school children and Boy Scouts, under the guidance of "Willow" Bill, will be placed on the Capitol lawn and above the Capitol portico and lit with white lights.

5:30 PM Carson City 5th Grade Music Students Singing Ensemble starts to sing. Carson Middle School Red Hot Bell Peppers handbell choir will accompany them.
5:30 PM Santa Arrives in a 1926 Model T Ford. He will give out candy canes.
5:40 PM Remarks by Gov. Jim and Mrs. Dawn Gibbons
5:45 PM Tree Lighting; all of Carson Street is lit up.
5:55 PM Remarks by Carson City Mayor Marv Teixiera
6:00 PM Candlelight Procession to City Tree at Musser & Nevada Streets (First Presbyterian Church). Songs by the BAC In Time Carolers.
6:15 PM City Tree Lighting by Mayor Teixeira.
6:30-7:00 PM City Hall Open House. Art Contest winners announced and prizes given by the Mayor. BAC In Time Carolers will sing. Refreshments will be served.

Minden

Minden's annual Weihnachts Strasse Fest, German Christmas Market, opens noon, Nov. 30 in the old C.O.D. Garage. Toys, handicrafts, candles, ceramics and woodwork will be featured in about 30 booths. Many traditional German specialties such as stollen, gingerbread, pretzels, sausages and gluewein (hot spiced wine) as well as Chinese food will be available. Hot cider and cookies will be served by the Carson Valley Inn. Hours of the market are noon to 8 p.m. Nov. 30, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Dec. 1 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 2.

The lights of the Minden gazebo will be turned on 6 p.m. Friday night, Nov. 30, with the help of Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Children get one free picture with Santa on Friday night at Santa's house in the Christmas market.

The 12th annual Parade of Lights begins 5 p.m. Dec. 1 at Lampe Park in Gardnerville, traveling on Highway 395 and ending in Minden Park around 6 p.m. This year's theme is Holiday Traditions from Around the World.

Live music at the Christmas Market Saturday night and a live Christmas play on Sunday afternoon.

Gardnerville

The Town of Gardnerville presents the third Carson Valley Christmas Season Kick Off, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 28 at the Heritage Park pavilion. The family-oriented event features the Sierra Ringers from Carson Valley United Methodist Church, a quartet singing holiday music and Carson Valley Community Theater's presentation of Santa's Little Helper Part 3, "Which Way is North?" The park pavilion will be lit and Santa Claus will be on hand to welcome children young and old to the 2007 Christmas season. Also on the program is the dedication of the Zelda Shaw Memorial.

Come and join us for hot chocolate, hot apple cider, provided by Red's 395 Grill, popcorn courtesy of Gardnerville Water Co. and a holiday treat provided by the Town of Gardnerville. Carriage rides around the park will also be available.

Virginia City

The Parade of Lights, Virginia City's traditional Christmas Parade will start at 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec 1. Prizes will be awarded for the best entries. Call the visitors center at 847-4FUN (4386) or visit the Visitor Center for more information and an entry form.