The Horseshoe Club was a fixture of downtown for decades. Opened in this incarnation in the 1970s, the history of casinos on the corner of Carson and Telegraph goes back much further, to the Kit Carson Club before that. The Horsehoe Club took what was actually three buildings along Carson Street and combined them into one unified facade, using paint on the outside and knocking down walls inside to blend together the disparate architecture and make it all one space.

But then one day in January 2015 the Horseshoe Club was no more. Signs announcing a “temporary” closure went up on the doors, and at first there was confusion in the community. However it was not long before the closure was confirmed as being permanent, and both the building and the unrestricted gaming license (which is more valuable than real estate in Carson City) both went up for sale.

The building has stayed vacant for the three years since the closure, and when all the signage was removed it started to become kind of an eyesore downtown. Eventually they announced that they would be remodeling the building to make it more attractive both for downtown and for new tenants. That remodel has been going on for about a year now, and the results are looking quite nice.

The building has a fresh coat of paint, of course, but it’s more than that. They’ve taken pains to make the three adjoining buildings into three separate entities again. After decades of blending together, they are finally letting them stand out.

The building on the corner (former Kit Carson Club) has been painted in a cream and deep brown color scheme, with rockwork added on the first floor. Little details like lamps have been added, and the distinctive curve and corner window have been kept and accentuated.

The center building (once home to the “Ship Bar“, complete with a ship’s prow protruding from it) has gotten a blue and yellow paint scheme. The second story bay windows, which used to blend in with the former paint, now pop and draw attention to themselves.

The northernmost building has gotten huge floor-to-ceiling windows with slender decorative columns of the type that was popular in the 1800s. The second story is still unfinished so we’ll have to wait to see what kind of treatment they put up there, and if they remove the last remaining Horseshoe sign.

Taken together, they now once again look like the three distinct buildings that they are. I think these will add a lot of character to downtown.

The interiors are still under construction, but this one seems to be the most finished. Looks like some kind of arts and crafts space. (Update: the business in here is Rustically Divine.)

The interiors of the other buildings are still being worked on and awaiting tenants.

In the alley behind the building remnants of the old Horeshoe Club still remain, like this door which was painted to look like a saloon door. Curious to see if this will remain, as a nod to the past, or if they just haven’t gotten around to remodeling this part yet.

In all, it looks like a nice renovation and I can’t wait to see it finished and the buildings occupied!