One of the first hotels built in the young town of Carson City, way back in 1859, was built by an early settler named William Ormsby. He called it simply the Ormsby House. The hotel was at the corner of Second and Carson Streets, right across from the plaza that had been set aside for a future Capitol building. Eventually the Capitol was built there, but Ormsby did not live to see it. He died in a skirmish with the Paiute tribe in 1860.

Under new owners, the hotel was expanded and lasted until the early 1900s. The final owners, the Laxalt family, had it demolished because it was falling apart. In 1972, former governor Paul Laxalt resurrected the name for a new hotel he was building a few blocks south. That hotel is still standing, though it has been closed over 25 years after an incomplete renovation.

A one-story building was built on the site of the old Ormsby House. It housed Austin’s Market for a while, and now it is the home of Coldwell Banker Select Real Estate.