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The Roof

Not even when the Ormsby House is open will people be allowed on the roof. To get there you have to climb up to the 11th floor (the attic), and then get on a wobbly ladder to go up the last eight feet. I imagine the view here would have been fantastic, but I didn’t want to get too close the the edge. There are no railings, as you’ll see.

Up here in the attic are some of the mechanical systems that will keep the hotel running. These are the hot water boilers. There’s a set here, and another set in the basement.

If you look up inside the attic, you can see the sloping beams that used to make up the false gable at the end of the building. They squared off the facade during exterior renovation, so the top of the building no longer comes to a point. But the old steel is still here, surrounded by new construction on all sides.

Finally, after climbing up the ladder and through the trapdoor, we’ve made it to the roof. This is the tallest building in Carson City; from here there’s nowhere to go but down.

Looking north along the roof. It turns out the attic only takes up a small part of the “11th floor”. So I’m on the roof of the attic now, but down there in the depression is the roof of the 10th floor. You’ve got a nice big wall stopping you from falling over the edge down there, but you’ve got no view. The owners said everything up here is painted bright white to discourage pigeons from landing.

The View

I was too chicken to take in the views from the roof, but I did peek out all the windows on the 10th floor.

Looking northeast from the penthouse suite. Across Fifth Street is the Legislature Building.

To the north is Jack’s Bar, and the Capitol dome in the distance.

To the northwest is nothing but a sea of trees, with a few church steeples poking out. Late October was probably the perfect time to take this picture, with all the fall colors popping out all over town.

To the southeast you have an unobstructed view of the Bryan Building and Prison Hill.

And to the south, the Carson Station’s hotel tower seems so tiny. You can also see Seventh Street, and the Arco station and old parking lot across the street. All of that is Ormsby House property, apparently, and Seventh Street will be abandoned and turned into part of the entrance plaza. I’m thinking the gas station will stay.

On page five: bit and pieces and miscellaneous.

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