Six entries have been nominated for the 2007 Historic Preservation Awards; none to six may be recognized. The Historic Resources Commission will consider these entries at the public hearing on the 12th of April, 2007. The Board of Supervisors is expected to present the awards at the 3rd of May, 2007 session. Comments may be submitted at either of these meetings, or may be submitted in advance by writing to the Planning Division (see the contact link at the bottom of this page). The 2007 nominees are:

  Denotes the nominees selected by the Historic Resources Commission

Nominee	Pictures of the Building or Sign
Cactus Jack's Senator Sign   420 North Carson Street (Southwest corner of Carson and Spear Streets)   Cactus Jack's opened as a casino circa 1968 in what is historically known as the Toupin building, which was built in 1905. The south part of the building used to be a jeweler, into which the casino expanded to form its present size.   The two-story "cut-out," neon-trimmed sign is known as "The Senator" and has greeted decades of visitors and residents to downtown Carson City with the "Howdy" buck. The animated sign was designed to wave; although it hasn't done so for a while. The long view along Carson street was taken at the 2006 Nevada Day parade. The other day time picture (with the Laxalt building in the background) is the north elevation. The twilight view dates to July 2004 during the Waterfall fire.   The photo of a 1979 casino token depicts the Senator sign.   The Senator is also interesting as one of those notable neon signs featured on www.roadsidepeek.com for Nevada, together with the Cal Neva, Comstock and Virginian of Reno, and the Algiers, Dunes, Stardust and Showboat and a few others of Las Vegas.
Carson Nugget Sign   507 North Carson Street (Southeast corner of Carson / Robinson Streets)   The Carson Nugget has been a Carson City icon for 50 years and is one of the longest-standing casinos in the state. When Howard and Hop Adams opened the Carson Nugget in 1957, Nevada was not quite a century old and the entire state population hadn't yet reached 200,000. The casino has undergone several renovations and changes over the years. The picture, on the right, shows the the Nugget dressed up in red and yellow as it was in 1982.   The casino has since been expanded and the exterior remodeled and yet the main Nugget Casino sign has remained. It is an example of what is known as a "waterfall" design, consisting of neon tubes and incandescent bulbs that are animated with several lighting cycles. A glimpse of the cycles can be seen in the night-time view on the right. This type of sign has become more rare over the years as casinos have been remodeled or demolished.
216 North Minnesota Street   (West side of Minnesota Street, between Musser and Telegraph Streets) This property, historically known as the Fellows building, was originally owned, and probably built, circa 1885, by Morrison Fellows.  Fellows was a carpenter according to the 1907 city directory. Ownership passed to his daughter Josie in 1909. She married Fred Cushing, who was a tinsmith, like his father was.  Mr. Cushing later became the superintendent for the Carson Water Company.   In 1922 the property was sold to Chester Taylor and in 1930 sold to Harold Berger. Mr. Berger was the proprietor of Berger's Billiard Parlor at 416 North Carson Street (now part of Cactus Jack's casino).
1206 North Nevada Street   (Northwest corner of John / Minnesota Streets) The Barber-Belknap House was built by the Barber family, circa 1875. The building is a fine example of the Second Empire style, whose most distinctive feature shows in its Mansard roof. After Justice Charles Belknap acquired the home in 1885 three rooms were added. Justice Belknap was married to Virginia, who was the daughter of Governor Bradley. When George and Dorcas Criteser owned the property an amateur radio tower was installed at the rear of the property, whereby he received communications from American troops during the Viet Nam war. The residence is currently owned and maintained by Peter Smith and Patricia A. Cooper-Smith.   The property has been featured on TV's KNPB House with a History(PBS).
512 North Division Street (Southwest corner of Division / Robinson Streets) This property is historically known as the Henry Marvin Yerington House and was originally constructed in 1863. Thomas Haydon, a noted Carson City lawyer, built the original structure in that year. Mr. Yerington purchased the home in 1869 and thereafter made additions to it. H. M. Yerington was associated with major mining and lumber interests and was a superintendent and vice-president of the Virginia and Truckee railroad company. In fact, he drove the first spike in September 1869 on the first rail of the line -- from a shipment of rails rolled in England which had arrived in San Francisco by ocean liner that had to sail around Cape Horn of South America. (Keep in mind that the transcontinental railroad had only been completed in May of that year and the Panama canal was not opened until 1914). The primarily one-story building has a partial second floor under a gable roof. In terms of style, it exhibits Greek Revival, Gothic Revival and Italianate elements, with the latter predominating. The structure is highly ornamented and of unique architectural design, reflecting the exuberance of its era and retains its essential quality. Presently the building houses the Northern Nevada Title Company.
McKeen Motorcar No. 22 Nevada State Railroad Museum 2180 South Carson Street at Fairview Drive The McKeen Motor (Rail) Car Number 22 on the Virginia and Truckee railroad was built in 1909 at the McKeen Motor Car company in Omaha, Nebraska.  The self-propelled motor car began service in 1910 on the V&T RR and it served on the line until 1945, when it came off the rails and was converted into a Diner situated on north Carson Street. It remained a diner car (actually a couple of different diners) until 1957 when Al Bernhard acquired the unit and incorporated it into a building at his plumbing business. Mr. Bernhard donated the car to the Nevada State Railroad Museum in 1996, where it has since remained and has undergone restoration work up to the present date. The target date for its complete restoration is 2010, the McKeen's centennial. In 2006, the Nevada State Railroad Museum was awarded Kalmbach Publishing Company's eighth-annual preservation award (and a $10,000 prize, plus and additional $5000 from a private donor) for its work on restoration of the McKeen motor car. Kalmbach Publishing is the publisher of the world-famous Trains magazine.   Wherefore a (rail) motor car? The short answer is: engine, plus passenger space, plus a U.S. postal sorting office all-in-one was more economical than a steam-powered "consist" (i.e. the engine and the rail cars that the locomotive pulled). The turn-of-the-century, 1800s-1900s, was also the golden age of Interurban transit. In bigger cities, this meant electric rail lines (for a still-living example, see Chicago South Shore and South Bend railroad). For more rural places, the McKeen was supposed to be the answer. The McKeen motor car in Carson City, Nevada is reputed to be one of the last three. The Nevada State Railroad Museum has one other, and one is stationed in Alaska (although a different model, it would appear).  For more information and to keep up with the McKeen, visit:  Friends of the Nevada State Railroad Museum Website.

The Historic Resources Commission maintains a Historic Inventory with additional details on most of the aforementioned properties. The records are administered by the Carson City Planning Division, located at 2621 Northgate Lane 62, Carson City, Nevada. See the link below for further detail or if you would like to volunteer to assist in preserving Carson City's history. 

Other records are maintained by the State of Nevada. Certain records or photos have been contributed by private interests.

 » Click here to view past Historic Preservation Award recipients. »

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