Nevada 150 Announces Nevada Day Parade Details

The Nevada 150 Sesquicentennial Commission has announced that Las Vegas will join the Nevada Day celebration with a Nevada 150 commemorative parade. The October 2014 festivities include four Nevada Day parades to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Nevada’s statehood, including the first Las Vegas Nevada Day Parade planned as the largest Nevada Day celebration in Southern Nevada.

“Nevada Day is one of those unique celebrations that truly captures the heritage of our state's sense of community and spirit,” says Lieutenant Governor and Nevada 150 chairman Brian Krolicki. “While we thoroughly enjoy our parades and long-beard contests, it is a celebration of who we are. Being Nevada's 150th birthday only makes the day more meaningful.”

Las Vegas Nevada Day Parade
On Nevada Day, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014 at 10 a.m., the Las Vegas Nevada Day Parade will be held downtown along 4th Street. The parade is scheduled to last approximately two hours and will feature 150 entries and six categories: float, equestrian, marching band, motorized vehicle, walking group, and other. Cash prizes will be awarded for the following categories: Overall Best Of, Best Historical Significance, Best Float, Best Equestrian, Best Marching Band, and Best Vehicle. The parade will be produced by the City of Las Vegas and is made possible through a $100,000 grant from the City of Las Vegas Centennial Commission through its Las Vegas Centennial History Grant Program.

“Las Vegas is the entertainment capital of the world and we are excited to be hosting a fabulous     sesquicentennial parade to celebrate Nevada Day,” Mayor Carolyn G. Goodman says. “I want to     thank the Centennial Commission for contributing funding for this event to celebrate this major     milestone for our state.”

For additional information about the Las Vegas Nevada Day Parade please call 702-229-6672 or e-mail ecarter@LasVegasNevada.gov. To submit a parade application please visit lasvegasnevada.gov.  

Elko Nevada Day Parade
Also to be held on Nevada Day, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, at 11 a.m. Elko hosts its 27th annual Nevada Day Parade. Chairmen Jim and Rose Conner, will start taking entries on October 1 until the day of the parade, and line-up will be handled by long-time committee members consisting of family and friends. The parade will run its usual route from the Crystal Theater to the Elko County Fairgrounds.  This parade is sponsored by the Elko Knights of Columbus Council #2511.

“Elko is truly proud of its Nevada heritage and we are Battle Born and Nevada Proud,” says Don Newman, executive director of the Elko Convention & Visitors Authority and Nevada 150 commissioner. “We look forward to celebrating Nevada’s 150th birthday in style at our annual Nevada Day Parade through downtown Elko”.

For additional information about the Elko Nevada Day Parade please call Rose Conner at 775-738-7991.

Virginia City Nevada Day Parade
To be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014, the Virginia City parade route travels down historic C Street starting at the Fourth Ward School. This year’s parade combines the annual Halloween entries along with those that celebrate the 150th anniversary of Nevada statehood. The parade, organized by the Virginia City Tourism Commission, takes place just before the Nevada 150 Masquerade Ball, a Nevada 150 signature event, held at Piper’s Opera House. The 19th century mining bonanza known as the Comstock Lode turned Virginia City into one of the most important industrial cities between Denver and San Francisco. The riches from Virginia City led to the early development of Western Nevada and the Silver State’s entry into the union on October 31, 1864. 

“The gold and silver from Virginia City played a huge role in Nevada becoming the 36th state,” says Deny Dotson, director of the Virginia City Tourism Commission. “We are excited to host the Nevada Day Parade in conjunction with our Nevada 150 Masquerade Ball, right here where it all began in Virginia City.”

For additional information about the Virginia City Nevada Day Parade or Nevada 150 Masquerade Ball please visit visitvirginiacitynv.com or call 775-847-7500.

Carson City Nevada Day Parade
The 2014 Carson City Nevada Day Parade takes place on Saturday, Nov. 1 in our state’s capital; this year's parade theme is “Happy 150th Birthday Nevada.” The day kicks off at 8 a.m. with a hot air balloon launch near the Carson Mall on Carson Street (weather permitting). At 10 a.m., a military flyover signals the start of the parade.

This annual tradition features over 200 entries, including local law enforcement, public officials, floats, marching bands, a variety of entertainment, and even the occasional surprise celebrity appearance. The parade begins at the intersection of William and Carson Streets, and concludes approximately at the intersection of Stewart and Carson Streets.

“For more than 75 years, the Nevada Day Parade has been an institution and a source of pride for Nevadans,” says Ken Hamilton, president of Nevada Day Inc., a not-for-profit 501c3 organization. “With this year being the 150th anniversary of Nevada's statehood, it's a wonderful opportunity for Nevadans and visitors to come be a part of our state's history.” 

More than just a parade, the Nevada Day celebration continues all weekend long, with dozens of special events taking place all around Northern Nevada. To learn more about Nevada's longest running celebration of statehood, visit nevadaday.com.

For more information on the above scheduled parades or to view all other upcoming events for the Nevada 150 celebration, please visit nevada150.org. Additional communities wishing to host a parade or other events may submit an event application by visiting the above website.

The Motel Life Novel Hits the Big Screen

Nevada—and not just Las Vegas—has made its mark on the motion picture industry.

"The Motel Life" stars, from left to right, Emile Hirsch, Dakota Fanning, and Stephen Dorff.

BY MATTHEW B. BROWN

On Friday, November 8, "The Motel Life" movie—an adaptation of Reno native and author Willy Vlautin's 2006 novel of the same name—debuted in select cities around the country with a simultaneous iTunes and National Video On Demand release. I had the pleasure of attending a screening of the film on Saturday, November 2 at the University of Nevada, Reno. In the book/movie, two brothers—Jerry Lee and Frank—flee Reno after Jerry Lee kills a teenage boy in an accident turned hit-and-run.

Vlautin, also the frontman for the Richmond Fontaine band, was present as an intimate crowd of about 100 were treated to the free first-come, first-serve showing. Although it was difficult for me to get over the fact that the film's creators passed off Virginia City as Elko (where the men escape to), for the most part I enjoyed the 85-minute movie. "I apologize…and they apologize…for making Virginia City Elko," Vlautin joked in a post-screening Q&A session. "I guess they went to Elko and said, 'It looks exactly like Reno…kinda.' So they had to find somewhere close that they could afford."

My opinion of the movie pretty much mirrors many of the reviews I read. While the movie itself is good, not great, what makes it memorable are the surreal illustrations by Mike Smith. Like Smith, Jerry Lee's character (Stephen Dorff) is a great drawer, and Frank (Emile Hirsch) tells equally great and far-flung tales, often pitting Jerry Lee as the hero. The animation, coupled with the wintry cinematography, are exceptional. "My favorite part of the movie are the animation scenes," Vlautin said.

If you're a resident of Reno (like myself) or Virginia City, or hold these cities dear, it's worth seeing the movie simply for that reason alone. I also recommend reading the Q&A with Vlautin, by Caleb Cage, from the November/December 2008 issue of Nevada Magazine, here.

Keep reading this blog to learn about other memorable films that have a strong Nevada tie. The following story (although condensed and re-edited here) was published in the November/December 2012 issue of Nevada Magazine:

SILVER STATE ON THE SILVER SCREEN

BY MATTHEW B. BROWN

Early in 2011, Carson City and neighboring Douglas County were abuzz with Dakota Fanning sightings. The famous actress was in the Carson City area for the filming of “The Motel Life,” based on a book of the same name by author-musician Willy Vlautin.

“I just saw her and Emile [Hirsch] filming in Carson City at the Back on Track Inn,” wrote Frank Norton in a comment on the website onlocationvacations.com on March 4, 2011. “I yelled ‘I love you’ to her, and she stopped, looked at me, and started walking again.”

Norton represents that crazed movie lover in all of us; we become obsessed with the characters, quotes, and places from our favorite films. “The Motel Life,” also reportedly shot in Gardnerville, Genoa, Minden, Reno, and Virginia City, is just one of many in a long line of recognizable movies that take advantage of Nevada’s unique cities, towns, and landscapes.

With the help of the Nevada Film Office, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012, we chose a diverse group of films to spotlight in this story. Some of them you can even revisit—literally—today, simply by planning a trip to or within Nevada.

Plot descriptions are from International Movie Database—imdb.com.

December 1986 issue

“THE MISFITS”
1961 — Dayton & Reno
Plot: A sexy divorcée falls for an over-the-hill cowboy who is struggling to maintain his romantically independent lifestyle in early-’60s Nevada.
Stars: Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, & Montgomery Clift
Misfits Flat has quite a ring to it. Unfortunately for tourists, it’s on private property. Fortunately, Lester Robertson—owner of the land and the company Complete Millwork Service—is open to playing tour guide. Robertson says motorized vehicles are off limits, but he’s invited hikers, landsailers, and model airplane flyers and rocketeers to his acreage just south of Stagecoach off U.S. Highway 50. “Then there’s the occasional school film shoot,” he adds. “Schools from the Bay Area shoot shorts. It’s really the only dry lakebed that’s privately held. They’re looking for that desert scenery; that cloud of dust. I have all those vistas.”
As for “The Misfits,” Robertson says he knows precisely where the movie was shot and where the action took place. “The only people who have been interested are Europeans,” he says. “The French and Germans have an affinity for westerns.” Call Robertson at 775-246-0485 to inquire about the property.
Dayton’s Odeon Hall & Saloon, now home to the aptly named Misfits Theater Group (misfitstheatergroup.org), is where the movie’s lively bar scenes were filmed. Interestingly, director John Huston was the winner of Virginia City’s inaugural Camel Races in 1960. The event is still held annually in Virginia City.

Valley of Fire State Park

“THE PROFESSIONALS”
1966 — Valley of Fire State Park
Plot: An arrogant Texas millionaire hires four adventurers to rescue
his kidnapped wife from a notorious Mexican bandit.
Stars: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, & Robert Ryan
Today, a plaque marks the spot where “The Professionals” set once stood, accessible via the White Domes Trail in Valley of Fire, Nevada’s oldest and largest state park. “The main movie set, a Mexican hacienda, was located where the parking lot is now. Railroad ties can still be seen sticking out of the rocks,” reads the plaque. Parts of the movie were also filmed in Las Vegas and at Lake Mead, both nearby.
Hal Roach began the tradition of filming westerns among the red sandstone vistas in the 1920s before the area was officially recognized as a state park in 1935. Other well-known films to feature Valley of Fire State Park include “Electric Horseman” and “Star Trek Generations.”

“THE GODFATHER: PART II”
1974 — Lake Tahoe
Plot: The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York is portrayed while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on his crime syndicate stretching from Lake Tahoe to pre-revolution 1958 Cuba.
Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, & Robert Duvall
In true mob fashion, the Lake Tahoe location used in the second “Godfather” is shrouded in secrecy. “It’s long been rumored that a scene was filmed at the Thunderbird Lodge, but the property manager there has no recollection,” says Robin Holabird, former deputy director of the Nevada Film Office before she retired in 2008. “The production designer, Dean Tavoularis, told me he could only remember shooting near Homewood. That was the old Kaiser Estate, which is now the Fleur du Lac condos. Only the boathouse remains standing.” The original “Godfather” used the Riviera in Las Vegas for filming.
Some films that feature Lake Tahoe as a backdrop are more obvious. The 2006 film “Smokin’ Aces” used the iconic Cave Rock, which drivers pass through on U.S. Highway 50. ‘“The Deep End’ used Sand Harbor for Tilda Swinton’s character to dump a body; ironic because Sand Harbor is probably the most shallow end of Lake Tahoe,” Holabird adds.

"The Shootist" house, Carson City
Photo by Charlie Johnston

“THE SHOOTIST”
1976 — Carson City
Plot: A dying gunfighter spends his last days looking for a way to die with a minimum of pain and a maximum of dignity.
Stars: John Wayne, Lauren Bacall, & Ron Howard
The 1914 Krebs-Peterson house at 500 Mountain Street in Carson City (near the Governor’s Mansion) has a sidewalk plaque commemorating western icon John Wayne’s final film. “Wayne was great to Carson City locals while he was staying at the Ormsby House Hotel during the filming,” reads imdb.com. “He signed autographs for young people readily.”
Former Nevada Magazine art director Tony deRonnebeck grew up with a similar story. Tony’s grandfather, Otto, worked as a truck driver for Salvage Construction Company in Carson City. “He was delivering sand to cover the asphalt streets for the set. On one of the trips John Wayne jumped up in the cab of his truck, shared a Camel straight, and talked about the old days,” Tony told me.
The movie was also filmed in nearby Washoe Lake State Park. Ironic that he played a dying gunfighter, Wayne’s acting career faded quietly. He never made it back to the big screen despite dying of stomach cancer a whole three years after filming for “The Shootist” began.

Director Brooks at Hoover Dam

“LOST IN AMERICA”
1985 — Hoover Dam & Las Vegas
Plot: A husband and wife in their 30s decide to quit their jobs, live as free spirits, and cruise America in a Winnebago.
Stars: Albert Brooks, Julie Hagerty, & Sylvia Farrel
This story ranges from the work-a-day world of Los Angeles to the razzle-dazzle of Las Vegas to the high energy of New York City; from the stunning beauty of Hoover Dam to the quaint life of roadside trailer camps.
In Las Vegas, the picture company worked and lodged at the Desert Inn Hotel, filming in the casino, lobby, and coffee shop. In the casino, usually seen in films as a distant backdrop, special arrangements were made to enable filming at the gaming tables amid customers and employees.
In striking contrast to Vegas’ neon shimmer was the majesty of the Hoover Dam. For the filmmakers, as well as for the main characters David and Linda, the journey proved to be an exercise in rediscovering America.—From albertbrooks.com

“CASINO” 
1995 — Las Vegas
Plot: Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a gambling empire.
Stars: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, & Joe Pesci
The Las Vegas locations used in this classic mob film are too vast to list, but some notable ones are Bally’s and former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman’s actual Fourth Street office. The driving scene in the beginning of the movie was filmed on Fremont Street in downtown, which is no longer open to automobile traffic.
The Tangiers casino mentioned in the movie is fictional; the story is actually based upon the history of the Stardust casino and the life of mobster Franky “Lefty” Rosenthal.
Las Vegas residents and tourists can get a great overview of the city’s mob history on the Vegas Mob Tour (vegasmobtour.com, 866-218-4935), Wednesday through Saturday in the winter months and daily in the spring and summer months. The two-and-a-half hour bus tour covers fedoras and pinstriped suits from Bugsy Siegel in the ’40s to Rosenthal in the ’70s. Former mobster Frank Cullotta served as a technical adviser on the “Casino” set and has provided his insights to the tour.

ID4 monument in Rachel

“INDEPENDENCE DAY”
1996 — Rachel & West Wendover
Plot: The aliens are coming, and their goal is to invade and destroy. Fighting superior technology, man’s best weapon is the will to survive.
Stars: Will Smith, Bill Pullman, & Jeff Goldblum
Perhaps Nevada’s most obscure monument to the motion-picture industry lies in the small town of Rachel on the Extraterrestrial Highway—or State Route 375. “The ‘ID4’ monument in front of the Little A’Le’Inn was placed here by the producers of the movie ‘Independence Day,’” reads rachel-nevada.com. “It contains a time capsule, to be opened in the year 2050.”
Imdb.com lists the “trailer park scene” as having been filmed in Rachel. Holabird, also a film reviewer for KUNR, says Pullman and Goldblum traveled to Rachel the year the movie was released in theaters—1996—to dedicate the official opening of the Extraterrestrial Highway. “The Area 51 shots were done at the Wendover Air Base, which meant the cast and crew, even Will Smith, stayed in West Wendover,” she says. The movie also used Utah’s famously spacious and white Bonneville Salt Flats, just east of West Wendover, for filming.

Exploded plane from "3,000 Miles..."

“3000 MILES TO GRACELAND”
2001 — Las Vegas & Nelson
Plot: A gang of ex-cons robs a casino during Elvis convention week.
Stars: Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, & Courteney Cox
Nelson is best known as one of Southern Nevada’s most intriguing “living ghost towns,” but it’s also home to a piece—a big piece—of movie memorabilia. The remnants of a plane blown up by Costner’s character sit adjacent to the Techatticup Mine, available for tours most days via Eldorado Canyon Mine Tours (eldoradocanyonminetours.com, 702-291-0026).
The set was not new to Russell. Another film he stars in, 1997’s “Breakdown,” also used the Nelson area as a backdrop.

“WAKING UP IN RENO”
2002
Plot: A romantic comedy about two trashy couples traveling to Reno to see a monster truck show.
Stars: Billy Bob Thornton, Charlize Theron, & Patrick Swayze
The Biggest Little City has provided the backdrop for countless films, as is the case with this under-the-radar movie. Perhaps it wouldn’t have flown quite so far under had Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston not dropped out prior to filming. Casino scenes were filmed in the former Fitzgeralds, also seen in the 2010 film “Love Ranch,” starring Joe Pesci, which is based on the real-life story of Joe Conforte opening the first legal brothel in the state.
“Kingpin” used downtown Reno’s National Bowling Stadium extensively, and who could forget the scene of Whoopi Goldberg and a group of fellow nuns running under the famous downtown “Biggest Little City in the World” arch in “Sister Act”?

“THE ISLAND”
2005 — Rhyolite
Plot: A man goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a “harvestable being,” kept as a source of replacement parts, along with others, in a Utopian facility.
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, & Djimon Hounsou
Forget its role in popular films. If you haven’t been to Rhyolite, a popular ghost town just west of Beatty, you’re missing a real Nevada treasure. The barely standing buildings and ruins remain from the early 1900s when the Bullfrog Mining District boomed. By the 1920s, the town was by all means abandoned. Structures such as the three-story Cook Bank Building fit Bay’s vision of a desolate world in which Johansson and McGregor’s characters are thrust.
Filming of “The Island” also commenced in Tonopah, according to imdb.com. 1987’s “Cherry 2000,” a sci-fi action number starring Melanie Griffith, was filmed almost exclusively in Nevada, utilizing the aforementioned Rhyolite, as well as Goldfield and the Hollywood-popular Valley of Fire State Park.

What are your favorite Nevada movies? Let us know in the Comments section.

Historical Nevada Book Now Available

In honor of Nevada’s 150th birthday in 2014, Nevada Magazine is publishing a special book titled Historical Nevada: 150 Memorable Images in Celebration of the Silver State's Sesquicentennial. This 160-page publication is a great way for Nevadans and Nevada enthusiasts to celebrate the state's heritage. The cover shows the Virginia & Truckee Railroad as it was in 1876 Carson City.

The book also pays homage to Nevada Magazine's annual Nevada Historical Calendar, because the 150 images showcased are the most intriguing and memorable from 36 years of calendars (1978-2013). "We carefully scanned and edited the photos to preserve their original attributes," says Nevada Magazine Publisher Janet Geary. "We know you will enjoy this nine-decade journey through the different eras that shaped Nevada and helped create the state we know and love today."

From 1870s Virginia City to 1950s Las Vegas, Historical Nevada illustrates the Silver State's rise from a sparsely populated mining mecca into a world-renowned tourist destination. It also includes a Foreword by Richard Moreno, who was the Nevada Magazine publisher from 1992 to 2006. He has authored a number of Nevada history books, most recently A Short History of Carson City, and he is currently a professor at Western Illinois University.

Each book is $29.95 plus $6 shipping and handling. To order, visit nevadamagazine.com, or call 775-687-0610. Nevada state employees can get the Historical Nevada book for $25 by e-mailing carrie@nevadamagazine.com or calling 775-687-0610.

2014 Nevada Historical Calendar Now Available

The 2014 Nevada Historical Calendar, produced by Nevada Magazine, is now available for pre-order. For 36 years, Nevada residents and enthusiasts have enjoyed the award-winning wall calendar full of black-and-white photographs from years gone by. It also makes for a great holiday gift.

An 1876 scene of the Carson City Capitol is featured on the cover. The 2014 calendar features many more images from Nevada’s past, including a few from the early days of the Comstock, famous writer Mark Twain's cabin in Aurora, an 1860s photo of Austin, and an 1870s photo of Eureka. All of the inside calendar images are from Nevada's first decade of statehood.

Each calendar is $14 plus $4 shipping and handling. To order, visit nevadamagazine.com, or call 775-687-0610. Nevada state employees can get the 2014 Nevada Historical Calendar for $11 by e-mailing carrie@nevadamagazine.com or calling 775-687-0610.

Nevada Magazine Announces 2013 Photo Contest

For more than three decades, Nevada Magazine’s Great Nevada Picture Hunt photo contest has been a favorite among photographers and readers. The Grand Prize winner of this year’s contest will receive a $250 gift certificate (redeemable online as well) courtesy of Gordon’s Photo Service based in Carson City and Reno. The winner will also have the image published in the September/October 2013 issue of Nevada Magazine and on nevadamagazine.com, and receive an award certificate.

2nd Place will receive a $150 gift certificate from Gordon’s, 3rd Place will receive a $100 certificate, and 4th Place will receive a $50 certificate. All winners and Honorable Mentions will be published in the September/October 2013 issue of Nevada Magazine and on nevadamagazine.com, as well as receive award certificates.

The 2013 Great Nevada Picture Hunt, open to all photographers, has no categories this year, so your creativity has no bounds. Send up to seven (7) submissions via e-mail to snebeker@nevadamagazine.com by 5 p.m. (PDT) on Monday, July 1, 2013. To mail your images, call 775-687-0617 for instructions. Click here to view past photo contest winners, or for more contest details, visit nevadamagazine.com.

In Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2013 issue 

Nevada Magazine’s May/June 2013 issue is now available on statewide and national newsstands. It features stories on HawkWatch International, which has a raptor research site in Nevada's Goshute Mountains, and a Carson Valley falconry family. Also highlighted are the Silver State's vast network of scenic dirt roads, and the issue's other feature story is a photo gallery spotlighting the historic town of Virginia City.

The Cravings department includes a story about arte italia's Reno culinary classes, featuring authentic Italian chefs and food. The City Limits section previews the new Wet 'n' Wild Las Vegas waterpark. Finally, cycling enthusiasts can learn about six scenic Nevada rides — three in Northern Nevada and three in Southern Nevada.

Virginia City’s Fourth Ward School

Historic school opens new Comstock Archives and Research Center.

STORY & PHOTOS BY ADAM ROBERTSON

Virginia City is one of the most historic places in Nevada—a bastion of the Old West in a modern age, residence of Mark Twain, resting place of the Suicide Table, location of the Comstock Lode, and home to the Fourth Ward School.

The school, opened in 1877 and operated until 1936, recently opened the Comstock Archive and Research Center—a collection of documents, maps, books, and memorabilia all pertaining to the Fourth Ward School and the history of the Comstock. Operation of the Archive and Research Center will work very much like similar collections.

“[The center will work like] the state Historical Societies, the library archives,” says Cindy Southerland, director of the Archive and Research Center, “where you come in, if you need help doing research [someone is there to help].”

Shelves of books containing documents and records of the
Comstock are available to researchers.

As you enter the school, you immediately head down a staircase, the old planks worn and warped from nearly 60 years of traffic by students and faculty. At the bottom, you turn into a classroom that was once the school’s home economics room. It still holds vestiges of its former life: a work station with a sink, stone slab, and plenty of workspace.

Across from it lies an old gas stove with two ranges and a glass-front, two-rack oven. By the entrance is a wall of wooden lockers, with notes scrawled by students long-since graduated. Though it wasn’t allowed at the time, after the school closed in 1936, many students returned to write their names or messages in the school and, in some places, these notes are carefully cleaned and painted around in order to preserve them.

In the middle of the room sits a long table filled with documents from the school’s heyday: diplomas, pictures, and newspaper clippings of sports teams and class photos, plus a copy of the rules to be followed by students and teachers—these are the start of the archives. The remainder of the documents are stored in a connecting room containing a vault—named the Purple Monkey for an anonymous donor who helped fund it—and a nearby storage room.

Documents of the Fourth Ward School laid out as an exhibit for
museum and archive visitors.

Originally, the plan was to have the archives focus solely on documents and records related to the Fourth Ward School. However, after some consideration, it was decided to expand the idea.

“We quickly realized that, up on the Comstock, we needed a place where people could come and find more information on more topics than just the Fourth Ward School,” Southerland says. “So we really expanded our mission statement; we expanded our collections. People can come in here now and start researching bonds, the mills, the railroad, and all the schools in the Comstock Historic District, including Gold Hill, Silver City, and Dayton.”

Over time, the collection has been organized into a database—part of which is to be made available to the public via computer. People will also be able to request help in doing research on documents and genealogy. The general public will not be allowed into the vault, however, and the full archive will only be available by appointment.

For more information about the Fourth Ward School museum, the Archive and Research Center, or to make a donation to the school, visit fourthwardschool.org.

McKeen Motor Car Nominated for National Historic Landmark Status

Nevada's McKeen Motor Car served on the historic V&T Railway until 1945.

Ron James, chairman of the National Historic Landmarks Committee, announced today that the McKeen Motor Car at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City has been recommended for listing by his committee.

“If the nomination clears the remaining hurdles, this will be the first piece of railroad equipment to win an individual place in the list of National Historic Landmarks,” he said.

The National Landmarks Committee of the National Park System is meeting for three days in Washington, D.C. to deliberate on 15 properties. Recommended nominations will subsequently appear before the Advisory Board for the National Park System, which then recommends nominations for listing by the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. James also sits on the Advisory Board and serves as the state historic preservation officer for Nevada.

“I couldn’t be more delighted by the outcome of yesterday’s meeting,” said Peter Barton, the administrator for the Nevada Division of Museums and History. Barton appeared before the committee to present the nomination, which was drafted by Michael “Bert” Bedeau, district administrator of the Comstock Historic District Commission.

“Listing of the McKeen Car will boost our efforts to gain national recognition for this important resource,” Barton added. The McKeen Car was previously granted the lower level of recognition by being listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Other locomotives and rolling stock are listed as parts of districts. Seven other sites — including Virginia City and Hoover Dam — are listed in Nevada, and there are fewer than 2,500 landmarks listed nationwide.

The McKeen Motor Car is significant as a rare example of William McKeen’s effort to use internal combustion engines for rail travel, which previously had only used steam propulsion. McKeen also experimented with streamlining and use of lightweight metals for his motorized railcars. This resulted in lower capital and operating costs and had the effect of preserving passenger and express service on lightly-populated railroad branch lines across the United States.

Approximately 160 McKeen Motor Cars were built from 1905 to 1920. Nevada’s example of the McKeen Car served on the famed Virginia and Truckee Railway after the turn of the 20th century. Once retired in 1945, the vehicle was converted into restaurant and then retail space in Carson City. In 1995 it was donated to the Nevada State Railroad Museum, where staff spent years restoring the McKeen Car, the nation’s only survivor of its kind that is able to move under its own power.

“Nevadans should be proud of this rare artifact and of the exemplary efforts of the talented staff at the Nevada State Railroad Museum,” James said. “With this first level of approval, I am hopeful that listing can occur in 2012.”

Read about Nevada train attractions here. View and download images of the McKeen Car here.

Nevada Magazine Highlights Reno-Tahoe Territory

Photo: Chris Talbot

Nevada Magazine’s November/December 2011 issue — the Reno-Tahoe Territory Special Edition — will be available soon on newsstands throughout Nevada. In it are a feature on Lake Tahoe ski resorts and a roundup of northwestern Nevada cities and towns, including Carson City, Reno, and Virginia City.

Also highlighted are Reno-Tahoe Territory’s lakes and parks, the Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, noteworthy events in the territory, and a history story titled “The Six-Week Cure,” about Reno’s liberal divorce laws in the 1930s and the effect they had on the city.

The issue concludes Nevada Magazine’s 75th-anniversary year. To celebrate the milestone, the magazine covered Nevada’s six tourism “Territories” in 2011, customizing each of the year’s six issues to honor Las Vegas Territory, Pony Express Territory, Cowboy Country, Indian Territory, Nevada Silver Trails, and, finally, Reno-Tahoe Territory. Read all the Territory issues here.

Nevada enthusiasts can package the six special Territory issues with other great Nevada Magazine products such as the 75th-Anniversary Edition and 2012 Nevada Historical Calendar. The magazine is offering a number of great holiday gifts, such as the Nevada Lover's Package. Find out more at nevadamagazine.com, or by calling 775-687-0603.

The Mackay Mansion Museum

A visit to The Mackay Mansion Museum—or Virginia City in general for that matter—truly is a "Step Back in Time" (which just so happens to be the slogan of the Northern Nevada historic town's Convention and Tourism Authority).

The museum reopened for tours on May 1 of this year, and we were lucky enough to be escorted around the property by the man behind the mansion's renaissance: Octavio A. Cresta. He has leased the mansion through 2014 and has furnished its bedrooms with period pieces from his Uniquities Fine Antiques and Home Decor store out of Incline Village.

A stroll through the mansion is eloquent, rugged, and a little bit of spooky all rolled into one. When you walk into the stylish bedrooms, you get a feel for how absurdly rich John Mackay was. Mackay was the "Boss of the Big Bonanza," which put his net worth at about $100 million in his glory days. He moved into the mansion, originally built as the Gould and Curry mining offices, after his home was destroyed in the city's Great Fire of 1875. The grand room (see photo above) of the Italianate-style house claims the original fireplace and overhanging mirror—the mirror's frame appears to be plated with gold.

The museum also has its share of rustic items, from an old fire-fighting wagon to myriad household items of the day (stoves, sewing machines, laundry soap, etc.). Like many old Nevada buildings, there are rumors of the paranormal at the mansion, too. The most famous story concerns actor Johnny Depp. While filming the movie "Dead Man," Depp stayed in Mackay's former bedroom. He supposedly saw a ghostly apparition in the form of a little girl, who other people have claimed to see in the house.

The mansion is open to the public for tours daily, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Winter hours, which begin around November 1, are to be determined. Private, exclusive tours can be tailored to your needs. Call 775-847-0373 for more information.



Photos & story by Matthew B. Brown. See more photos here.