Virginia City | Nevada State Capitol Building

Friday - 28 June 2002: Carson City, Nevada - We spent several hours this morning in Virginia City, Nevada - just a few miles up into the hills from Carson City. In the 1880s, the richest lode of silver and gold in the history of the continental US was discovered in Virginia City. It grew to a boom-town of 25,000 residents and $750 million (in 1880 dollars) of ore was mined. (That is roughly ten billion today.) Men moved here, made their fortunes and built huge mansions and imported furnishings from Europe. Many of these homes still stand today - a few are open to the public. We toured The Castle a home built in 1868. It has only had three owners. The second and third owners have purchased the house and the original-owners furnishings. It is the best original mansion in Nevada, and it has never been restored - everything is as it was, including the fabulous wallpaper and carpets. Sorry, no photos were allowed. The original owners were a couple and their two daughters - and they had seven servants, plus "day laborers" from town. There were no toilets in the house, but they did have running water - hand pumped up to a tank on the roof. The house also had piped coal gas for the lights. Every window in the house is draped in huge lace curtains, made by European nuns. Each lace piece took 3 years to tat and was $3000 each! Three of the lace curtains still hang in windows of the home.

We walked through the streets and looked in several of the shops. Now the town is a typical tourist-trap with a Wild West flavor. They have saloon shoot-outs staged on the streets, you can pan for gold and there are at least three places where you can dress up and have your photo taken in cowboy, miner, bargirl, etc., costumes - made to look old-fashioned. Many of the shop keepers are in period dress. Cowboys lean against walls on the covered wooden sidewalks of the town. All the hotels and restaurants have slot machines. We had fun and found a few cute things for souvenirs. At about one o'clock, our throats were feelin' mighty parched, pawdner... so we high-tailed it over to The Bucket of Blood Saloon for a frosty beverage.

The Bucket of Blood Saloon - Virginia City, Nevada

We took our Virginia City postcards over to the hotel lobby for posting and went to the cage at the casino to receive our free "fun pack", compliments of the RV Park. We were given a roll of nickels, so we promptly lost them in the nickel slot machines. Carson City is not like Las Vegas. No glitz and glamour here. We are talking $2 Blackjack tables. The only difference between a $2 Blackjack table and a $25 Blackjack table, is that with the $2 table, it takes LONGER to lose your money.  There is a large group of softball players staying at the resort/casino/RV park/bowling center - they are all from Merced. We didn't stay very long - the casino is not very nice and it was very smoky. I don't think the casinos here have many gaming tables - it seems slots are the thing in Carson City.

Now, I don't want you to think we are running short of cash. On the contrary. DT has been very lucky on this trip. On his daily jogs he has found 49-cents in only 6 weeks time. I have found a penny. Hey, you do the math and realize that is half a dollar! And don't forget - the IRS is totally clueless to this extra income.

For our adventure this afternoon, we toured the Nevada State Capitol Building. Yes, Carson City is the heart-beat of Nevada! Nevada was admitted to the union on October 31, 1864. Carson City was chosen as the capital and work began in 1870 on the Capitol Building. Carson City is named indirectly after Kit Carson. John C. Fremont named a river after his scout, Kit Carson, who later became a famous frontiersman, and Carson City is named after the river. Carson City is one of the smallest state capitals in the nation (and has no scheduled air service). Though the Capitol Building is rather small, it is an attractive building - symmetrical - with pretty grounds. Of course, as in the other State Capitol Buildings we have visited on this trip, security is basically non-existent - we walked right in and started walking around and no one cared one way or the other.

Nevada State Capitol Building

The building has no dome, which is disappointing, and the cupola has been closed-off as it caused a loud echo and was full of bats! Because of the small size of the building, the Assembly and Senate now have a new building next door for their offices and legislative sessions. The Senate chamber now houses an interesting museum showing everything you would ever want to know about the building, including examples of the original Senate desks and a chair made from elk antlers - used by Teddy Roosevelt. The gardens are very nice around the Capitol - beautiful lawns, tall trees and many statues. There are many shady benches, where you can take a rest. One hundred years ago an iron fence was placed around the grounds - to keep cattle from grazing near the building. (Ladies were complaining of the smell.)

DT posing (dangerously) in front of the Miner Memorial


Kit Carson statue on the Capitol grounds

After this educational expedition, we headed-out to tour the Blue Line Trail (they also have a podcast), a self-guided walking tour that takes the visitor to many of the city's oldest and most historical homes and buildings - in less than two miles. Most of the homes were built by railroad, lumber or mining tycoons from 1860 to the early 1900s. Most seem to be occupied as family homes, but several are office buildings now. The route also took us past the Governor's Mansion, home to Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn and his family. Mrs. Guinn is restoring the grounds. One of the last stops was the Carson Brewing Company Building, built in 1864. This brewery produced Tahoe Beer for over a century.

Governor's Mansion (built in 1909)


Sign at Carson Brewery Building - now an art center

There were only two restaurants recommended in our Fodor's Road Trip guide. We went to Silvana's - (NOTE: This restaurant has now closed!) because it was Italian. It didn't look too promising from the street, but as we entered the dining room, we were impressed. Very pretty room and friendly staff. The menu is huge - and then they offered about 10 specials. The owner/chef, Silvana, is from Venice - via Canada. We learned that Silvana cooks everything from scratch herself. DT tried the angel hair pasta with anchovy sauce and I had a halibut special - seared fish with a pink peppercorn sauce. I was most pleased. The bread was ho-hum and the salad was a salad, but the fish was divine. Silvana came out of the kitchen to chat. We have something in common - a smart daughter named Lisa. (Silvana learned English by watching "As the World Turns" while pregnant, and named her daughter after a character on the soap!) Silvana, in her 70s, is also an avid golfer and gave us several good leads for tomorrow. Silvana's also serves Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio. Gotta love Silvana's.

RV Park: Pinyon Pines RV Resort - which is now the Gold Dust.