V&T Railroad Arch could finally be rebuilt in Carson City after contentious demolition 30 years ago
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 02/26/2021 - 10:00am
In 1991, the 45,000-square-foot V&T Roundhouse in Carson City was demolished over the course of five weeks in a decision that was as controversial then as it remains today. However, the memory of it is still with many Carson City residents, and a move to install one of the arches of the historic building is currently being discussed.
“When fully operational, the inside was filled with a machine shop, roundhouse, water works, pattern shop, smith shop, foundry, car shop, engine room, and tin shop and many were employed there,” wrote Ronni Hannaman, Director of the Carson City Chamber of Commerce, in a 2017 article about the Roundhouse.
The roundhouse was constructed by one of Carson City’s founders, Abraham Curry, in Nov. 1882 and it was completed in July 1883 in time for the Fourth of July Ball, said Hannaman. The stones were crafted by prisoners, which were unearthed from Curry’s sandstone quarry on Fifth Street.
“It is a testament to these prison masons that the stones are still in use today,” Hannaman said.
The Roundhouse was listed in the National Register in 1972, according to Hannaman, but despite its significance to both railroad history and the Carson City community at large, the massive sandstone structure was taken apart.
“Some wanted to turn the building into government offices by having the City use the 1987 ‘quick take’ law allowing the city to condemn the property through eminent domain to allow for redevelopment,” said Hannaman. “The citizens opposed this fearing if the project failed, taxpayers would be burdened. As is the case in so many things, taxpayers wanted to preserve the buildings, but were opposed to paying higher taxes to do so.”
According to Carson City Board of Supervisor Stan Jones, the Roundhouse Arch project is important to the community because of V&T’s history in the capital city.
“V&T was a very viable mode of transportation at one time, and the arch is the only thing remaining from the roundhouse,” said Jones. “Thank God public works had vision enough to save (the arch).”
While the building was lost, the city was able to retrieve $9,000 for the purchase of two out of the 11 historic arches. Many of the other sandstone blocks, including, in some cases as whole arches, have made it to regional wineries where they still stand today.
One of those arches has remained with Public Works over this year, waiting for its moment to be rebuilt.
The Redevelopment Fund has helped to improve Carson City throughout the years, from updates to Downtown, to Arts and Culture events, and various projects. One such project that was proposed for Fiscal Year 2022 was the V&T Roundhouse Arch.
The project proposal is being allocated at $20,000 for the conceptual plan, which will determine how and where the arch could be rebuilt.
Supervisor Jones doesn’t have a preference for where the arch should be erected, so long as its erected somewhere.
“It’s time we pick this up,” said Jones. “I only want it somewhere where people can come and take pictures of it, and hopefully there will be a plaque explaining what it is and why it’s important.”
A timeline for when the Roundhouse Arch project could be completed is not known, but funding the planning is the first step to seeing it rebuilt as a part of Carson City’s history.
