Carson City Historic Resource Commission Announces the 2021 Scavenger Hunt
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Fri, 04/30/2021 - 2:43pm
In recognition of Historic Preservation and Archeological Awareness Month, the City’s Historic Resource Commission has organized the 2021 Scavenger Hunt.
This year’s hunt “Founding of the Historic District” focuses on building foundations in the historic district and in the downtown commercial core.
Also, at the Board of Supervisors’ May 6 meeting, the 2021 Historic Preservation Award will be presented to the Carson City Culture and Tourism Authority dba Visit Carson City for the interpretive markers on the Kit Carson Trail.
Visit Carson City was the lead agency on this project, and partnered with Silver State Industries, the Carson City Historic Society, and Carson City Public Works to make this vision a reality
Until recently, the Kit Carson Trail, a walking tour through the historic district, was marked with a blue line on the sidewalk.
Visit Carson City has “refreshed” the Kit Carson Trail by installing sandstone markers on the planting strip in front of forty-seven historic buildings, homes, churches, and sites throughout the West Side Historic District.
The sandstone pieces are approximately two feet by one foot by 8 inches, the names are engraved and powder coated on brushed 60/61 aluminum and repurposed medallions from Carson Street are embedded in each sandstone piece.
Carson City’s West Side Historic District encompasses approximately seventy acres at the historic core of Nevada’s capital city.
Most of the city’s surviving early houses were constructed to the west of Carson Street, where there is a concentration today that forms the historic district.
The period of significance begins with the platting of Carson City in 1858 and concludes in 1945 with the shift to post-war architectural traditions.
Carson City’s historic buildings literally rest on a variety of stone, brick, and concrete foundations. These anchor the buildings and keep wooden sills from direct contact with the ground.
Earliest foundations were as simple as large boulders placed strategically at intervals to level and support the wooden structure.
Sandstone blocks quarried at the Territorial Prison (now the Nevada State Prison) were often used to create a more permanent and fully enclosed foundation. Brick and concrete were also favored foundation material.
For the third year in a row, Jim Phelan of the Fox Brewpub is donating a gift card to the person whose hunt is drawn from the correct entries.
You can download or complete the hunt online using a mobile device by visiting carson.org/hunt, or pick up a hard copy at the Planning Office, 108 East Proctor Street. To be considered for the prize, your completed hunt must be turned in by May 28, 2021.
Maps of the Kit Carson Trail are available at Visit Carson City, 716 North Carson Street.
Everyone is encouraged to enjoy the 2021 Scavenger Hunt and the Kit Carson Trail.
