A long-vacant historic landmark of downtown Carson City has been sold.
Jack’s Bar, at the corner of Carson and 5th streets, and across the street from the Nevada Legislature and the Ormsby House, has been purchased by the Nevada Builders Alliance for $300,000.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Carson City to restore a historic, and notorious, downtown location and put it, at long last, to beneficial use,” said Aaron West, CEO, NBA. “While we’re still working through the details, our intention is to restore the property to its glory days. I expect a significant amount of buzz to be created during the restoration. This is an exciting project, for NBA and for Carson City. The outpouring of support for this project has been tremendous, with so many people and companies wanting to play a role.”
West said NBA has tentative plans to restore the saloon in the front half of the 2,100 square foot building, and possibly use the back half for offices, as it was laid out according to a 1907 map of the building that NBA unearthed.
West said NBA has been working with state and local historic preservation agencies and is interested in any information, photos, or artifacts related to the building.
The sale also involves two vacant lots totaling 5,000 square feet behind Jack’s Bar that NBA may add parking or another building.
According to NBA, Bill Miles, Miles Construction, was integral to determining the structural integrity of the building.
“We’ve done a lot of historic preservation. We want to use Jack’s Bar as a teaching tool,” said Miles.
Miles Construction is currently finishing up the Bentley Heritage Distillery, a restoration of a 100 year-old flour mill in Minden.
Miles said he thinks Jack’s Bar can be preserved as well.
“There is state of the art technology,” said Miles. “It does not have to be torn down. There are materials to reinforce the existing walls in place.”
Not much else than the rock walls will remain, though, as the interior of the building has significantly deteriorated over the years.
Miles said evaluation of the building will begin in July, and work on it could be a five-year project overall.
The property was sold by Cubix Ormsby LLC, a partnership of Don Lehr and Al Fiegehen, owners of the Ormsby House, which is also on the market.
Brad Bonkowski, NAI Alliance, broker of record and owner, was the broker on the deal.
“It is one more blight we’re removing from Carson City,” said Bonkowski, who is also a Carson City supervisor.
According to Guy Rocha, former Nevada State archivist, Jack’s Bar has been home to various drinking establishments since 1859, but the existing building dates back to 1899 when it was first known as the Bank Saloon. The tavern has been known as the Bank Resort, Hernando’s Hideaway, the Y-NOT Bar, Angelo’s, and starting in 1966 as Jack’s Bar.
The bar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and was closed in June 2002.
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