Collection: Photographs

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Title: Nevada City (PIC 4-NEV) Collection Type: Photographs Collection Name: Nevada City (PIC 4-NEV) Catalog #: PIC 4-NEV # of Pages: 3,822 Download OCR Text: User Login Required

Printed or handwritten: Photograph or Image Date Scanned: 2025-02-12 08:56:38 Scanned By: Pat Chesnut Scanning Equipment: Pat's Old Scanner OCR Software Version #: tesseract 5.5.0 Item Sourced From: JPGs First Created: 2025-03-17 05:51:12 Last Updated: 2025-03-17 05:51:12

Original Held At: Searls Historical Library Location: 161 Nevada City Hwy, Nevada City, CA 95959

Page: of 3822  

tri, re hy 5/757 “THE GLORY WHICH ‘WAS ONCE ROME” no longer can be used in’ metaphor to include the ‘Union: Hotel: of Nevada City oncé 6ne of the more: elegant hotels in all Northern. California. ‘The one time “Pride of the Sierras” is now being dismantled. to make weary for a highway improvement. As of today, the once proud structure looks dismal, forsaken and forlorn as these pictures will indicate. The name “Union Hotel” still remains, and will probably be. among the last portions of the building to be razed, .: Upper right. shows the arch leading to the former. decor‘ative and distinctive dining and lounge room. _ On the. lower left are a ‘couple. of. stéirs. and. pillar ‘of the. ornamental: staircase,which léd to the second. floor of the! orignal three-story hotel. ' The picture. dt the lower ‘right, is not ‘a mation : -picture ‘set of a ghost towh in Arizona; but‘the present street-side view of the front of the hotel, with the. second floor about razed and thé street floor The ilu oy recess of being demolished to clear ‘the -right of way for the ‘proposed bhows, the ravages’ of time: . By ROSS HERMANNThe historic Union Hotel in Nevada City, a-vital link between the past and the present, is in the proGrass. .Valley«Nevada City. freeway. . ‘Now but a ruinous sen of a building, its. walls leaning -and. its filcors unsafé, it bears little “resemblance: to its. original ‘appear~ ance in 1864 when it was just?y. advertised as. the largest and most elegantly furnished hotel in all of California, '. /: . Qpened in 1864 . _. Bult in the latter part of 1863 by the Union Hotel Company at the cost of $18,500, the -Union swung open its doors to the public on Washington's Birthday in 1864 utation’for its hospitality and fin1 ‘the hotel. boasted. three stories, inery. In an. early advertisement volving 100 large, airy rooms, a barroom, ‘a billiard parlor, a dining: room, an inside courtyarf to provide all rooms with plenty of light, ‘and.a beautifully landscaped park witha bubbling fountain located“ onthé lot-just east. of the hotel. + * During , its early y years its fame spread ‘for: its. fine. cuisine. and the: rare wines arid: liquors. served ‘atrossits: ornaté:-bar.: It -wasat: this time that the hotel was frequented by the “Comstock Kings” ‘and others, closely. associated with the history of the West and the na‘tion, { ‘la -Kept-High Standards ; Uintikemany. hotels the Union maintained the high ‘standards for and soon gained an admirable rep-. floors. . Incandescent lamps, . (Photos by Ross. Hermann.) my which it was hoted up ‘to and after the turn of the-century at which time it was still ranked among the finest’ in the state In 1895 $10,000 was spent for such improvements as the constructing of a balcony along the east side of ihe) building, completely redecorating the interior, and installing lawn tennis courts in the park: . Appearing in the Nevada County Mining Review of 1895. was the following. advertisement, “The dining room is a large and elegant apartment, the office is roomy and well arranged, having all the customary conveniences, while the barroom: and: billiard parlor are equipped in the most complete and handsome manner. Elegantly furnhished and commodious parlors are found on the first and second and gas as well, are found in every. apartment, the dining room, office, and other large rooms being brilliantly lighted. ‘a Fire in 1910: For the Union the beginning of its long slow. decline came in 1910 when the third floor and much of its elegance ‘was ‘ consumed by flames. The-hotel was never rebuilt to its’ former grandeur and from then.on it sank-deeper and. SOT Yaloy WoKY? GUY 25004 LING O0b/ i proyppo 4oorfwe BAAN ~pp 24 L8b/ Ui e4/¢ 72770 soapdwE SL/L S068! ~ALID HANNE 1? deeper info oblivion until it finally ceased to operate in 1949, : -Today, the -partially, -:wrecked structure stands with only one’and: a half stories* remaining gazing out over an area. which has exper-' ienced many changes in. the past 100 years.’ Now, the former pride of Nevada City. stands. with win-. dows smashed and: back’ broken awaiting the final: phase of its destruction.