83°F
weather icon Cloudy

Commission honors historic home for Preservation Day

Boulder City is a town that takes its history seriously and that commitment will be on full display later this month as the city celebrates Historic Preservation Day.

Celebrations and presentations will take place on May 13 at both the Nevada State Railroad Museum and at the Historic Water Filtration Plant. The events are part of a national movement that began in the 1970s and was extended to the entire month of May in 2005 by the National Trust in an effort to promote historic places and heritage tourism as well as demonstrating the social and economic benefits of historic preservation. This year’s celebration will focus on the railroad and its importance in the development of Boulder City.

As a part of the month-long celebration, one property is chosen each year to represent the preservation efforts of the earliest buildings in the city. Three properties were nominated this year, all within the historic downtown area of Boulder City:

• The Boulder Dam Hotel, built in 1933 and renovated in the 1990s. It is the home of the Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum operated by the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association.

• The building at 554 Nevada Way, which houses the Dam Roast House &Browder Bookstore. Opened shortly after Christmas in 1931 when it was known as Browder’s Cafe and owned by businesswoman Ida Browder, the building lays claim to being the first permanent commercial structure in Boulder City.

• A private home located at 524 Birch Street that was one of many built in 1938 by the Los Angeles Bureau of Power and Light to provide housing for their employees working on the Hoover Dam project. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Boulder City Historic District.

According to real estate records, the current improvements were done by the previous owner who sold it to the current owners in 2021. The original garage located on the alley behind the home was converted into a casita and a new two-car garage was added. The original 100-amp electrical service has been upgraded to 400 amps and all of the electrical and most of the plumbing were replaced.

Given the 90th anniversary of the hotel, it might have seemed a shoo-in for this year’s award. However, after commission chairperson Blair Davenport thanked all of the nominees and noted that they are all worthy of support, the commission voted 3-1 to give the 2023 award to the home on Birch Street. Commission member Charles Hauntz was the lone vote for the hotel.

Commission member Ray Turner said, “I appreciate the work that has gone into maintaining and improving the home at 524 Birch Street and I like the idea of rewarding the property owners of these homes in the Historic District for the upkeep and investments they make in retaining the historic features.”

Davenport and commission member Glenn Feyen concurred.

“I like the hotel,” Feyen said. “It’s a beautiful building and when we have visitors in town we make sure we take them there and we go through the museum. My thought is that the hotel has a lot of people working on the upkeep. I lean toward recognizing the individual property owner for their effort. There is a lot of work that goes into maintaining an older home like that and I would like to reward that effort with an award.”

The decision of the commission now moves on to the City Council, which will make a presentation of the award along with a final announcement of the activities planned for Historic Preservation Day at the council’s meeting scheduled for May 9.

MOST READ
LISTEN TO THE TOP FIVE HERE
THE LATEST
Search for Central Market tenant continues

It’s been just short of two months since of a trio of friends, who are also longtime local property and business owners, made an announcement that piqued the interest of many in Boulder City.

About 83% of students feel safe at BC schools

Councilwoman Sherri Jorgensen was full of praise regarding a recent all-schools event at the high school.

Local aid groups get fed grant funding

The city has approved disbursement of almost $255,000 in federally-supplied community development block grant (CDBG) funds to three local entities: the Senior Center, Emergency Aid and Lend A Hand.

Planning commission approves Tract 350 variance request

Toll Brothers bettered their record in front of the planning commission to 2-1 last month when the developer got approval for a variance request related to the width of lots in Tract 350.

Kicking Off the New Year

Boulder City High School held its traditional back-to-school assembly this past Friday. School spirit and enthusiasm filled the gym as classes competed against one another to hold the coveted Spirit Stick. Aside from games, members of the fall sports teams performed to songs.

BC Electric’s Medo makes accusations about e-bike/scooter law

While the great majority of public comment surrounding the issues of unsafe usage — often by juveniles — of e-bikes and electric scooters was firmly on the side of the city “doing something,” not everyone is onboard.

So where does that RDA money come from?

It wasn’t all about donuts or whether super bright pink is an appropriate color for a building in the historic district. In addition to donuts it was about, well, dollars.

King to participate in essay contest

Last week, it was announced that fourth graders throughout the state are invited to participate in an essay contest, with the winner receiving the honor of lighting the 2025 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C.

Really better buy that helmet

With a couple of significant amendments, the city council voted unanimously to pass an ordinance regulating the use of e-bikes and e-scooters in Boulder City. The ordinance passed unanimously Tuesday and will take effect on Sept. 18.