The first installment of this series covered the Hotel Golden from its beginning as a three-story structure through Charles Sadleir’s tenure as Manager.

Frank Golden, Jr. served in the US Army from June 8, 1918 until August 1, 1919. After his discharge, he worked for the Vulcan Oil Company in Tiffin, Texas and also spent time in San Francisco. Golden then returned to Reno upon Sadleir’s resignation in December of 1924 to resume management of his father’s old hotel.

Another 60-room addition was completed in 1926 and the annex was remodeled and enlarged in 1929. Hotel Golden received all new walnut furniture in 1930.

The Golden’s Reichel automatic fire alarm system successfully detected a series of fires in the hotel’s metal garbage chute in the early 1930s. No damage was caused to the building from the four instances I counted.

In 1935, the old section of the Golden was modernized. At that time, the lobby shrank a bit to make room for a separate bar and an expanded restaurant and kitchen. Air conditioning was added to the lobby, bar, and dining areas.

Due in large part to twelve of his banks failing during the Great Depression, George Wingfield became personally bankrupt in December of 1935. Reno Securities Company was entangled in all of that as a loan guarantor, causing Crocker National Bank of San Francisco to assume ownership of the company and thus, Hotel Golden.

In early 1937, Frank Golden became ill and was away from work for about two months. He returned toward the end of May but resigned in July of 1937. Golden expected to spend two or three months at his Lake Tahoe vacation home. He was replaced by co-managers Gordon Davey and Earl Harrington.

Crocker National Bank kept Wingfield on the payroll as what amounted to an executive manager of the Golden and Riverside hotels. On September 1, 1937, Wingfield announced he had regained control of Reno Securities Company.

Work was constantly being done on various sections of the building. The newly remodeled Golden Coffee Shop operated by William Pappas opened in June of 1939. This space seated 60 and featured a large, refrigerated show window.

This photo from 1940 shows the Hotel Golden with painted friezes below the cornice. The entire brick façade also appears to be painted with spots, possibly an optical illusion.

Hotel Golden was sold to a new entity called Golden Securities Company in November of 1946. John V Mueller was President and the hotel was leased to James H Lloyd. The bar and restaurant were to be operated separately.

However, Golden Securities then announced the building would undergo extensive remodeling with the lobby decorated in a western theme. Lloyd took over management of the Golden Coffee Shop effective December 1, 1946. Gordon Davey and Earl Harrington stayed on but only as managers of the Rooms Department. Lessees were only given a couple weeks to vacate the premises.

The entire transition could have been handled better.

Golden Gulch, which had a bingo parlor, gaming room, and bar, opened on June 14, 1947.

A formal grand opening event was held June 27 followed by the Golden Wheel penny casino grand opening on July 12, 1947. The old hotel safe, which had survived the basement fall in the original fire, was moved into storage in August of 1947.

It was somewhat inaccurately reported that Hull Hotels, controlled by Thomas E Hull and his sister, Sally Lewis Crofwell, acquired controlling interest of Golden Securities Company in June of 1948. Regardless, Hull hired architect Frank W Green to completely overhaul the Golden into something both the Journal and Gazette called “gaudy.”

The main floor transformation included approximately 30,000 square feet of casino, bar, and restaurant space costing around $300,000, depending on whose version of the agreement you believe. A new entrance with approximately 172 feet of Herculite glass was installed. The casino was decorated in a sort of Virginia City western theme. There was a giant kidney-shaped bar and the space had a golden ceiling, of course.

This was done even though the ground floor had just been remodeled the year before. Hull also had the three upper floors redecorated. At the time, it was said to be the most expensive remodeling project in Nevada’s history.

A gala premiere was held at the new Golden Club with its theatre restaurant on October 7, 1948 and was by all accounts well-attended.

However, Hull’s tenure was short-lived. Contractors went unpaid and liens were in place for more than $350,000. Hull left Reno in January of 1949 and his publicist had no comment. James Lloyd stepped in to manage the Golden once again as Hull faced multiple lawsuits.

At that time, Golden Securities announced Hull was no longer associated with the hotel or the company as an executive or as a shareholder. In court documents, the company further attested that Hull had not, in fact, acquired 51 percent ownership of the company. He had simply taken an option but had never actually followed through with the purchase. Hull had subleased the hotel personally from Lloyd and then subleased it again to El Rancho Reno, Inc., a subsidiary of Hull Hotels. Since El Rancho hired the construction companies, Golden Securities’ position was that they had no legal obligation to pay any of it. Bolstering their argument was documented evidence that they had posted signs on the property during construction stating the project was in no way connected to Golden Securities.

El Rancho was bankrupt and went into receivership. The lawsuits dragged on until September of 1950, when Hull finally settled his debts with a significant assist from the Bank Club. Creditors were over the moon about receiving 100 cents on the dollar in a bankruptcy case, which never happens. Everything was totally, one hundred percent legit.

That same month, Bugsy Siegel’s alleged friend, Joseph “Doc” Stacher, withdrew his gaming license application and had his shares in the Hotel Golden and the Bank Club bought out by James McKay and William Graham. Stacher still held a mortgage on the property, however. Totally legit.

In March of 1952, it was announced that Frank Hofues bought the Hotel Golden and neighboring Bank Club. Hofues was to take possession May 1 but the ugliest remodeling project you can imagine began that same month.

Architect Edward Fickett’s design of the New Golden included horrendous metal louvers over the windows along with a streamlined façade.

The club and casino closed for about ten weeks. Hofues completely remodeled the interior with colorful plastics and confetti finish on the walls. A door was also opened between the Golden and the Bank Club. The grand opening was held May 28, 1952 with headliner Cab Calloway. Work on the hotel floors continued throughout the summer.

By February of 1954, negotiations were once again underway for an ownership transfer of the New Golden. That’s where we’ll pick up in the last installment of this series. Click here to read Part One.

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209-221 N Center Street – Reno, Nevada

I know what you’re thinking; Hotel Golden was a four-story building. That is correct, but it didn’t start out that way. When I started reading about this building, I saw it had been covered extensively and I wasn’t sure I would have anything new to add. Then I noticed some discrepancies.

Francis Bernard “Frank” Golden owned a jewelry store at the corner of Second and Virginia Streets in Reno plus some very successful mining claims in Tonopah. In March of 1903, Golden announced he had hired architect Morrill J Curtis of Holesworth, Curtis and Co. to design a new three-story brick building to be constructed on the west side of Center Street between Commercial Row and Second Street.

Golden wanted a four-story building but there was a debate over whether Reno fire protection was sufficient for that additional level. Plumbing bids were solicited for the Nevada Block in August of 1903.

Ground floor spaces were completed first so Golden could begin collecting rent from business owners. Those rooms were ready in early January of 1904 with Vitagraph Theatre Company opening January 16. The Reno Evening Gazette moved to the Nevada Block January 24, 1904.

The May 1904 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the incomplete three-story brick Nevada Block at 209-221 Center Street. A wooden porch extended along the back of the building. The interior had iron-clad ceilings and wire glass skylights. It was noted that offices and rooms were to be built upstairs.

Other building occupants included Chris Mason’s Coronado Saloon, East Reno Land Company, and the Viavi Company. Workingman’s Friend clothing store opened the morning of October 15, 1904.

John L Herron and Al North leased the Nevada Block from Frank Golden in December of 1904 so they could open a new establishment called the Hotel Golden. The building was reconfigured with offices on the first floor. Hotel Golden opened February 1, 1905 with 96 rooms boasting electric lights, steam heat, and hot and cold water.

In 1906, Hotel Golden claimed to be the largest hotel in Nevada.

The May 1906 Sanborn still shows a three-story building with commercial spaces on the ground floor. A brick structure for heating had been added between the hotel and the alley.

Plans for a fourth story addition were announced in July of 1906. At the same time, the building was expanded to fill the lots all the way to the alley. This added approximately 100 rooms and 48 bathrooms to the hotel as well as commercial spaces along the alley.

A second contract was let in November of 1906 for an extensive lobby remodeling project, at which time walls were removed where the Golden Grille was previously located to create a “metropolitan” lobby.

The quality of this image is horrendous but I have been unable to locate another photo of this building prior to the fourth-floor addition.

Because the hotel remained open during the expansion, a wooden superstructure was built along the front of the hotel in February of 1907 to protect pedestrians from falling debris as the fourth floor was constructed.

Frank Golden assumed management of the hotel business when Al North relocated to Goldfield in January of 1908. An elevator was installed that March.

This photo from July 4, 1910 shows the updated four-story Hotel Golden.

Frank Golden died December 9, 1911 (rather than in 1914 as generally reported) at only 49 years of age. There was another Frank Golden who died in Nevada in 1914 but he was around 60 and was not a man of means.

Not that things were going great financially for our Frank at the time of his death. There were some bank failures as well as large mortgages. There was also an outstanding debt to a contractor which seems to have stemmed from a dispute over whether the fourth floor of the hotel was built as per the terms of the contract. First National Bank of San Francisco made a claim for more than $120,000 in early 1912 and it only got uglier from there.

Widow Mamie L Golden and son, Frank Jr., managed the hotel as the estate went through probate. Mamie attempted to fight the judgment which had been awarded to contractor Eugene Schuler prior to her husband’s death but a sheriff’s sale of the Nevada Block was ordered in February of 1915.

First National Bank of San Francisco redeemed the judgment and took possession of the building, which was then sold to Reno Securities Co. in October of 1915. Former Riverside manager Clarence Farnsworth was announced as manager of the Hotel Golden at that time.

Frank Jr. was brought back to manage the hotel in April of 1916 after Farnsworth resigned.

A fire gutted the basement and first floor of the Nevada Block on October 11, 1916. Five hotel rooms were “wrecked” on the second floor. The Golden safe went through the floor to the basement and was recovered without damage. Fortunately, no one was injured and the hotel continued operating while management made plans for repairs.

A “modern” lobby with tile floors replaced the one gutted in the fire. At that time, the stairs between the lobby and second floor were relocated near the elevator. Previously, the staircase had been just inside the front doors.

W. S. Elliott bought a third of the Hotel Golden in May of 1918 leaving George Wingfield and H. G. Humphery with the other two shares.

Frank Jr. left for Leon Springs, Texas that June to join the Army Signal Service in World War I. He had raced motorcycles for a few years and became part of the Motorcycle Corps. Charles J Sadleir was hired to replace him.

I can’t get into all of the details about the various expansions into neighboring lots or this thing will never be finished. However, George Wingfield announced the purchase of the old Russ House in January of 1920 with long-term plans for hotel additions. A building permit was issued in September of 1922 and the existing Hotel Golden was remodeled at the same time. The new addition opened in June of 1923.

In the next installment of this three-part series, I’ll discuss Charles Sadleir’s resignation in December of 1924 and his very familiar replacement.

If you like what you see, be sure to subscribe (way at the bottom of the post on mobile devices) to receive an email each time a new post is published and share on social media. You can also support my work by donating below. This content is 100% funded by history fanatics such as yourself. Thanks for reading!