Hotel Golden: A Three-Story Beginning

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.

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