Tracking down Marker 250
The maze of the Capitol Grounds
Oh, yeah. [250] is every bit of a scavenger hunt if there was one! According to the SHPO, the marker is "located at 101 S. Fall Street." Let me tell you that "101 S. Fall Street" does not exist on any Carson City map. You won't find this address anywhere by car, map, or archive. And don't feel so bad if you can't. The all-knowing Google Maps didn't have a clue either. For myself and all marker hunters stumped by this marker's location, let's clear this up once and for all.
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Step One: Find the original Printing Building of Carson City.
- For reasons beyond our understanding, the SHPO enlisted the help of the Carson City Roads Department by choosing an address that dated around the late 1990s. The road department labels the pathway on the capitol grounds as "S. Fall Street," yet "S. Fall Street" is nowhere to be found on any map prior to and after 2001. This is one of those ridiculous cases where the SHPO dropped the ball so far down the well it's downright crystal by now.
Option One: Start here! Use the crosswalk across Stewart Street and walk straight through these glass doors.
Step Two: There are two ways to get here,
but each one requires a walk onto the Capitol plaza. You'll find [250] plastered right at the front door of the former Print Building (today's "Division of Archives & Records") which stands directly behind the Capitol.
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- Start by parking on E. King Street (from Stewart Street) and use the crosswalk to access Capitol Plaza from the east. You'll be walking right through the lobby of the Archives Building to the other side onto the Capitol grounds. Right as you exit the glass doors you'll see this building and the marker on your left. To see the actual printing building itself walk a few hundred yards to the building on your right. How's that for a toughy?
Get There
At the entrance to the Division of Archives & Records - Carson City
* The address is 100 N. Stewart Street. Walk through the lobby. *
City
Carson City
Region
Reno-Tahoe
Signed
No signs exist for this marker.
Difficult
See section above. Park along King Street at Marker 258. Use the crosswalk across Stewart Street.
Exact Description
"Completed in 1886, the State Printing Building is the second oldest structure built by the State within the Capitol Complex. Architects Morrill J. Curtis and Seymore Pixley, designed the Italianate structure to compliment the older State Capitol (1870). Curtis was responsible for many significant buildings throughout Nevada and the West, including the octagonal library annex to the rear of the State Capitol (1906). Like many important structures in Carson City, this building is constructed of sandstone ashlar quarried at the nearby State Prison and is a significant example of state governmental architecture for the period. From 1886 to 1964, the building housed the offices and presses of the State Printer."
Compare this with the next photo. The original State Printing Building is located behind the Capitol Building.
The original building in all its glory now shaded a giant Cottonwood tree.
This marker was rededicated with a new metal-type plaque after the original blue version was taken down.
Compare this with the next photo. The original State Printing Building is located behind the Capitol Building.