Tag: ormsbyhouse

I can’t believe it took me this long to get this published. On October 20, 2006, I was invited to take a tour of the Ormsby House. I went from the top of the roof to the bottom of the basement, and everywhere in between.

The Grand Staircase

After plenty of procrastination, I’ve finally published the photos from that tour. These pages take you through to see how much progress has been made on the inside. I don’t want to spoil the end, but there’s not a lot done. There was a lot of demolition, to be sure, and the building is largely gutted. But they haven’t done a lot of construction to put it back together, except on the hotel floors. And even there, there’s still a lot left to do.

Anyway, go take the tour for yourself. There are five pages this time
One — Two — Three — Four — Five

You know, I really meant to have this done sooner. But at least it's getting done, even if it's slow, right? I just today published page two of Inside the Ormsby House, my special report featuring pictures I took during my tour on October 20th.

There are going to be four or five pages when it's all done, but for now enjoy 1 and 2.

I've been teasing this for nearly a week now, so it's time to come through for you folks. I finally got around to publishing the first part of the photo gallery from my exclusive tour of the Ormsby House.

Page One: The Ground Floor / Casino.

I'd rather publish it all at once, but it took me a week to get this far, so who knows how long the whole thing will take (much like the Ormsby House itself). So I'll trickle it out one page at a time. There will be more pages to come, and more pictures to see. Keep checking back for updates!

I just got back from taking a top-to-bottom, every-inch-covered tour of the Ormsby House. I was invited to come down by Valarie Lehr, wife of co-owner Don Lehr, and we went from the basement to the roof, and everywhere in between. I've got a lot to share, and a ton of pictures, but it's going to take some time to get it all together. So, for now, here are a few teasers.

Update: The first page has been published.

The Ormsby House may be slow to do any actual work, but when they do it's always top-notch stuff. Today in the Nevada Appeal there's an article on the front page about the sidewalk in front of the Ormsby House. Yes, that what we've been reduced to. It's such a miracle when they do the sidewalk that it's front page news. I think this comment at the Appeal sums it up best:

Really?!
We're supposed to be excited about a sidewalk?!
Really?!

But the Ormsby House isn't doing anything half-assed, so instead of just pouring an ordinary concrete sidewalk like you could find anywhere in town, they're laying down brick pavers around the whole property. All along Carson Street from Seventh to Fifth, and then up Fifth to Curry Street. About 5,000 square feet all together. It's the nice touches like this that keep me optimistic that the Ormsby House, when and if it finally does open, will be worth all the wait.

The sidewalk is supposed to be done by Nevada Day. That's the 28th. Let's see if they can do it.

The old sidewalk is laying in a jumbled mess along Seventh Street.

A closeup of the pavers. This is all they have finished so far; they better get hopping if they want to be done by Nevada Day.

Fifth Street is a long way away.

Ormsby House Summer Update

I used to do a monthly update to the Ormsby House Renovation Gallery. But now it's been reduced to quarterly, because there just isn't enough work going on each month.

So that means the Summer Update is now available online. There's just one page this time, with eight pictures. Go check it out.

Ever wanted to own a piece of the Ormsby House? This key for room #414 is up for auction on eBay. At $9.99, it's a steal!

And if old Reno is more your thing, check out this key from the Hotel Mapes. Yours for only $40.99!

These aren't my auctions, I just had to post them. I never knew you could find hotel keys on eBay!

I found a few classic postcards of the Ormsby House listed on eBay (here and here). I just wanted to share these, since there isn't anything else going on with the old O.H. right now.

They're a little fuzzy because of the small thumbnails on eBay. It's pretty funny to see the old ugly Ormsby House, with the FakeDoors™ and the neon and the brown walls and everything. It really was awful (except for the neon - that was cool). And the second picture is really cool because it shows the casino before it was expanded to the north. I never knew there was parking along Fifth Street there!

And I wonder what ever happened to the "Fatty Stratton Trio"?

I heard a rumor tonight that the Ormsby House might be going up for sale soon. This would be a really interesting development, and would explain why they haven't been working on it lately. They're sick of it and giving up.

So is this true? It'll be interesting to watch this story and see what happens.