Nevada Builders Alliance seeks to rally community in resurrecting Jack's Bar

Jack's Bar, an iconic building that has been at the corner of Fifth and Carson streets since 1899, has new ownership and a new lease on life.

The Carson City-based Nevada Builder's Alliance, a state-wide professional organization representing the construction industry and affiliated sectors, recently completed the purchase of the Jack's Bar building for $300,000.

The property, located at 418 South Carson Street, was purchased from Cubix Ormsby LLC, which also owns the Ormsby House on the opposite corner of the intersection.

The Nevada Builders Alliance (NBA) paid cash for the property, said NBA Chief Executive Officer Aaron West.

"We had cash on hand that we were looking to employ," he said. "So we thought, let's at least have the conversation and see what happens."

Negotiations, he said, lasted about three months before a price was agreed to. The deal was brokered by NAI Alliance in Carson City.

"Once we got them to agree on a price, we didn't want them to change their minds," West said. "So we closed quickly within 40 days."

The sale also included 5,000 square feet of vacant lot space behind Jack's Bar.

West said the NBA took an interest in the historic property for a number of reasons, the first being its proximity to the Nevada Legislature, situated directly across Carson Street.

"We are very legislative in nature," he said. "So for us, we thought why not plant our flag right across the street?"

But the building isn't exactly move-in ready.

West said a lot of work has to be done to make the building safe before any renovations can made for business activity.

"It is hazardous," West said, describing the condition of the structure. "That's the real sad part about this deal. We literally have to gut everything but the rock walls."

The roof collapsed on the building years ago, he said, and the exterior windows and doors may also need to be replaced.

"Everything on the inside of those rock walls comes out," West said. "We are still trying to figure out if we can salvage the windows and doors, because they are in such poor shape."

Fortunately, West said the NBA has Bill Miles of Miles Construction on its board of directors and there are already ideas on the table for addressing the structural needs of Jack's Bar.

West said the NBA is considering starting with a polymer-based reinforcement coating on the rock walls. This application should then allow a structural team to go in and begin renovation.

"We knew what we were getting into and we knew what we had to do," West said. "We poured over it and really got after it."

West said most buyers would not have gone after that property in the condition that it's in. But, then again, Jack's Bar isn't an ordinary property in Carson City, either.

Former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha has written about the property's history. The location, home to a number of drinking establishments since 1859, has beared the name Jack's Bar since 1966. The current structure dates back to just before the turn of the 20th Century.

Jack's Bar was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, Rocha wrote, and closed in June 2002.

"Nobody in their right mind is going to buy that at the price we had to pay and go into it with that kind of project on their hands," West said. "At the end of the day, this gave us an opportunity resurrect a property in downtown Carson and be part of the downtown revitalization."

West said there is no timetable for structural reinforcement and interior renovation.

"The nice thing is we can be patient on this, because it was a cash buy," he said. "We are committed to making something that is historically correct."

Plans right now are to rebuild a 1,000 square foot period-correct bar area inside the structure and finish off the remainder of the space with offices and a conference room for the NBA.

"A lot of people think the whole building was the bar," West said. "But records show just half the space was a bar. The back half was some sleeping rooms for overnight guests, as well as a card room."

To bring Jack's Bar back to its glory days, West said he seeks help from the community to bring the vision to life.

"We are trying to rally the community," he said. "Information is pretty thin on this to try and track down pictures, and it's really sparse."

West said he hopes there are people out there who have more information to share on the property or who may even possess artifacts from the old Jack's Bar.

Most of the historical furnishings were auctioned off, he said, but the NBA is hoping to learn if some of those items may still exist.

At the very least, West said he hopes there may be photographs of furnishings from which replicas can be made.

Anyone with information about Jack's Bar is encouraged to contact West 775-882-4353 or via email at aaron@nevadabuilders.org.