The Nevada City Downtown Historic District is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from ce ...
in
Nevada City within the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
. Located in
Nevada County, it was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
in 1985. It dates from 1917, with examples of
Moderne
Moderne may refer to:
* Moderne architecture, styles of architecture popular from 1925–1940s
* PWA Moderne, an architectural style in the U.S., 1933–1944
* Streamline Moderne
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco archit ...
and
Italianate
The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italia ...
architecture.
[ and ] The period of significance is 1856-1917. The historic district covers the downtown section roughly bounded by Spring, Bridge, Commercial, York, Washington, Coyote, and Main Streets. It includes 70
contributing buildings
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...
including the
National Hotel, which is separately listed on the National Register.
[ Several historical buildings have received ]California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
status, and have been preserved.
Numbering
* Buildings on Broad Street, numbered from 211 to 420
* Buildings on Commercial Street, numbered from 200 to 405
* Buildings on Main Street, numbered from 30 through 308
* Buildings on South Pine Street, numbered from 108 to 203
* Buildings on North Pine Street, numbered from 108-1/2 to 231
* Buildings on Springs Street, numbered from 300 to 325
* Buildings on Church Street, numbered 214 to 222
* Buildings on Washington Street, numbered 310 and 317
Buildings
* National Hotel, 211 Broad Street
* Court house in Courthouse Square and city hall Art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
facades are attributable to Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, in ...
projects.
* St. Canice Catholic Church, 317 Washington Street
* Doris Foley Library for Historical Research (NRHP No. 90001809), 211 (re-numbered 231) North Pine Street, is a Carnegie library.
* Miners Foundry
The Miners Foundry (previously Nevada Foundry; Nevada Iron Foundry and Machine Shop, George Allan's Foundry and Machine Works, American Victorian Museum, Miners Foundry and Supply Company; currently Miners Foundry Cultural Center) is located at 32 ...
(CHL No. 1012), 325 Spring Street, was the first manufacturing location of the Pelton wheel
The Pelton wheel or Pelton Turbine is an Impulse (physics), impulse-type water turbine invented by American inventor Lester Allan Pelton in the 1870s. The Pelton wheel extracts energy from the impulse of moving water, as opposed to water's dead w ...
.
* National Hotel (CHL No. 899), 211 Broad Street, is one of the oldest continuously operating hotels west of the Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...
.
* Nevada City Firehouse No. 2 is a Neoclassical-Greek Revival style
The Greek Revival was an architectural style, architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United Sta ...
building. The firehouse
__NOTOC__
A fire station (also called a fire house, fire hall, firemen's hall, or engine house) is a structure or other area for storing firefighting apparatuses such as fire engines and related vehicles, personal protective equipment, fire ho ...
was built in 1860 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...
on May 3, 1974.
* Nevada Brewery (NRHP No. 85002303), 107 Sacramento Street, was used for brewing and serving lager beer to the mining community.
* Nevada Theatre (CHL No. 863), 401 Broad Street, is California's oldest original-use theatre.
* Ott's Assay Office
* The South Yuba Canal Office
The South Yuba Canal Office was the headquarters for the largest network of water flumes and ditches in California. It is located at 134 Main Street, Nevada City, California, USA.
Structure
Built in 1855, it was originally known as the Potter Bu ...
(CHL No. 832) was the headquarters for the largest network of water flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...
s and ditches in California. Located at 134 Main Street, it was the headquarters for the largest network of water flume
A flume is a human-made channel for water, in the form of an open declined gravity chute whose walls are raised above the surrounding terrain, in contrast to a trench or ditch. Flumes are not to be confused with aqueducts, which are built to ...
s and ditches in California. It became a California Historical Landmark
A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance.
Criteria
Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...
in May 1970.
Built in 1855, it was originally known as the Potter Building. A two-story brick structure, it was fitted with iron doors and shutters, plus a filigree balcony railing.
The company's original ditch was put into use in 1850. The South Yuba Canal is now part of the public lands of the Tahoe National Forest
Tahoe National Forest is a United States National Forest located in California, northwest of Lake Tahoe. It includes the peak of Sierra Buttes, near Sierra City, which has views of Mount Lassen and Mount Shasta. It is located in parts of six c ...
. The South Yuba Canal System is used for delivering domestic and agricultural water to Nevada City and its neighbor Grass Valley
A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of be ...
. The water also generates electricity in Northern California
Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
. It is approximately in length. Crossing private and National Forest
A state forest or national forest is a forest that is administered or protected by some agency of a sovereign or federated state, or territory.
Background
The precise application of the terms vary by jurisdiction. For example:
* In Australia ...
lands, the canal is bordered by conifer
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...
s and hardwoods.
Gallery
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-6.jpg, Corner of Broadway and Pine
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-46.jpg, Masonic Building, 108 N Pine Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-BroadStreet-AlphaBuildingCommunityCollaborative-pano v1.jpg, Alpha Building, 210 Broad Street
File:NevadaCityCA95959c.jpg, Commercial Street
File:Ott's Assay Office-7.jpg, Left: Ott's Assay Office, 130 Main Street; Right: South Yuba Canal Building
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-26.jpg, Historic New York Hotel building, 408 Broad Street
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-144.jpg, Left: McGees Annex, 315 Broad St. Right: City Hall, 317 Broad St.
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T170103 v1.jpg, Nevada Theatre, 401 Broad Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T171915 v1.jpg, Nevada City United Methodist Church
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-16.jpg,
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T194510 v1.jpg, Nevada City Firehouse No. 2, Main Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T162742 v1.jpg, The Independent building, 310 Broad Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T162905 v1.jpg, I.O.O.F building, 225 Broad Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T194138 v1.jpg, Two Room Inn, 431 Broad Street
File:Nevada City Downtown Historic District-65.jpg, Fire House Museum (on far left), 214 Main Street
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T191146 v1.jpg, A fifteen-ton Pelton wheel in front of the South Yuba Canal Building on Main Street
File:Ott's Assay Office-26.jpg, Ott's Assay Office with Pelton Wheel monument to the right.
File:US-CA-NevadaCity-2012-07-18T190539 v1.jpg, St. Canice Catholic Church
File:Nevada City Free Public Library.jpg, Doris Foley Library
File:National Exchange Hotel-4.jpg, National Exchange Hotel
The National Exchange Hotel (also known as the National Hotel) is located in Nevada City in the U.S. state of California. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a California Historical Landmark, it is one of the oldest continuousl ...
File:Charles Marsh House, 123 Nevada St., Nevada City, CA.jpg, Charles Marsh house
References
{{National Register of Historic Places, state=collapsed
Nevada City, California
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California
History of Nevada City, California
National Register of Historic Places in Nevada County, California
Buildings and structures in Nevada City, California
Geography of Nevada County, California
Italianate architecture in California
Moderne architecture in California
Victorian architecture in California