C Street 2

July 8, 1940. Monday afternoon, 3:40pm. A few people are strolling around. A lady is waiting for someone in front of the stationery store. “Good Old” Rainier Beer is on tap down the street.

This is the heart of town, so it seems a little more lively than the abandoned area to the south. Here we have the Old Virginia Kitchen (with Good Coffee!), a bar, and a bookstore.

June 19, 2004. The modern view shows a lot more life downtown. The Old Virginia Kitchen is long gone. Right now it’s serving as the Delta Gift Shop. The bookstore is gone as well, replaced by Eilley Orrum Gifts. Eilley Orrum was known as the Queen of the Comstock. With her husband, Sandy Bowers, she became rich off Comstock gold and built Bowers Mansion in Washoe Valley. She died in 1903, though, so I’m pretty sure she doesn’t have anything to do with this new store.

The place down the street that was selling “Good Old” Rainier Beer is the Delta Saloon. It seems to have lost its second story. It may have been the Delta back in 1940, too; I can’t find any name on the building in the old photo. The Delta has been around as a saloon and gambling hall ever since the heyday of the Comstock, and it’s still going strong as VC’s biggest casino. It’s also the home of the Suicide Table, an old Faro table in the back of the casino. Depending on who you ask, there was a string of either owners or players who lost everything they had at this table, and killed themselves over it. There’s a little mini museum set up around the table.

Date Unknown. This undated postcard shows the Old Virginia Kitchen from the other direction. The bookstore is certainly still advertising its telephone (was it the only one in town?). A couple of people are lurking in the shadows down the street. Aside from them, the town is dead. It looks like this picture is also from the 1940s, since the street isn’t paved yet.

June 19, 2004. Welcome Bowlers! C Street today is a place bustling with tourists no matter what day you go. And the stores have changed with the times too. Where once there were cafes, bookstores, and drugstores, now there is an endless stream of gift and jewelry stores. Eilley Orrum. JA Cohen, Purveyor of Fine Jewelry and Gifts. Comstock Rock Shop. Palace Emporium. Pioneer Emporium. Silver Stope, Indian & Silver Jewelry. Wild Bunch Gifts & Souvenirs. Leather Plus. Leather Works—The list just goes on. This is not a downtown for locals. It’s strictly for tourists. Just like most downtowns in Nevada, in fact.

Date Unknown. Another look at the Delta Saloon and the Old Virginia Kitchen. The Kitchen is the green awning sticking out by the brown car. The Delta Saloon is the rest of the building, including the Sawdust Corner. At this point in time, It was Budweiser Beer on tap, not Rainier. And right out in front of the Sawdust Corner is a sign for the Suicide Table. Even back then they were catering to tourists!