Photos, videos and docs of Don Barrett (aka DBs travels), with the keywords: "abandoned"

Goldfield wooden house (#1105)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:15 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Near the BGRR yard, a very original wooden house. A fire in 1923 destroyed almost all wooden structures in Goldfield, so you see very few structures like this.

Goldfield mining truck? (#1111)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:25 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Goldfield high school restoration (#1125)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:37 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Built in 1907, the high school has been a seemingly ever-ongoing project as I’ve stopped in Goldfield over the years.

Restoration?

Considering the number of attractive buildings in Goldfield, plus the nearness and accessibility of the historic abandoned mines to town (see link), it has always been a curiosity to me as to why Goldfield hasn’t developed a reputation as a tourist destination. It’s on the main road between Las Vegas and Reno and only 3 hours north of Las Vegas (2 hours from Death Valley), there’s a small but active historical society and, as I’ve noted in some of the previous pictures, various groups have tried to restore some of the buildings. Somehow, though, it has never caught on.

Sources:
High school: www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/goldfieldschool.html
Abandoned mine: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3137181283

Goldfield miner’s (toy) truck (#1122)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:34 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Let’s see, at the current price of gold it could carry how many millions of dollars worth of ore?

Goldfield Dahlstrom’s Garage (#1119)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:32 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Built in 1930, I saw no reference as to when it was covered in metal.

Goldfield Historic Walking Tour Booklet (http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/Goldfield_2013_Booklet_Web.pdf )

Goldfield subway entrance (#1115)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:27 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

See: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3138009708

Goldfield Model A Ford? (#1107)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

This looks to be a Model A Ford – model A’s were built from 1927 – 1932.

On the left, the front of a railroad passenger car that’s been there, largely untouched, since I first visited (photo taken from the other end): www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3138009026

Goldfield Model A Ford insignia (#1106)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 06:44:20 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Not much different from the insignia on my 2017 Ford…

Goldfield Consolidated Mines Co. (union-busting) building (#1098)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:36 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Goldfield Consolidated Mines Co. building, built in 1907. A gorgeous building, in surprisingly good shape, with a nefarious background. Goldfield Consolidates Mines was (obviously) a company that consolidated most of the mines in the area into one company. Per the Waymarking link Goldfield Consolidated is famous for having ended union activities in the mines in Goldfield, in 1908. Per the Wikipedia link, the end of unionizing in Goldfield was accomplished with the help President Theodore Roosevelt who sent federal troops to Goldfield at the request of the Nevada governor; with the arrival of the troops, the mine owners reduced wages and announced that union members would no longer be employed in the mines.

Sources:
Goldfield Historic Walking Tour Booklet (http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/Goldfield_2013_Booklet_Web.pdf )
Waymarking: www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMY3KD_Goldfield_Consolidated_Mines_Co_Building_Goldfield_Historic_District_Goldfield_NV
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldfield,_Nevada

Goldfield Southern Nevada Consolidated Telephone-Telegraph Co. Building (#1100)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:38 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Not a particularly attractive building, but historically important. Per the historical marker (see Waymarking link), the building has a full basement that still contains much of wiring and relays installed when it opened in 1906. Communications for Goldfield continued to be centered in this building until 1963.

Waymarking: www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMY3EN_Southern_Nevada_Consolidated_Telephone_Telegraph_Company_Building

Goldfield, Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad Yard (#1108)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:45 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad Yard, with two boxcars that had actually once run on local rail lines. Per the walking tour booklet, the BGRR stopped running in Goldfield in 1928, thus these boxcars are at least 90 years old.

As noted in an earlier picture, efforts at attracting tourists seem to always be struggling, which is not surprising for a town of less than 500. You can see from the 2008 photo below that there is quite a bit of improvement since then, but the site of the railyard is still largely unmarked.

2008 photo: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3138008864
Historical society: goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/railroadproject.html
Goldfield Historic Walking Tour Booklet (http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/Goldfield_2013_Booklet_Web.pdf )

Goldfield, Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad (BGRR) / Chicago (#1104)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:43 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Interesting marker of history on the boxcars in the rail yard – Hicks Locomotive and Car Works was a manufacturer of rail equipment that started in the Chicago area and only lasted until 1911, when the company was bought out of bankruptcy and renamed.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hicks_Locomotive_and_Car_Works

Goldfield, Bullfrog Goldfield Railroad (BGRR) Yard – fake (#1102)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:41 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

I’m always fascinated by old locomotives, so this old locomotive has been one of my reasons for repeatedly exploring Goldfield. It’s only from researching for these current pictures that I discovered that the locomotive is somewhat of an impostor. Per the historical society link, this locomotive is similar to what would have been used in the local mines but this actual locomotive never ran in Goldfield – it’s a gift from the California Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

If you compare this photo to the older photo linked below, you’ll notice a few changes. In the 15 years I’ve been stopping in Goldfield, I’ve regularly seen efforts to increase tourist appeal to the town, but it’s always hard to tell if they’ve paid off – I seldom see other tourists stopping. I’ll have more comments about preservation and tourism in later pictures.

Sources:
Previous: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/3138008804
Historical society: goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/railroadproject.html

Goldfield garage (#1120)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:34 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Brown Parker Garage and Auto Co. building, across the street from the Goldfield Hotel. There was a fire that destroyed much of Goldfield in 1923, this was rebuilt after that fire and remained in use until 1989.

Source: Goldfield Historic Walking Tour Booklet (http://www.goldfieldhistoricalsociety.com/Goldfield_2013_Booklet_Web.pdf )

Goldfield, Goldfield Hotel (#1121)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Jul 2019 06:05:31 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The first time I stopped in Goldfield was apparently in December, 2004. The picture linked below (labeled ‘snow’) was taken from the north side of town, looking south. In that picture, the Goldfield Hotel is the long building on the right. I’ve stopped in Goldfield many times since, and it seems like just about every time there, there is the beginning of some effort to revive the hotel – there was on this trip.

The hotel was built in 1907, but like too much of mining towns in Nevada, the ore that had created the reason for the town, began to die out soon after the hotel was built. The hotel, like the town, managed to hang on for a number of years, including being a barracks during WWII for soldiers station in Tonopah (25 miles north); the hotel closed in 1945.

The ‘legends’ link below has a few pictures of the interior.

Links:
snow: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/1839167937
legends: www.legendsofamerica.com/nv-goldfieldhotel

Rhyolite train depot (#1079)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 17:45:08 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Front of the train depot, the side facing down the hill towards what was the short-lived town of Rhyolite.

Rhyolite school (#1095)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 17:45:27 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Former Rhyolite school.

Rhyolite downtown (#1094)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 17:45:23 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A store front from the very earliest days of Rhyolite.

Rhyolite – historic preservation (#1093)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 17:45:20 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The old photo on the sign looks like it could have told an interesting story about the city.

Rhyolite – historic preservation (#1090)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 17:45:18 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The wonders of historic preservation – an unreadable sign. There actually is a small visitor center with a pamphlet and map, but you have to wonder why this beat-up sign continues to have a prominent spot.