This building is the original stone and brick edifice erected on the site of the first recorded claim on what became the Comstock Lode May 1, 1859. One of the earliest hotels it housed miners and notables offering lodging, tavern and barbershop. First hotel on the Comstock built. 1859. Early transient shelter was taken in […]
Characters
Boston Saloon
A bar for blacks. Between 1864 and 1875, a remarkable business thrived directly behind building. Free-born William C. Brown operated his Boston Saloon, serving Virginia Cityโs African Americans. Archeologists have revealed that Brown offered his customers finely prepared meals with the best cuts of meat. Also, he offered New Orleans flavoring known as Tabasco Sauce. […]
David Belasco
David Belasco was a true man of the theater: producer, writer, and stage designer. Belasco was the son of Portuguese Jews, the original name perhaps Velasco. The family fled persecution and eventually settled around San Francisco. During the 1860s, the young Belasco was an actor who toured small California and Nevada towns where memories of […]