M
ost visitors to the historic mining town Virginia City rarely venture off C Street, with its wood plank sidewalks, lined with cheesy-but-fun gift shops, photo booths, taverns and candy stores. But off that main drag, there’s more to the town than retro western kitsch. (For one thing, people actually live there.) Turning east, downhill, about midway off C Street and onto Union Street leads to a lone building, a house that’s very large and looks very old. It gives off a bit of the impression of a classic cinematic haunted house—though this impression is strongly undercut by the fact that it’s also adjacent to a high school football field.
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ynu by Brad B
The place is St. Mary’s Art & Retreat Center. The building has nearly 40 rooms, and it looks old because it is old: It was built in 1875 as a hospital for Father Patrick Manogue and the Daughters of Charity, a Catholic sisterhood charity organization. The land was donated and the construction partially funded by John Mackay, one of the silver kings of Virginia City’s Comstock Lode boom. The hospital was named Saint Mary Louise Hospital in honor of Mackay’s wife. The hospital was state of the art for the day, with indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, steam heating, gas lighting, marble sinks and other amenities. It was subscription driven. Members, most of whom were miners, paid monthly dues and were assured medical care. The hospital was largely self sufficient, with gardens, chicken coops and fruit trees on the grounds. In 1897, as the mining boom was going bust, the sisters left. Not long afterward the Storey County hospital burned down, so the county hospital staff was moved into the vacant St. Mary’s. It was then operated as the Storey County Hospital for about 40 years, until the building was abandoned again after a fire. During World War II, the metal in the building was salvaged for the war effort. The building had been vacant for at least 15 years when, in 1964, two competing proposals came before the county commission about what to do with the building. One was a proposal to demolish the building and sell it off brick by brick. The other was a proposal by Father Paul Meinecke, the pastor of St. Mary’s in the
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“ VIRGINIA (CITY)” continued on page 14
The exterior of St. Mary’s Art & Retreat Center in Virginia City.
OPINION
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NEWS
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GREEN
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FEATURE STORY
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ARTS&CULTURE
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ART OF THE STATE
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FOODFINDS
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FILM
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MUSICBEAT
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NIGHTCLUBS/CASINOS
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THIS WEEK
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MISCELLANY
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JUNE 6, 2013
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RN&R
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