Overview

The San Francisco architectural firm of Kenitzer and Raun designed the Storey County Courthouse #2 to replace an earlier building destroyed in a large fire that swept through Virginia City, NV, on 10/26/1875. This firm designed the California State Capitol in Sacramento, completed after a long building campaign in 1874.

Building History

Virginia City was the center of feverish silver and gold mining activity during the 1850s through 1870s. Large-scale production of the Comstock Lode brought great wealth to a handfull of Nevadans and San Franciscans, and this courthouse was erected during the time of peak mine activity.

Construction on the $117,000 courthouse occurred during 1876 and 1877. Kenitzer and Raun, San Francisco architects, worked with the local contractor Peter Burke, to finish the building.

The building has been in continuous use since its completion in 1877. The Sheriff's Office moved into its own facility in 1992, but other county departments, including Assessor, Tressurer, Recorder, Comptroller, County Manager and County Commissioners, still utilize the facility.

Building Notes

The website of Storey County, NV, said of the 1876 Courthouse in 2022: "The Storey County Courthouse, built in 1876 after being destroyed in the great fire of 1875, is the state's oldest continuously operating courthouse. The courthouse boasts one of the few Lady of Justices in the country that is not blindfolded. Storey County chose to not blindfold her to communicate to its citizens that justice was not blind here. Today, all court filings are handled in the courthouse, which also serves as quarters for administrative offices and judges' chambers." (See Storey County, NV.gov, "Courthouse," accessed 03/30/2022.) This unblindfolded Justice figure, cast in New York, stood over the courthouse's main entrance.

PCAD id: 24325