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Photo by Cathleen Allison
Nestled in the heart of Carson City’s historic district, the Rinckel Mansion is considered a masterpiece of architecture.
It was built from 1874-1876 by Mathias Rinckel to placate his wife, who was from Staten Island, N.Y., and hated the dusty frontier of Nevada. Rinckel, who made a fortune in the California gold rush and as a merchant in Virginia City and Carson, employed architect Charles H. Jones of the Beaux Arts School of France to design a home “befitting a queen.” It remains one of the finest examples of High Victorian Italianate architecture in the American West.
Restored
The mansion at the corner of Curry and King streets was purchased in August 2000 by the Nevada Press Foundation, with part of a $1 million grant from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and member newspapers of the Nevada Press Association.
The building, which had gone through a number of incarnations as restaurants, was remodeled to restore its historic grandeur and to function as office space for the Reynolds Press Center. The mansion is restored and includes a complete working kitchen, full bathroom, two powder rooms, two conference rooms, a curved-rail staircase, courtyard and more.
In 2001, the Carson City Board of Supervisors presented the Nevada Press Association with an historic preservation award “in appreciation of your outstanding contribution to the preservation and rehabilitation of historic properties within Carson City.”
Available
Mark your place in Nevada history by booking your next special occasion at the grand Rinckel Mansion. The stately mansion is available for: Holiday Parties • Receptions • Meetings • Events • Weddings • Dinners • Anniversaries • Reunions • Recitals • High Tea • More
Please contact the Nevada Press Association at 775-885-0866 or admin@nevadapress.com, to learn more.
More of the history
Here’s the nomination form for the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. You’ll see that somebody apparently thought that “mansion” was too grandiose a term and amended the title to “Rinckel House.”
Rinckel Mansion National Historic Register
The house long had a historical plaque on Curry Street, placed on a concrete stand, but that was replaced in October 2015 by one of the familiar large blue Nevada historical markers.
The Rinckel Mansion was the first home in Nevada to have indoor plumbing and a flush toilet.