Southern Pacific Repair Shops
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Warehouse (Southern Pacific Repair Shops)
1904, Southern Pacific Railroad. 599 Nugget Ave.
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Warehouse (Southern Pacific Repair Shops) (Bret Morgan)
This rectangular warehouse, measuring 120 by 450 feet, is all that remains of the extensive railroad shops that helped create Sparks. Southern Pacific demolished most of the old railroad structures after the yards closed, and the state condemned other buildings to make way for I-80 and subsequent lane additions. The interstate separates the building from the rest of town, but its large size makes it easy to find. The brick warehouse has two levels of window openings, the top one segmentally arched, piercing recessed panels divided by pilasters. Steel posts and roof trusses support a metal roof. The building initially contained four separate shops: a tin shop, machine shop, blacksmith shop, and boiler shop. Although the shop's historical significance is obvious, Southern Pacific objected to attempts by the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office to list the building on the National Register of Historic Places in the early 1980s.
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