Carson City's only residential historic district, on the west side of town, is characterized by short, straight blocks, mature trees, and a mixture of large and modest houses ranging in date from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Once the primary residential area of town, the west side has a number of houses once inhabited by prominent individuals, including governors, state legislators, and Supreme Court justices, although many nearby houses were built for the middle and working classes. This intermingling of economic levels was not uncommon in small-town Nevada; however, since the mid-twentieth century, as settlements have grown rapidly, neighborhoods have become more segregated by class in the newer areas of towns. The district is historically significant for of its late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century architecture, which includes examples of many of the major styles of the period. Zoning laws established in the 1980s have allowed limited commercial use through the conversion of houses to offices. Although this action has promoted the use of historic buildings in the district, it has altered the original character of the neighborhood, as offices close in the evenings and on weekends. Off-street parking requirements for offices have turned many yards into asphalt lots. As the economy has accelerated in the 1990s, the district has lost an increasing number of historic structures to development.