Maine Street Historic District

The Maine Street Historic District in is a commercial area located in Fallon, Nevada. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.[1]

Maine Street Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	Downtown along Maine & Center Sts. & Williams Ave., Fallon, Nevada
Coordinates	39°28′23″N 118°46′38″W
NRHP reference No.	100004098[1]
Added to NRHP	June 27, 2019

History

Foundation

The area was first populated in the 1900s when a ranch was founded by James W. Richards. Richards' ranch was purchased by state senator Warren W. Williams, who named the surrounding streets "Maine", named after his home state, Maine. He platted the land and introduced more buildings. A 1906 report noted that at that year, the center included a lively collection of general stores, saloons, hotels, restaurants, and drug stores, as well as a butcher, confectionery, bakery, bank, saddle shop, and furniture store.[2]

Earthquake

In 1954, a severe earthquake struck the area, which led to modernization. This happened because all the buildings in the district were destroyed, so people rebuilt them into a more contemporary style.[3] Typical modernization efforts included installing slipcovers over the existing façade, replacing existing wood windows, and adding awnings over entrances. These projects utilized contemporary materials, including aluminum siding, steel window frames, plate glass, asbestos tiles, and concrete brick.[2]

Examples of buildings that were modernized after their destruction:[2]

• Woodliff Block (116–126 S. Maine) had its shaped parapet replaced with concrete blocks
• The Fallon Arcade and Churchill County Bank Building (131–143 S. Maine) had its castellated parapet removed.

References

1. "Weekly listings 20190628". June 28, 2019.
2. Campana, ZoAnn (9 December 2015). "Downtown Fallon Commercial Corridor Architectural Survey Report" (PDF). Nevada State Historic District.
3. "Transforming Character", The Character of the Manager, Palgrave Macmillan, ISBN 978-1-137-30406-3, retrieved 2020-11-17

Media related to Maine Street Historic District at Wikimedia Commons

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office document: "Downtown Fallon Commercial Corridor Architectural Survey Report".