Railroad Renaissance: Renovations breathe new life into historic Railroad Ave.
The first locomotive arrived in Las Vegas 140 years ago this month. Regular passenger and freight service over the next 20 years helped Las Vegas grow into one of the largest cities in the Southwest. Eventual expansion of the railroad resulted in other Southwest towns becoming much larger than Vegas, but even today, the railroad remains an important part of Vegas’ heritage, inexorably linking the town to the lore of the Wild West.
The town’s first rail depot was built in 1881, but Railroad Avenue truly began to take shape in 1898 when the current rail depot was built, along with the Castañeda Hotel and the Rawlins Building.
Those strolling along Railroad Avenue at the time would have been in the middle of a vibrant, bustling part of town. Passengers from all over the country arrived at the train depot, and once there, they could grab a bite to eat at Fred Harvey’s track-side restaurant inside the Castañeda.
Even as recently as the 1960s or ’70s, Railroad Avenue teemed with activity. Young children hawked copies of the Las Vegas Daily Optic to travelers arriving at the rail depot, locals and travelers alike shopped for everyday items and those in need of a new car browsed the lot at the AMC dealership.
Tom Clayton grew up on Railroad Avenue and remembers that period fondly.
“There were small mom-and-pop stores in the area, the lumber company was still in existence, there was a car dealership right next door,” he said. “It was vibrant.”
Today, Clayton and his wife, Tina, own the Rawlins Building, a historic structure that once housed the Fred Harvey Company’s “Harvey Girls” while they worked at the Castañeda’s dining room. The Claytons have been busy restoring the Rawlins Building, and once completed, it will offer apartments for rent upstairs, and shops downstairs — just as it did when it first opened in 1898. Clayton told the Optic he expects the building to reopen this fall.
Just south of the Rawlins Building, even more renovation is underway. Artist Charles Ross owns the Moonlite Welding building, which he plans to turn into an art studio and gallery, along with an office for a nonprofit.
“We’re renovating it for studios for myself and my wife, Jill O’Bryan,” Ross said. “And it will eventually be headquarters for the Land Light Foundation, which oversees Star Axis.”
Star Axis is a sculpture created by Ross, described on his website as “an architectonic earth/star sculpture constructed with the geometry of the stars.”
On the other side of Railroad Avenue, Allan Affeldt, owner of Las Vegas’ Plaza Hotel, has recently restored the once-crumbling Castañeda. According to Affeldt, over the next few weeks, another set of guest rooms will be completed, and the kitchen for the restored dining room should be completed within a month. The dining room will be called Kin at Castañeda, and it will be operated by Executive Chef Sean Sinclair.
As part of a later construction phase, Affeldt plans to renovate the Castañeda’s large attic space. It will become home to a museum by the Winslow Art Trust, focusing on the history of Fred Harvey in New Mexico. One of the final renovations will be to the north wing, which will be converted into a large apartment. This will become the Las Vegas home of Affeldt and his wife, Tina Mion.
“You know how it is,” Affeldt said with a laugh. “The cobbler’s kids get their shoes last.”
Affeldt said that, overall, the restoration has gone well, which he attributes to the skills of the tradespeople hired to complete the work.
“There’s so much extraordinary skilled labor in Las Vegas,” he said. “All these skilled tradespeople take real pride in their work.”
It’s a sentiment shared by Clayton, too. In restoring the Rawlins Building, he hired a Vegas-based general contractor, and he said the electrician, plumber and steelworkers were all hired from the area as well.
Though the importance of the railroad has diminished over the past 140 years, and while Railroad Avenue hasn’t fully returned to the vibrant area it once was, this designated historic district’s best days could still be on the horizon. Affeldt said he’s encouraged by the work being done by the Claytons, Ross and others, and that he’s really happy with the positive change he sees on Railroad Avenue.
“It’s definitely having a renaissance,” he said. “So many towns have lost their great railroad heritage. Vegas is lucky to still have it.”
