Lussier Photography

St Augustine’s

Another shot from high above Austin, Nevada.

The church was built in 1866, making it the oldest in Nevada. It opened in time for the Christmas midnight mass that year. A fee was charged for seats in order to help pay for the roof. The bricks used for the 20 inch thick walls were fired locally.

I first photographed this church in 2004 on the TREK USA Relay (left). At that time it looked to be neglected and in disrepair. I had conflicting thoughts. On one hand, I thought it was a shame. It looked like it was a beautiful little church. On the other hand, I wished I could photograph the church in its state of decay.

I was very happy to see that St Augustine’s was saved.

On the down side, I did not arrange for a tour.

Next time.

Package Goods

A detail shot of Austin, Nevada for today. And a reminder of the town’s age.

You are looking at what remains of a store front. At one time you could walk through this door into a bar where you could purchase “Package Goods” including wine, beer, liquor, and soft drinks. Good deal.

Today, this door will take you into a vacant lot. But rest assured. Right next door is the fully functional “Golden Club,” One of Austin’s four fine bars.

Some history … Austin Nevada got its start in 1862 when a Pony Express agent discovered a ledge of silver ore, which lead to a rush of entrepreneurs to the area, all eager to strike it rich in silver.  At its height, Austin boasted 0ver 8,000 residents. Between Austin and the other nearby mining camps that sprouted from it, over $50m in silver was produced.

The International

The International Hotel is the oldest hotel in Nevada and one of the oldest in the west.

It was high on my list of things to shoot on this trip. Back in 2004, when I first visited Austin on TREK USA, my teammate Tom and I popped into the bar for a beer. We were completely drawn in by its old west charm.

The International Hotel today is not a hotel. It is a bar and restaurant. This is the bar, smoking allowed. The restaurant is on the other side of the building. They serve a great breakfast and a mean burger!

The building itself was originally built in Virginia City, Nevada in 1859. In 1863 the Hotel was taken down to make way for a bigger hotel. Sections of the original were hauled off in wagons and moved to Austin.

The ornate bar and mirrors also came up from Virginia City, but only after they came over from England. The mirrors are original.

The bar is wallpapered with dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceiling by visitors from pretty much everywhere.

As an added bonus today, I’ve included a couple of shots of the exterior of the building.

Postcards from Austin, Nevada

Now that you’ve had an overview of my Nevada trip, I think it is time to get down to details. So settle in for a few weeks of thematic images.

This week I’m presenting “Postcards from Austin, Nevada.”  I think it is fitting to start here, considering Austin was my home for four days.

My affinity for Austin started in 2004, when I ran the TREK USA Relay. On Day 3 of the relay Austin served as our “port of call.” And they rolled out the red carpet. The (then) proprietors of the International Hotel and Bar served up a killer pasta dinner and they opened the doors early the next morning to feul us up for another 20 miles of running.

With precious little time to explore the town with my camera back then, I made a mental note to return. So here we are.

Today’s shot is a panorama of the town itself. It loses something at this size, so you need to see it bigger. You can click on the image to see a slightly larger version, or you can click here to see a really, really, REALLY BIG version (it is a 22MB file, so be patient).

The Homestead

I was looking for the road to Belmont out of Manhattan (the two ghost town destinations for the day) and took a right, thinking “This MUST be it!”

I hadn’t gone a quarter mile when I saw in the distance, an old bus and and RV. Being in very rural Nevada, I thought, “Dammit! I must be in someone’s back yard!” I didn’t want to intrude, so I drove a little further until I could find a place to turn around.

Then I noticed the RV was pretty beaten up. And the windows on the bus were completely blown out. The place was abandoned. Lucky me. An unexpected detour.