Nevada City Flagg Building Inspection

When what is arguably one of Nevada City’s oldest historic building initially went into escrow, the buyer hired a reputable Bay Area firm to conduct the property condition assessment. After several hundred thousand dollars of recommended safety retrofits in order to make the building “safe” due to typical gold rush era building techniques, the buyer decided to get a second opinion from a respected inspection company with a wealth of gold rush era building inspection experience.

What Signet Inspection Group found was a historic 1856 building that had a rock/concrete wall foundation with unreinforced brick walls atop which would be considered the common construction methodology of the day considering the age of building. The basement foundation walls appeared unremarkable without noticeable cracking or subterranean leaking and wall sightlines appeared straight without any significant cracking or waviness noted.

Does this mean that a gold rush era building will never have a problem? Or, should all gold rush era buildings undergo an expensive retrofit based on nothing more than the building techniques that were commonplace for the time? The answer to these questions lies somewhere in the middle and must be based on actual conditions on the ground and not a broad-brush application of modern building techniques and codes to historic buildings. In the end, most of these gold rush era buildings have stood the test of time with relatively few problems if properly maintained.

Eddie’s Bank Club in Nevada City circa 1969

The Flagg Building, one of the oldest in Nevada City, has changed little since 1856 when the great fire of that year destroyed a large portion of downtown Nevada City. This devastating fire also destroyed the roof, gutted the interior, and most likely irreparably damaged the brick walls of the three-story U.S. Hotel originally built in 1853 at this location. The new, rebuilt two-story brick structure had a hotel upstairs and a saloon at street level. The property was eventually sold to Eddie Furano in May 1955 and the establishment became Eddie’s, then the Bank Club, and finally Eddie’s Bank Club.

The Flagg Bldg plaque placed in 1989

A plaque was placed on the building in 1989 by E Clampus Vitus with the following inscription: “Built in 1856 on the site of the U.S. Hotel, this brick edifice has served Nevada City as the Council Chamber, Schreiber’s and since 1957 Eddie Furano’s Bank Club. Here at Schreiber’s Felix, the marvelous mysterious music box thundered Strauss waltzes and ‘Carmen’ to generations with custom and good cheer.”