Some structures are well-known and identifiable at first glance: Eifell Tower, Westminster Abby, the Space Needle. However, for Nevada ghost towners, it is the Sutro Tunnel portal facade.
Even though the famous tunnel and ghost town was shuttered to visitors for decades, the portal facade remained one of the most iconic images of Comstock Lode and Nevada History. Even without the name across the top, ghost towners and historians could name the site immediately with a single glance.
The facade is one of the few pieces of Nevada history I thought I would never see in person. But, now that Sutro has opened, I have not only seen but been through the portal facade and learned about the changes through the years.
Form Over Function
With great fanfare, Adolph Sutro broke ground on his tunnel on October 19, 1869. Despite inclement weather, a band kicked off the event, and participants paraded to the planned mouth of the tunnel. They enjoyed a meal of spit-roasted beef, pit-roasted pork, fresh bread, and beer.
Recreation of Adoph Sutro’s first strike
As the Gold Hill Miners Brass Band played Star-Spangled Banner, the flag was raised, with Sutro standing at the ready with a pick slung over his shoulder. Lacking his usual fanfare, Sutro said a few words then swung. Now famous author, Dan De Quille, made the second swing, followed President of the Workingmen’s Association, James Phelan.
After almost nine years of construction, the Sutro Tunnel connected the Savage Mine in Virginia City with Sutro outside Dayton and the Carson River on July 8, 1878. The tunnel was 10′ high by 12′ wide, 3.88 miles long, with branches totaling 4.56 miles. During the 1880s, it drained 3,500,000 gallons of water daily.
Eliot Lord, the author of Comstock Mining and Miners, referred to the Sutro Tunnel as the…
…greatest mining enterprise in America
Elliot Lord
For such an engineering marvel, Sutro designed the original portal for function, not form. Large wood beams flanked the tunnel opening topped with a wood header. The hillside surrounded the right side of the portal with a building against the left side.
A New Face for the Sutro Portal
Between 1878 and 1888, the Sutro Tunnel Company carved out the portal’s hillside and relocated the adjacent structure. In addition, they added an ornate Greek revival-style facade over the portal entrance.
(Photo credit: UNR Libraries)
An Icon is Created
In 1888, a more extensive portal facade adorned the portal. This face was Spanish in style constructed of plaster covering brick. Heavy metal doors covered two openings, the left side for rail cars and the right for water drainage.
1900s
Sutro Tunnel continued to operate for sixty-five years, draining water from the mines of the Comstock mines. With the onset of WWII, non-essential operations were discontinued, including mines. Sutro Tunnel was closed in 1943, and equipment was repurposed to support the war effort.
Over the decades, the once beautiful facade to the Sutro Tunnel deteriorated. Plaster trim and covering fell, exposing the bricks to the elements. In addition, trees grew around the portal, their roots further degrading the structural integrity.
Friends of Sutro
In 2016 volunteers led by Pam Abercrombie, began restoration and preservation of the Sutro Tunnel and Ghost Town. The site was transferred to the non-profit, Friends of Sutro Tunnel, on January 5, 2021.
The progress Friends of Sutro made in a short time is amazing. On my first visit in April of 2021, aspen grew at the portal, and reeds and willows grew in the tunnel. My next visit was in December of 2021. Volunteers removed foliage, and restoration on the portal had begun. A specialized drone surveyed the tunnel, and Friends of Sutro is working to re-open the tunnel.
Sutro Tours
Sutro is open by tour only. Friends of Sutro hosts group tours throughout the year. Better yet, purchase a membership that includes tour tickets. All proceeds are used to restore and preserve Sutro. Contact Sutro Tunnel Site Restoration Project at (775) 900-0507.
Want more ghost towns?
For information on more than three hundred ghost towns in Nevada, visit Nevada Ghost Towns Map or a list of Nevada ghost towns.
For information on more than 300 ghost towns in Nevada, visit Nevada Ghost Towns Map
References
- AP News: Group restoring historic Comstock-area town of Sutro, Nevada
- Carlson, Helen S. Nevada Place Names: A Geographical Dictionary. University of Nevada Press, 1974. Page 227.
- Clairitage Press: A Photo visit to the Sutro Tunnel
- De Quille, Dan. The Big Bonanza. Nevada Publications, XXXXX pages, 124, 241, 387.
- Gamett, James and Stan Paher. Nevada Post Offices: An Illustrated History. Nevada Publications, 1863. Page 124.
- Lord, Eliot. Comstock Mining and Miners. Howell-North Books, 1959.
- Lyon County Appraisers Office: Parcel Search
- Nevada Mining Organization: Nevada Mining Ingenuity: The Sutro Tunnel
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps. Nevada Publications, 1970. Page 74.
- Paher, Stanley. Nevada Ghost Towns and Desert Atlas. Nevada Publications, 2009. Page 7, 9.
- Reno Gazette Journal: Sutro Tunnel spoils at center of Dayton history debate
- Shamberger, Hugh A. The Story of water supply for the Comstock. United States Department of the Interior, 1972. Pages 8, 22, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41.
- Smith, Grant H. The History of the Comstock Lode. University of Nevada Press, 1998. Pages 296-298.
- Society of Archeological Historians: Sutro Tunnel
- Stewart, Robert E., and M.F. Stewart. Adolph Sutro: A Biography. Howell-North Books. 1964.
- The Sutro Tunnel Organization: Restoring the historic Sutro Tunnel site
- Western Mining History: Sutro, Nevada
- Wikipedia: Sutro Tunnel
terry says
i’m glad to see they are working on the tunnel. thanks for the up date.
Tami says
I hope to have another update in a few weeks, they cleared the first collapse!
Tami says
I hope to have another update in a few weeks; they cleared the first collapse!
Bob Thomasson says
Very nice write up on the evolution of the portal!
Tami says
Thank you, that means a lot from you!