Common name: Ferris Mansion
Historic name: Sears House; Ferris House
General Location: Southeast corner of Division and Third Streets, Carson City, Nevada
Address: 311 West Third Street
Assessor's PN: 003-124-01
Current use: Office
Original use: Residence
Year of construction: 1869
Architect: Unknown
The vernacular structure combines influences from Greek, Gothic, and Classical Revival origins. The two-story structure has an intersection gabled roof. The foundation is stone and the wood frame is sheathed in clapboard siding. Windows are double hung with some being two-light-over-two and some one-pane-over-one. A square bay with arched windows and a porch are the focal point of the front facade. Essentially Classical in design, the porch decoration includes dentils, turned columns with Ionic capitals and a balustrade. Beveled glass windows, pointed arched windows in the gable peaks, and eave returns are other decorative details.
The Classically derived porch detailing was apparently added to the building in the mid-1890s. Additions with both flat and shed roofs have been made to the east and west. The west porch has been partially enclosed, windows have been changed on the western facade, and lamps have been added to the fence posts. The porch columns and capitals may be later than the original building and the doors may not be original.
Somewhat large in scale and height, this structure is a focal point of the neighborhood and compatible environmentally.
The fine detailing and design of the building are outstanding in quality an the structure is significantly architecturally as well as an excellent example of its type and era.
Historic significance derives from its association with George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., an early agriculturist and the inventor of the Ferris wheel. Ferris, Sr. imported large numbers of timbers of eastern trees for Carson City homes. An engineer by education, Ferris, Jr.'s original Ferris wheel was 250 feet tall, had 36 cars each holding 40 passengers, and became the main attraction of the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago.
Sources: Sources: Historic American Building Survey, 1974; Noreen Humphreys; Carson City Historic Tour.
Listed in the National Historic Register: 1979 February 09.
City Landmark: Kit Carson Trail, Plaque No. 43.
Year of construction: 1869 (factual), on the original site.
Architect: Unknown.
Text: Carson City Historic Resources Inventory, 1980.