Piper's Opera House in 1878
(Bancroft Library, Berkeley)
Today the house stands as one of the last of the “row” style houses that were once common in Virginia City. You will notice the house has no windows on the south side. Originally, it bordered a similar, mirror-image “row” house to the south, as seen in the photo.
Henry Piper - 1867
(Special Collections UNR, Reno)
History
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The 1870s Business Directories show Henry and middle brother Joseph as the proprietors of the saloon on B and Union. After the Great Fire, the saloon was quickly rebuilt, re-opening by January of 1876. The Opera House, opening in 1878, was rebuilt at the current location at B and Union Streets, half a block south of the B Street House, incorporating the saloon. Henry attained local notoriety as a member of many local fraternal organizations, and as City Alderman, City Treasurer, and State Assemblyman. He served on the Republican Central Committee for Nevada, and was involved in one of the most famous 1890s trials after the Carson City Mint robbery.
The "B" Street House was finished by December, 1875. Just married, Henry Piper rebuilt after the Great Fire for his new wife Fredericka. A native of Prussia, Henry and his two brothers, John and Joseph, settled in California soon after the Gold Rush years. Hearing of the Comstock Lode discovery, John and Henry relocated to Virginia City in 1860. They first invested in Gold Hill mining property, then purchased a saloon at the corner of B and Union Streets. Witnessing the boom years of the 1860s, they even met writer Sam Clemens. Early in 1867, John acquired Maguire’s Opera House on D Street which John and Henry ran as partners from September of that year. Property deeds from the 1870s show John and Henry deeding the ownership of the Opera House back and forth between them. Henry probably brought theater productions to Reno and Carson City as the team expanded the one theater to the “Silver Circuit”, and the same productions appeared on stages in Virginia City, Reno and Carson City.
The 1880 census shows Henry, his wife and two small children, nephew J. H. Piper, a bartender, and an Irish maid, Margaret Leddy, as residents of the “B” Street House. An Irish maid was a Comstock status symbol and indicated the family had “arrived.”
During most of the 20th century Henry Piper's mansion existed as a rental. A V & T Railroad station master, L. Gallagher owned the house in the 1930s, and the Lazarri family owned the home from the late 1930s to the 1950s. During the 1960s, the house was briefly owned by Charles Myron Clegg, the partner of Lucius Beebe, although we believe he also used it as a rental property.
By 1900, the “B” Street House had changed hands and pharmacist A. Lernhart and family lived here. Sold to Robert Rauhut around 1907, the "B" Street House became a rental and boarding house. Irene Cooper leased the house from Mr. Rauhut from 1908 to 1912, and rented rooms to miners. A 1908 photo shows Mr. Rauhut, Irene and her mother, sister and brother with the miner/boarders in front of the house.
For more Comstock history check out
Because of the home’s association with prominent businessman and politician Henry Piper, it has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places with an individual listing.
1908: Mr. Rauhut, Irene and her mother, sister and brother with the miner/
boarders in front of the "B" Street House. The "mirror-image" house on the left has since vanished.
boarders in front of the "B" Street House. The "mirror-image" house on the left has since vanished.