Nevada Property Management
Gerlach
Office, "Helen's House," and Museum, 390 Main Street,
Gerlach NV, purchased as a package in June 2000:
Gerlach Office
From the early 1930s thru the 1980s what is now the Gerlach office
served as the town's Post Office and General Store. The old dry-good
bins and merchandise shelving are still present today. During the
Burning Man event, this office is utilized by several departments,
including the Black Rock Rangers, Community Services, Media, Business
Services, DPW, Purchasing/Receiving, and Administration. The space
gives Burning Man an official physical location for conducting
all levels of business that are associated with an event of this
caliber. It is a change from the days when the Burning Man office
in Gerlach was a table, two chairs, and a pay phone at Bruno's.
We are currently doing some structural adjusting to the foundation
to address the building’s sagging floor. Also in the works
is a project to update some plumbing to fix problems with the ice
machine. In the near future, a cast-iron pot-belly stove will be
installed in the Nevada Properties office in the north-west part
of the building. We are also in need of some curtains if anyone
wants to make us any.
The Museum
The history of this building is somewhat clouded with rumors claiming
it is the "old jail house" to the "old power plant
house." Some folks claim they once lived there when it was
The Oasis Bar, and Bub Williams’s cousin, Ed Barker, supposedly
was born there in 1933. Though it was an active office for us in
2000 to 2001, it appears that it is destined to be a genuine and
down-right dusty Burning Man/Gerlach Museum.
Helen's House
This single-family home is situated behind the Gerlach office and
was occupied for many years by Gerlach's Post Master and historian,
Helen Thrasher. Although attempts have been made to change its
name, the locals in Gerlach will always call it "Helen's House." During
the event, this home provides additional office space, showers,
and a space to prepare meals and dine for the Gerlach office team
who live/work out here for up to 90 days per year. Currently, this
home serves as a getaway spot where our winter caretakers can use
the shower or laundry facilities once a week. Burning Man staff
members and others often stay overnight there when visiting Gerlach
during the winter months. This fall, three diseased trees were
removed from the property, and the house itself was replumbed throughout.
Winter Office 330 Main Street, Gerlach, Nev.
Work shifts to this location each winter because of the difficulty
presented in keeping the regular Gerlach office heated. The winter
office is only two hundred square feet, as opposed to 3,000 square
feet, and just one block away.
Garrett Ranch
Also known as Frog Pond or the Bordello, this property located
near Trego Hot Springs is where we obtain the 4 million gallons
of water needed for dust abatement during the event each year.
The last two years, we've cleaned up this property and secured
it from vehicular traffic, while completing thousands of dollars
worth of improvements. Our lease expires this year, and we will
negotiate a new lease.
The Work Ranch a.k.a. "The 80 Acres," 80
Jackson Lane, Hualapai Valley, Nev.
The year-to-year lease negotiated with a local rancher in 1997
turned into a 10-year lease in 1999. Located 12 miles north of
the Black Rock Desert and the Burning Man festival site, this property
originally served as a landing zone for all the stuff left on the
playa after every event. In those days, we had no plan, no way
of tracking the incoming stuff, and no labor budget to help accomplish
any of these tasks. Hence, the years and years of stuff now amount
to an unorganized tract of land. The property has for several years
served well as an official work ranch for building and disassembling
the infrastructure of the Burning Man event. We have seven years
left on the current lease, during which we will completely remove
and relocate operations to Black Rock Station just next door. This
move will happen sooner than expected because Washoe County Community
Development isn’t happy with some conditions on the property.
Black Rock Station 88 Jackson Lane, Hualapai Valley, Nev.
When we purchased this 200-acre parcel in February 2001, it was
basically a junkyard with five dilapidated structures and tons
of trash scattered all over. That following year, we constructed
miles of roads, erected a 4,000-square-foot shop building, installed
three power systems—one an alternative solar energy power
plant—built a well house, and renovated the old farmhouse,
which now serves as our high-tech office building. We have recently
applied for four Special Use Permits that will allow us to continue
operations during the building and removal of Black Rock City.
These permits are issued by Washoe County Community Development,
and obtaining them has proven to be a very complicated and costly
process. In the end, we hope to have a tidy bathing facility with
enclosed showers and toilets, a laundry facility, commissary, and
housing for the DPW crew during August and September. We will also
be including a separate artist shop area for those artists who
construct their projects in Nevada. Much more work is planned for
the future of this property, but currently the best use for Black
Rock Station is in the construction and removal of Black Rock City,
with high priority for a safe and sanitary environment.
Submitted by,
Flynn Mauthe
Click here to read the 2001 DPW operations report. 