Schenley benches dedicated in downtown Carson City
Officials dedicated 25 Schenley benches in downtown Carson City Wednesday afternoon, an effort started at the first of year to support downtown redevelopment efforts.
Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell, City Manager Nick Marano and Carson City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ronni Hannaman were on hand for the individual dedications, which featured several families who had purchased benches in memory of loved ones.
More than a dozen family members gathered for the dedication ceremony of the Harold J. Berger bench located in front of the old Horseshoe Club at the corner of N. Carson and W. Telegraph streets.
Family also helped to dedicate a bench placed in memory of former Nevada First District Court Judge and longtime Carson City resident Michael Fondi, who died Jan. 22, 2016 after a battle with cancer.
Loved ones of Dann and Therese Habberfield stood next to the bench named in their honor as Mayor Crowell helped them to dedicate the piece of local history.
"It's a real history of Carson City and makes me proud to be here," Crowell said. "You hear just some amazing stories of what happend in Carson over the years."
Hannaman said about 60 benches were made and 35 have been purchased with donations so far. There are 25 left to be donated, she said.
"The program is based on the successful MainStreet Gardnerville project where privately-purchased benches were placed throughout their community, thus freeing up monies for other needs," Hannaman wrote earlier this year.
Crowell said funds raised through donations for the benches helped to pay for some of the streetscape costs of the Downtown Carson Street Corridor Project, completed just before Nevada Day this year after nearly eight months of construction.
"The donations went to fund a lot of the streetscape here," he said. "We were a little bit short on getting the crosswalks in, so the benches did that."
Other notable benches include one dedicated to fallen Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Carl G. Howell, who was killed in the line of duty on Aug. 15, 2015. The bench that bears his name is located on the east side of N. Carson Street near the Nevada Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial on the Capitol Plaza.
A bench dedicated to the citizens of Carson City by Ward 2 Supervisor Brad Bonkowski sits next to the Howell bench.
Downtown 2020 also dedicated a bench located next to Firkin and Fox along N. Carson Street.
The Abowd family dedicated a bench to Paul and Adele Abowd, well-known Carson City restaurateurs and parents of current Cafe at Adele's owner Charlie Abowd. Their bench sits on the west side of N. Carson Street next to the Carson City Visitors Bureau building.
Most of the benches purchased so far have been dedicated to lost loved ones. But others also dedicate local businesses and organizations that make up Carson City.
- bears
- Bob Crowell
- cancer
- Carson City
- Carson City Chamber of Commerce
- 2015
- 2020
- Afternoon
- cafe at adele's
- Capitol
- carson
- Carson City Mayor
- Carson Street
- Ceremony
- charlie abowd
- City
- club
- community
- Community
- Community,
- construction
- day
- dedication
- died
- District Court Judge
- donations
- Donations.
- downtown
- Downtown Carson
- Executive Director
- families
- Family
- Firkin and Fox
- local
- local history
- lost
- Mayor
- Mayor Crowell
- Members
- Memorial
- michael
- Nevada
- Nevada Day
- parents
- program
- Redevelopment
- Support
- WARD 2
- Wednesday
- Chamber of Commerce
- Downtown Carson City
- Downtown Redevelopment
- Gardnerville
- history
- HorseShoe Club
- law enforcement