photos by Chad Lundquist/Nevada Appeal Claudio Valadez construction worker, of Olcese Construction Co., keeps dust down during the demolition and removal of the Quonset huts.
The second of two Quonset huts that have been part of the East William Street landscape for more than 40 years should be demolished today. The other was reduced to rubble Tuesday.
The structures were painted pink several years ago by one of the tenants, making them an eyesore, said Eric Pederson, who owns the four acres at 1300 E. William St. with other family members.
Old-time Carson City residents will remember the buildings as the home of Carson Ready Mix. At that time, the business was outside the city. Pederson believes his dad purchased the huts from a military ammunition dump in Hawthorne following World War II.
The business that was operated by the late Bjarne Pederson could become a large development.
"We're going to be in negotiations for a land lease - nothing is firm - there's been interest expressed by national corporations," Pederson said.
Bjarne Pederson died of a heart attack in 1984. He was well known in Carson City for providing fuel oil to homes, even driving out late at night to help people with empty tanks.
The highway-fronting lot has also housed car dealerships and an equipment leasing business. The cost of the demolition is about $15,000, Pederson said. The family also owns Carson Masonry Supply at 4783 Highway 50 E.
The Gladys Pederson Trust owns the land and also controls GSM Investments, a partnership that includes Pederson, his mother, Gladys;, and siblings Sonnia Egge, of Granite Bay, Calif., and Martana Martin, of Carson City.
"I'm glad to see them come down," Martin said. "They had fallen out of such disrepair, and they weren't being used for anything. We're doing this to beautify Carson City."
Olcese Construction Co. owner Tillio Olcese said Tuesday that it will take another four days to clean up the site. The two pink Quonset huts and the block building were demolished using a 30-ton excavator.
State Archivist Guy Rocha said the steel huts were probably moved to that area of Carson City in the 1960s, based on aerial photographs. The type of huts were commonly used after the war because of their utilitarian nature.
• Contact reporter Becky Bosshart at bbosshart@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1212.
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