Historic Kiel Ranch, with recent bracing, defies quake

Diana Sahagun

Tuesday, Oct. 19, 1999 | 9:47 a.m.

Not even an earthquake could rattle the historic adobe house at Kiel Ranch.

Eric Dabney, director of North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation, said the building, once crumbling and shaky, is still standing after Saturday morning's temblor.

He credits the bracing phase of the restoration project, which has just been completed, for keeping the house erect.

Kiel Ranch, tucked in the middle of an industrial area in North Las Vegas, now consists of seven acres of the original 240-acre homestead settled by Conrad Kiel in the mid-1800s. The city of North Las Vegas owns the ranch, near the corner of Carey Avenue and Losee Road.

On May 5 the City Council awarded a $28,000 contract to Durango Construction for installation of emergency bracing of the structure built in 1855. The house is said to be the second-oldest building in Southern Nevada. At Wednesday night's council meeting, the members are expected to accept the notice of completion on the brace project.

More than 1,000 metal braces have been holding the deteriorated building together since May, Dabney said. The project included bracing of the basement and first floor to stabilize the entire building, and installation of monitoring devices to track any future movements that might occur.

Even with the braces, there was no guarantee that the structure wouldn't collapse on the heads of the contractors or guarantee successful stabilization. But Dabney admits "we did a pretty good job," since the adobe, once home to Hollywood actors and actresses, remains upright.

The next phase of the project will involve creating a design plan to restore the adobe as close as possible to the original time period, Dabney said.