We're Back!

To make a long story shorter… after all, I was working as a wrangler for only one week a year; I will return to it later. Let’s just say that the first year was great! I enjoyed it thoroughly and was asked to return the next spring. And for 9 more years.

Back in Reno, life was fine. Since Solari & Sons had no competition for the majority of jobs, we rarely went without work. And when I got back I had a new project to start; Harrah’s Hotel Tower expansion. Harrah’s didn’t want to miss out on the remodeling frenzy that had gripped the town, but they were short on space and already had a 24 story hotel on Center Street. They had begun a casino expansion on Lake Street with a new Sports Book casino and the only place left to add on for hotel space was directly over the top of the Seafood restaurant on the corner of Second and Center. This expansion would tie into the existing hotel and add a dozen or more rooms per floor.

It had been decided that the expansion would never shut down the restaurant or the casino below it. These were located in what was called the Dondero building. The two-story structure had been absorbed into the Harrah’s building without ever demolishing it in its entirety. When we entered the ceiling space above the restaurant and the casino, we actually walked across the old roof of the Dondero building. Looking over the edge of the ‘roof’, we could see that the walls of the old building were enclosed by false walls in the casino. And this roof top area was also used as the spot for security to set up their monitors; the camera feeds that watched all the gambling below.

Needless to say, it was a tight little corner to have to build a very tall and tiny high-rise hotel. To erect the steel, they had to dig deep into the corners of the Dondero building without bothering anyone. Concrete footings were poured in the dark of the basement and behind walls. And it was our job to follow along behind that work and repair any damage that was caused.

Once the steel reached the level of the third floor, it was time to bring in a crane to erect the rest of the building. But not an ordinary crane; the site already took one lane out of Second Street and the city wasn’t going to allow any more than that. A very special Manitowoc crawler was brought in and it was able to stand its mast vertically and use the jib section almost as if it were a tower crane. But, as it squeezed itself into position, next to the manlift, it had to ‘squirm’, rotating the tracks on one side while braking the other. This action actually broke the concrete walls down in the Dondero basement and that caused flooding from groundwater.

But, we were soon moving upwards and onwards. Steel flew into place and we sprayed fireproofing on it just as soon as the concrete deck was poured. A few days after that we were doing the layout and building walls. Electricians and plumbers were right behind us. Progress!

And then we got to the 5^th floor…