Carson Kitchen

A rusted iron staircase climbs the side of this building, leading to a rooftop patio that sits high above the sidewalk. Before it served up bacon jam and chicken skins, this space functioned as the John E. Carson Hotel. It opened in nineteen fifty-five to house workers arriving in Las Vegas during the postwar boom. The architect, Walter Zick, designed it with a recessed storefront and a signature corner entrance that defined the midcentury streetscape long before the neighborhood rebranded itself as the Fremont East district.