From LVRJ: "Goldfield, whose current population ranges between 225 and 415 depending on whom you ask, was Nevada's largest city 100 years ago with more than 20,000 residents. 
Gold played in the mines and there was talk in 1909 of moving the state Capitol here along U.S. Highway 95, 180 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But a fire in 1923 destroyed 50 city blocks. Goldfield never recovered.
Today, an unlikely ghostbuster has emerged with a plan to make Goldfield far more famous than it ever was in its heyday.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants Goldfield to become a national park, or at least a national historic landmark."..."I love history," Reid said in a telephone interview. "Most historians will say the last gold rush in our country was in Goldfield. There were union fights there. There was a major prize fight there. There is so much there we need to preserve. I would not feel good to see it go the way of Searchlight."...Reid intends to introduce a bill for an additional study of Goldfield. He also sponsored the legislation in 1986 that created Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada.
"I don't know yet if what I introduce will be for Goldfield as a national park or historical landmark," he said. "Goldfield would be a terrible thing to lose."
"Today what remains in Goldfield are a few restored structures, a lot of run-down century-old buildings, old mobile homes, broken-down cars, shacks and trash."
Rock House
Gold played in the mines and there was talk in 1909 of moving the state Capitol here along U.S. Highway 95, 180 miles northwest of Las Vegas. But a fire in 1923 destroyed 50 city blocks. Goldfield never recovered.
Today, an unlikely ghostbuster has emerged with a plan to make Goldfield far more famous than it ever was in its heyday.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants Goldfield to become a national park, or at least a national historic landmark."..."I love history," Reid said in a telephone interview. "Most historians will say the last gold rush in our country was in Goldfield. There were union fights there. There was a major prize fight there. There is so much there we need to preserve. I would not feel good to see it go the way of Searchlight."...Reid intends to introduce a bill for an additional study of Goldfield. He also sponsored the legislation in 1986 that created Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada.
"I don't know yet if what I introduce will be for Goldfield as a national park or historical landmark," he said. "Goldfield would be a terrible thing to lose."
"Today what remains in Goldfield are a few restored structures, a lot of run-down century-old buildings, old mobile homes, broken-down cars, shacks and trash."
The last paragraph is absolutely correct.
After reading the article today, Cathy and I went to visit Goldfield and see first hand to see a near ghost town. What we saw, shocked us.
Goldfield is a town about 180 miles north of Las Vegas, on Highway 95. While it has electrical service, it does not have natural gas service. The elevation is about 5600 feet and it was about 40 degrees when we were there, in the daylight. It is the county seat of Esmeralda County.
With a few exceptions, most of the "city" looked worse than your typical inner city ghetto. It looked more on par with a up North Wisconsin Indian reservation or a down and out city in Mexico.
Most of the permanent homes, with the exception of may 5-7 homes, looked inhabitable, but people were living in them. There were trailer houses, while some looked ok, others were just terrible. There was junked cars and trucks all over the place and just about in every yard.
There were no parks, except an old playground at the local school. We did not see 1 child in the city and we drove almost every street in the city. We may have seen more jackrabbits than locals.
The downtown has numerous large abandoned buildings. The local motel is a 4 story hotel that looks more like a hospital or office building- not a hotel.
The high school is about a 4 story building as well. It really serves no value, other than well, it has no value.
There are smaller buildings on Main Street. Most looked run down, including the ones that were open for business. There was a general store that looked a little run down but fit the decor of the area. the town's old fire station has been refurbished and looks great from the outside. I'm not sure what is on the inside, though.
There were some interesting homes. There were houses and a store that was built out of medium sized rocks. They were kind of cool, but run down.
Rock House
There is no recreation areas around, like a ski hill, casino, camping etc. There are no parks close to the city as we could see.
Should federal money be given to Goldfield to redo some areas? For the hotel, unless there is a casino involved, it will be a waste of money. Who will stay there? There are hotels in Tonapah, about 25 miles away. There is no parking for trucks. If there are no tourist or recreation areas, no one is going to stay at the hotel. In addition, the federal government should not be involved in the casino business by funding a casino.
With exception of a couple of stone houses, most of the houses there are in terrible shape. Dilapidated shacks to be exact. They really don't have a purpose for showing off to visitors. Mobile homes have no historical purpose.
The high school is a worthless building and is not historical. It looks like an apartment building. I just cannot imagine going to this school as it is about a 4 story tall building. It must have been hot, especially the upper stories, during the warm months. I went to an elementary school older than the high school and it is still in existence.
As far as downtown. most of it is run down. The county courthouse is on the main drag. It is a rather dingy building and quite old. It fits the era of the 1920's or so. I would not want to be a prisoner in their jail. The question is should the government pay for it or the private sector. Is there enough traffic and potential customers to make Goldfield a profitable downtown? Much of the traffic is trucks coming from the Reno area, especially trucks from Wal Mart, which are going from their distribution center in the Reno area to Las Vegas. There is some car traffic, but not that much. There are many services in Tonopah, just a short distance away? What will Goldfield provide that Tonopah does not provide? Gas, at the only gas station in town was about $3.12 a gallon. That does not help. 
Picture of a house/store on the main street of Goldfield
While it is nice to preserve historical areas, if it is done properly and if you have something to work with. Goldfield has little to work with. Instead of trying to preserve the history of Goldfield, they should consider redoing the town. Raze the dilapidated buildings, get rid of the junk cars and trucks or fix up those worth saving, like the old fire station. Get some businesses that will draw people to Goldfield. It may be a casino or a recreation business. But none of this should be the responsibility of the federal government, like Harry Reid wants to do. It is the responsibility of the locals and it is their decision. Further, Harry doesn't have the full support of the town. Besides, Harry compares Searchlight to Goldfield. I've been to both towns now, and there is no comparisons between the two. Size and location of the towns are the biggest differences. Being the cynic, I just think this is an election year ploy by Sen. Reid, to show he is in touch with Nevada. The reality is that Harry is hoping no one will challenge him on this issue, but I have gone out and looked around and find that once again, Harry is out of touch with reality.
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