Destination Nevada County

Celebrating a Legacy of Art & Culture
By Steve Cottrell
Nevada County Historian
From the beginning, Nevada City attracted headline
entertainers on tours through the American West. Edwin
Booth appeared in Nevada City in 1852, followed by pianist
Louis Gottschalk, humorist Mark Twain, General Tom Thumb
and wife, violinist Camilla Urso, illusionist Harry Keller,
dancer Loie Fuller, and a host of others entertainers who were
big-city headliners making a side trip to the Gold Country.
More recently, Hollywood has become a frequent visitor. Five
movies have been shot in Nevada City, along with episodic
television shows and several television commercials. The
town’s architecture, setting, and hospitality have attracted
film companies for decades, including the Hallmark Channel,
who filmed Joany Kane’s screenplay “The Christmas Card”
in and around Nevada City in early 2006. When it aired that
December, it became the highest-rated movie in the network’s
history and continues to be broadcast each holiday season.
Fictional movies typically use a generic town name for its
setting –– like Centerville, Fairview, etc. But Hallmark
decided to call the town what is: Nevada City. And when the
movie aired for the first time, the Nevada City Chamber of
Commerce was flooded with hundreds of requests from all
over the nation asking for more information, visitor packets,
and even relocation packets.
There are merchants along Broad Street and Commercial Street
today who first learned about Nevada City from watching that
movie, and hundreds of people still walk through town each
year spotting locations where various scenes were shot –– a
priceless promotional bonanza for the community.
Because of its beauty and cultural amenities, Nevada City
often finds itself on various lists of best small towns in
America, including #12 on Budget Travel’s 2014 list of Coolest
Small Towns. In 2017, Nevada City was ranked #1 on Sunset
magazine’s list of Best Value Towns in the West. Between
Sunset’s print edition and digital presence, more than 6,000,000
people read about Nevada City’s cultural scene, excellent
schools, cost of living, incredible restaurants, and, of course, its
amazing performing and visual arts.
In fact, the arts are such an important part of community life
that in 1983 the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce began
recognizing both the performing and visual arts with two
annual awards at the Chamber’s yearly awards dinner. To date,
over 70 men, women, and organizations have been recognized
for their contribution to the arts and, by extension, to the local
economy.
Screenwriter Joany Kane
had never even heard of Nevada
City when she wrote
the screenplay for “The
Christmas Card.” The story
was originally set in a mill
town in Vermont. Budget
constraints led the production
team to look for sites in
California, and one of the
producers, Lincoln Lageson,
suggested Nevada City. He
was familiar with the town
because his parents grew up
in Nevada City.
112 DESTINATION Nevada County