Award will go toward 10 informational kiosks and a 7 foot bronze statue of Adolph Sutro.

Preserving History, Building Legacy: JASHP Supports the Sutro Tunnel Restoration Project

The Sutro Tunnel, a monumental feat of 19th-century engineering, is entering a new era of preservation—and a national historic organization is stepping forward in a major way. The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation (JASHP) has committed to supporting the Sutro Tunnel & Site through two major interpretive initiatives: funding ten information kiosks across the property and commissioning a seven-foot bronze statue of Adolph Sutro to stand near the historic portal.

For a site whose history is intertwined with engineering brilliance, immigrant perseverance, community-building, and the story of the American West, JASHP’s involvement is both timely and deeply meaningful.

A Legacy of Inclusion and Ingenuity

JASHP Executive Director Jerry Klinger captures the spirit of Sutro’s journey and the ethos of the West:

“In the West, the first question was not who you were. Nobody cared if Sutro was Jewish or not. Everybody cared what can we bring to the table for all of us together?”

Adolph Sutro—a Jewish immigrant born in Aachen, Prussia—embodied this principle. He arrived in America in 1850, armed with a fascination in chemistry and astronomy and experience  in his father’s clothing business, he ultimately transformed Nevada’s Comstock mining district through innovation rather than mine ownership. His pivotal contribution came in 1869 when he incorporated the Sutro Tunnel Company and set out to solve one of the West’s most dangerous mining problems: flooding and poor ventilation deep within the silver-rich Comstock Lode.

The Tunnel That Changed the West

Sutro’s solution was bold and unprecedented: a four-mile drainage and ventilation tunnel cut horizontally into the mountains, allowing the mines to extend deeper, operate more safely, and protect miners’ lives.

Historians Dan Webster and Patrick Neylan, whose research appears on the new onsite kiosks, note that Sutro was neither miner nor mine owner but a visionary mining engineer whose work reshaped Comstock operations. Mine owners paid substantial sums for access to his tunnel, enabling Sutro to build his fortune while improving working conditions and reducing health and safety risks for thousands of miners.

The Sutro Tunnel remains one of the great engineering landmarks of the American West, and its ongoing restoration is a key piece of Nevada’s mining heritage.

JASHP: Honoring History Through Education

The Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to identifying, marking, and preserving sites of Jewish significance within the larger American story. Working collaboratively with community groups, historical societies, churches, and synagogues, JASHP promotes shared understanding of the nation’s diverse historical fabric.

With their commitment to the Sutro Tunnel project, JASHP recognizes not only Sutro’s Jewish heritage but also his role in shaping the development of Nevada and California—and in exemplifying the immigrant spirit that built the American West.

Building the Future of the Sutro Tunnel Site

JASHP’s support—kiosks filled with meticulously researched history and a major bronze monument—will become central features of the visitor experience as the Sutro Tunnel Restoration Project continues its long-term revitalization. They will help visitors understand how an immigrant mining engineer used vision, persistence, and technical mastery to change an entire industry.

More importantly, these installations will help connect Sutro’s story to the broader narrative of American innovation and inclusion.

Together, the Sutro Tunnel Restoration Project and JASHP are ensuring that Adolph Sutro’s legacy—and the history of the Comstock miners whose lives he improved—will be preserved and shared for generations.

All donors to the Friends of Sutro Tunnel Charity will have their names listed on the Hard Rock Miners Wall of Honor to be permanently displayed at the site.

Tunnel Vision Major Gifts Campaign

About Friends of Sutro Tunnel Charity
Preserving History | Building Legacy
The Friends of Sutro Tunnel Charity is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sustaining the historic Sutro Tunnel and Site, honoring its remarkable mining history while transforming it into a vibrant destination for tourism, education, and recreation—a treasured landmark for visitors of all ages and generations to come.

Sutro Tunnel & Site