Metropolis, ghost town in Elko County, Nevada, United States

Metropolis is a ghost town in Elko County, Nevada, 12 miles northwest of Wells. The site holds the ruins of the hotel and school, a cemetery, and low ruined walls among scrub. A tall, weathered concrete structure with two dark openings and spalled patches stands near the remains.

Eastern businessman Harry L. Pierce of Leominster, Massachusetts, and investors from Massachusetts and Salt Lake City created Metropolis through the Pacific Reclamation Company, which bought 40,000 acres of desert land in 1910 and hired contractor P. J. Moran to build a dam on Bishop Creek. The LDS Church encouraged members to settle, and regular passenger service began in 1912. Pierce lacked water rights to Bishop Creek, Lovelock sued, and the company went bankrupt in 1920; the railroad stopped in 1922, and the amusement hall and hotel burned.

The site is accessible by nearby roads, though visitors should arrive during daylight hours and move carefully among the fragile ruins. Wear appropriate footwear and bring water, as the location sits in open desert with minimal facilities or shade.

The hotel was built to show permanence, fitted with an electric generator, central heating and hot and cold running water in every room. It burned along with the amusement hall, which had served the Mormon residents as a meetinghouse since no church was ever built. The school ruins and cemetery also remain.