Built by a Basque couple, Pete and Matilda Jauregui, the Star serves as a social center for the Basque community but is well known to the entire town for its Basque-American cooking and attracts a diverse clientele of local residents and tourists. The hotel is unusual in that it still has Basque boarders who eat in the dining room every night.

Until the railroad tracks were relocated, the Star had the advantage of being close to both the Central Pacific and Western Pacific lines. Time has taken its toll on the hotel's exterior. The twostory, wood-frame building originally had a balcony supported by brackets running along the second floor on the Commercial Street facade. Composition siding now covers the original drop siding. The main entrance, set in the corner facing the intersection of Silver and 3rd streets, leads directly into the barroom. Against the interior wall stands a bar of red lacquer and chrome, installed in the 1930s. Beyond is the dining room, recently remodeled to turn what was a dark, crowded space into a brighter and airier room. Guest rooms are on the second floor.