Submitted photo Decorative railings and a neon sign were among the building details salvaged from the former Marshall Hotel.The city of Marshall said it is donating the artifacts to the Lyon County Historical Society — but for now the city is storing the items due to a lack of space at the Lyon County Museum.

MARSHALL — The former Marshall Hotel is in the process of being demolished, but key pieces of the historic building like its neon sign are being preserved.

On Tuesday, the city of Marshall announced that it is donating the sign and details like wrought iron railings to the Lyon County Historical Society Museum. The question, however, will be how to display them. It’s possible that historical pieces from the hotel and the old Marshall city hall may be re-incorporated into a plaza on the old hotel site, said Lyon County Historical Society director Jennifer Andries.

The size of the old neon sign, which hung on the front of the hotel, makes it challenging to store or display. In its announcement, the city of Marshall said it will be storing the sign on the Historical Society’s behalf due to space constraints. When demolition workers took the sign down over a week ago, they transported it by forklift to the city shop, for storage.

Andries said one idea for displaying the items would be to work them into the public plaza being planned for the hotel property after demolition. Earlier this spring, members of the Marshall City Council approved a contract with Engan Associates to come up with design concepts for the space.

In Tuesday’s announcement, the Historical Society said it would provide consultation to the city and Engan Associates on historical perspective for the items.

“The signage and railings from the Marshall Hotel are significant pieces in Marshall and Lyon County’s history. LCHS is grateful the pieces were saved and will be preserved,” the Historical Society said in Tuesday’s announcement.

So far, there aren’t specific plans for how a plaza or public space on the former hotel property would look, said Marshall City Administrator Sharon Hanson.

“One of the things council members expressed … was they wanted community feedback,” Hanson said. The design process will likely take time and involve community input.

Hanson said the hotel artifacts might not be the only ones on display in the plaza designs. The city also saved some items from the old City Hall building as it was gutted for renovation. Pieces of tile from the terra cotta “screen” on the building’s facade, as well as bricks from the original 1914 Marshall city hall and fire station, could possibly be worked into the new plaza too.