Activities, Events and Recreation
The Piper-Beebe House is a large two-story Italianate residence constructed in 1876 by pioneer Virginia City architect-builder, A. F. Mackay. Mackay designed and built several buildings in Virginia City, but the Piper-Beebe House is the only one that remains. Built after the Great Fire of 1875, this house is representative of the elaborate homes built […]
The Henry Piper House was built immediately after Virginia City’s Great Fire of 1875 on a lot previously occupied by the smaller home of local businessman and politician Henry Piper. It is a one and one-half story Italianate row house with no doors or windows on the south side. The front façade is dominated by […]
Located in the northwestern portion of Idlewild Park, the California Building is the only remaining architectural remnant of the Transcontinental Highway Exposition of 1927. Idlewild Park was created for this exposition which celebrated the completion of the Lincoln and Victory highways (present day U.S. 50 and U.S. 40). In 1913, members of the automobile industry […]
Designed by local architect George Ferris in 1909, the McKinley Park School was one of four Reno schools known as the “Spanish Quartet,” single-story Mission Revival style schools built around the turn of the 20th century (see also Mount Rose Elementary School). The schools represent a growth spurt in the city of Reno and were […]
Located at the northwestern edge of the University of Nevada-Reno campus, the Fleischmann Atmospherium Planetarium was built in 1963 as the first atmospherium of its kind in the world. While other planetaria featured views of the night sky and solar system, the Fleischmann Atmospherium Planetarium, could simulate both day and night conditions and a full […]
The Nevada-California-Oregon (NCO) Railroad was the 20th century’s longest narrow gauge railway, although only 25 miles of it were in Nevada. In May of 1889, a major fire destroyed a large section of Reno, including the NCO’s holdings. Construction of the NCO locomotive house was undertaken quickly, completed in September of 1889. The building was […]
Built in 1931, El Cortez Hotel is one of only three remaining major Art Deco buildings in Reno, and is an excellent example of this style. The foliated motif found on the terra cotta design on the building’s base and parapet are remarkable Art Deco details. At the time it was built, it was Reno’s […]
The First United Methodist Church, the third Methodist Church to be built in Reno, is one of the oldest remaining churches in Reno. It was built in 1925 and designed by Wythe, Blaine and Olson, a firm based in Oakland, California. The Period Revival cathedral displays impressive Gothic Revival design elements, utilizing a cross plan, […]
The Virginia Street Bridge is located on Virginia Street and spans the Truckee River in downtown Reno. There has been a bridge at this site since 1860, when C. W. Fuller constructed the first recorded span of the Truckee River. Built in 1905 by Cotton Brothers and Company of Oakland, California, the current Virginia Street […]
The Riverside Hotel sits on the exact location where Reno began in 1859. C.W. Fuller operated a log building here that provided food and shelter to gold-seekers who were passing through the area in the reverse gold rush called the “Rush to Washoe,” spurred by the gold, and later silver, strikes of the famous Comstock […]