Reno, Nevada.
On my March trip this year I got off I-80 right by Truckee to take 267 down to Lake Tahoe for an overnight with friends in Incline Village on Crystal Bay on the Nevada side. From there I drove over Spooner Summit to Carson City (after re-connecting with the southern (Pioneer) route of the Lincoln Highway along U.S. 50 to Carson City). I did not make it to Reno in March on my drive back to New York; however, here in cyberspace we are going to make a stop there as we head east.
This set of photos is from a photo shoot there exactly a year earlier in March 2016.
From the west, the northern (Donner) route of the Lincoln Highway entered Reno on West 4th and then at Vine it continued on West 3rd. After a left on Virginia (today’s Business 395) it took an immediate right on East 4th toward Sparks, Nevada. 4th Street hosted both the Lincoln and the Victory Highways. For a short time a different routing included a longer stretch of Virginia Street.
Many of the photos in this set were taken right on, or in close proximity to, the path of the Lincoln through the city.
After Nevada legalized gambling in 1931, Reno took off as a gambling destination. Don’t look for glitz and glam here. It’s not Vegas. Most certainly not.
Reno has an off-the-grid feel to it. I read that somewhere and don’t take credit for the observation. It has its moments but definitely has a seedy feel to it. Supposedly it is trying to shake off its dodgy reputation. I have to say that it has a ways to go still. The most charitable description I have seen is calling it an “awkward” place. It does have its moments.
One of the big casinos in Reno is the Silver Legacy – Nevada is, after all, also called the Silver State. The Comstock Lode, the first major silver-mining district in the United States, is near Reno. More on that in a future post about a day trip I took to nearby Virginia City.
The Biggest Little City in the World – that’s what Reno calls itself. It was once known as the Divorce Capital of the World (thanks to a very short residency requirement for legalizing a divorce). It also has been a place for quickie marriages, too, and there are still some vintage wedding chapels to be found.
The more modern casinos and hotels in the center are surrounded by a sea of vintage motels and hotels. Some are still for overnight stays, although I doubt that too many of these have stars on Expedia. Many are now residential. Some are shelters or other affordable housing now. Others are blighted and fenced off awaiting their fate. If old motel signs are your thing, this is the place. I wonder how much longer some of these will be there but for now there are still many to be found. Gobs of them. The pix in this set are just a glimpse! The quickie weddings, the divorces, the gambling, the major highways running right through the city: all of this meant lots and lots of lodging for the travelers and visitors.
There is a handsome campus of the University of Nevada in Reno. I did a walkabout there but have not included the photos in this set.
If old cars are your thing, look no further. The vintage car collection at the museum there is amazing. See this post.
The first photo in this set is the current (third generation) Reno Arch. Later on there are a couple of shots of the relocated original 1926 Arch I took on a freezing cold morning walk. This was the second generation Arch:
Thank you David G. for joining me for a good part of the Reno walkabouts and for your patience (which was sorely tried).
Finally, in the next following paragraph is everything you ever wanted to know about the slogan and the arch (and then some) all extracted from a Wikipedia piece – these are not my words. Spoiler: the first arch was built to celebrate the Lincoln Highway!
The first Arch was built in 1926 to promote the Nevada Transcontinental Highway Exposition that ran from July 25 to August 1, 1927, which celebrated the completion of the Lincoln and Victory Highways. Through Nevada, these routes were built along the corridors of modern U.S. Route 50 and Interstate 80, respectively. After the exposition, the city council decided to keep the arch as a permanent downtown gateway. The council announced a contest find a slogan to replace the exposition lettering on the arch. G. A. Burns of Sacramento won $100 for his slogan, “Reno, The Biggest Little City in the World.” The slogan first appeared on the arch on June 25, 1929 along with an illuminated torch on both sides of the city name. In 1934, some residents complained about the new slogan and it was replaced with a green neon “RENO”; however, after the ensuing backlash over its removal, the slogan returned with new lettering as well as the removal of the torches. In 1963, the original steel arch was replaced by larger arch with plastic panels, a rotating star, and an attached inverted arch below the “RENO” lettering for the slogan “Biggest Little City in the World”. The third and current version was installed in 1987. The original arch has been moved around downtown Reno over the years. Since 1995 it has been located on Lake Street, just south of the Truckee River. The second generation arch was donated to the city of Willits, California. The city of Willits removed most of the plastic panels, replaced the star with the flag of the United States and the slogan with “Gateway to the Redwoods” and “Heart of Mendocino County”. It now straddles U.S. Route 101 in downtown Willits.
Who knew? Thank you, Wikipedia.
