Dear HRPS Members,
Though spring is dragging its feet, we are confident the weather will be nice by mid-May and are busy putting the final touches on our 2023 Walking Tour program. Please watch for a separate e-mail announcement in the coming weeks and a full description of each walk in the Spring issue of FootPrints.
I think everyone who attended our March program was mesmerized by Michael Branch's storytelling. This month we present a panel discussion with three Midtown business owners about the trials of surviving the double whammy of Covid shutdowns and a major street reconstruction program all at the same time during a long stretch of 2020. Please note the program is this Sunday, April 2. Details below.
Our part time Administrator, Jessica Johnson, landed a terrific new full-time job with Reno Little Theater, and while we're excited for her (and she promises to stay involved with HRPS in a volunteer capacity) it means we have an opening for a new Administrator. Click here for a job description. If you're interested, send a cover letter and resume to board@historicreno.org by April 20. This is a great opportunity for someone who has a little time to spare, could use some extra income, and is passionate about historic preservation.
We have lots of other interesting articles to share this month, including a revisit to the Spring 2003 issue of FootPrints, so scroll along and enjoy. I Hope to see you at Sunday's program! |
|
|
HRPS April Program A Midtown Survival Story Panel Discussion Sunday, April 2, 2023, Noon-1:30pm Downtown Reno Library, 301 S. Center Street (Free street parking on Sundays) |
Business owners Larry DeVincenzi (Rum Sugar Lime), Christian & Kasey Christensen (Süp), and Eric & Monique Baron (Melting Pot World Emporium) will discuss the challenges of keeping their businesses going during major street construction and redesign on South Virginia Street, followed by the Covid pandemic, which forced business owners to change how they operated - facing restrictions, construction barriers and customer health and safety concerns.
HRPS monthly programs are free and open to the public. |
|
|
|
|
Road construction on Virginia St., 2020. |
|
|
|
|
Nevada Historical Society and Washoe County Library present
High Noon with Neal Cobb
Virginia City & the Great Fire of 1875by Joe Curtis
Thursday, April 20, 2023, 12 Noon via Zoom |
|
|
This program will talk about the history of the Great Fire in Virginia City, 1875. We will explore the causes, effects, and rehabilitation of Virginia City as the fire destroyed approximately 75% of Virginia City at the very height of its economic apex of mining. This disaster created fear and apprehension in the state and the nation.
Joe L. Curtis is a local historian, volunteer fire chief and owner of the Mark Twain Book Store (now closed) in Virginia City.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Program is free but advance registration is required. |
|
|
|
|
Local Antiques Dealers Adjust to Changing Market |
|
|
|
|
Decades ago, roadside antique shops dotted Northern Nevada’s landscape, from Reno’s north valleys south to Douglas County.
Many baby boomers and their parents collected everything from Victorian furniture to European figurines; from toys to casino memorabilia. Antique buffs prowled local shops in search of treasures and items missing from their collections. But as those generations aged, their offspring had less interest in the 100-year-old artifacts. Economic recessions also took a bite out of peoples’ disposable incomes and tanked the value of many collectables. Antiques dealers have had to adjust. What is old is new again: Reno-Sparks antique dealers adjust to a changing market • Reno News & Review (renonr.com) |
|
|
Digitizing State Water Records
|
|
|
In the basement of Winnemucca’s historic courthouse, walking distance to the Humboldt River, is a vault containing water records dating back at least a century, when officials started to divide up the roughly 330-mile river that stretches across central Nevada from Wells to Lovelock. |
|
|
Such documents — maps, court decree files and state reports — are not just historic artifacts. In many cases, they offer the original record outlining how to manage water rights in Nevada. Like in much of the West, the right to use water is rooted in history. Those with the oldest, or “senior,” claims to water are given a priority to use water in times of shortage.
Those records were almost lost last year when a staff member discovered water seepage in the storage vault. For many records there are no copies, only the original documents. That has spurred an effort to digitize as many records as possible.
The state relies on old records to manage water. A new effort seeks to put them online. – The Nevada Independent |
|
|
|
|
Confluence - A Temporary Public Art Project for Reno
|
|
|
Writer and visual artist, Todd Gilens, has designed and created a public art installation that uses texts along sidewalks and pathways to describe how water shapes landscapes, ecologists study streams as living systems, and stories orient us to the places we’re in.
A prose-poem of over 4,000 words will run continuously for almost a mile through Reno, following the flow of water and structured by block lengths into 20 themed sections. Todd hopes to install the project in Fall 2023. |
|
|
Real Estate Website for Old Houses |
|
|
Pocket doors, wide-plank wood floors, classic columns, exposed brick, wavy glass, mansard roofs … these are just a few of our favorite things about old houses. As places of beauty and wonder, they make truly incredible homes.
Since 2020, the National Trust has partnered with CIRCA Old Houses to connect property sellers with interested buyers, and here are a few of their category listings that we love. Whether you’re in the market or just fantasizing, explore these historic houses that are looking for a new family to call them ‘home.’ |
|
|
|
|
What is the National Register of Historic Places? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
HRPS is "Dedicated to Preserving and Promoting Historic Resources in the Truckee Meadows through Education, Advocacy and Leadership". With over 500 members, your membership is a vote and a voice for historic preservation.
Do you have friends, neighbors, or family members who share an interest in local history? If so, forward a copy of this newsletter and encourage them to join HRPS! Or have them go to our website - Historic Reno Preservation Society - and click on the "Join Us" tab at the top of the page.
A single membership is just $25/year ($45 for a family membership), and you can now join and pay online. Benefits of Membership - Monthly e-mail newsletters
- FootPrints, a quarterly publication on local properties and history
- Free admission to walking tours and certain other HRPS events
- The knowledge you are helping support historic preservation in Reno.
|
|
|
|
|
Officers Acting President - Carol Coleman Vice President - Vacant Secretary - Deborah Hinman
Treasurer - Joy Orlich |
Directors Brett Banks Patrick Cantwell Bradley Carlson Tim Gilbert Derek Partridge Immediate Past President - Carol Coleman |
|
|
|
|
Historic Reno Preservation Society | P.O. Box 14003, Reno, NV 89507 board@historicreno.org | 775-747-4478
Virginia Street Bridge photos courtesy of Nevada Historical Society
|
|
|
Follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram |
|
|
|
