May 2023

HRPS News & Updates

Dear HRPS Members,

Spring is finally here, and time to get outdoors! Walking Tours begin this month with the Wells Avenue Neighborhood walk on Tuesday, May 16, at 6pm. We have 23 tours this year, some new and many old favorites. You can register for walking tours here - Walking Tours (historicreno.org).

Members are free, non-members are $10/walk. With individual membership only $25, maybe you can induce your friends to join HRPS and accompany you on some of these walks! Join Us (historicreno.org)

We still have a few volunteer slots to fill, primarily for registration/check-in or caboose, people who keep the group together. We may also need someone to be responsible for equipment on a couple of the dates. To see the list of vacancies or to sign up, click here.

The Spring FootPrints edition is out, with a list of 2023 Walking Tours. If you'd like a digital copy, you can find it here. Scroll down to revisit what HRPS was doing in Summer 2007 with a link to that issue of FootPrints.

Board and Lifetime members were invited for a private tour of 751 Marsh Ave. a few days ago. The house is owned by Lifetime Member Toni Harsh and is listed with Kathy Williams of Sotheby Realtors, also a HRPS Lifetime Member. Built in 1934, the house is a Russell Mills/Ed Parsons design in a Tudor Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Thank you to Toni and Kathy for this fantastic opportunity. Perhaps one day the new owners will allow us to include it on our Harvest of Homes tour!

Speaking of the Home Tour, we still need one or two more homes in order to hold a fall tour. If you live in an historic home or know someone who does and would be willing to consider participating, please contact me at board@historicreno.org or 775-849-3380.

Be sure to attend our Annual Meeting on May 7, with a great program that old Renoites will surely enjoy. See below.

Other activities include having a table at the Young Professionals Network Non-Profit Night on May 11, docent training at the Nevada Historical Society on May 6, and a book-signing/author lecture on May 10. See below for more details. There is definitely a lot to do this month!

Carol Coleman, Acting President

Historic Reno Preservation Society

board@hsitoricreno.org

775-849-3380

HRPS May Program & Annual Meeting

When Hollywood Came to Reno!

Karen Burns, performer, educator, preservationist

Sunday, May 7, 2023, Noon-1:30pm

Downtown Reno Library, 301 S. Center Street

(Free street parking on Sundays)

When the world-famous MGM Hello Hollywood, Hello! show opened in 1978 it was billed as The Biggest Show in the World, on The Biggest Stage in the World appearing in The Biggest Little City in the World, Reno, Nevada – it was a BIG deal! Karen Burns had a front row seat to it all and after the show closed, Karen had an unprecedented opportunity to purchase over 1,250 of the original costumes.

Karen will talk about how preserving the costumes is also preserving the history of the art, culture, and entertainment of an era when Reno was considered one of the entertainment capitals of the world.

HRPS monthly programs are free and open to the public.

Karen Burns with some of her costumes.

Nevada Historical Society and Washoe County Library present

High Noon with Neal Cobb

Sparks, Then & Now

by Scott Carey

Thursday, May 18, 2023, 12 Noon via Zoom and Facebook

In 2005, the City of Sparks celebrated its 100th birthday as a city with a once in a lifetime celebration that featured special events and education programs to celebrate Sparks’ unique history. As part of the celebration, a Sparks Then and Now presentation was developed by Neal Cobb, Jerry Fenwick, Karen Dolan, and Scott Carey to show how the city has changed over its first hundred years.

This presentation will revisit the Sparks Then and Now program and take a special look at how things have changed in the city these past decade and a half.

Program is free but advance registration is required.

Scott Carey grew up in Sparks, attended public schools and used the Governor Kenny Guinn Memorial Scholarship to attend and graduate from UNR. Scott is a lifetime member and volunteer of the Sparks Heritage Museum. Since 2009 Scott served on the museum’s Board of Trustees.

Join HRPS at the YPN Nonprofit Night

Thursday, May 11, 5:00-7:00pm

South 40 Reno, 1445 S. Meadows Pkwy., Reno, NV 89521

The Young Professionals Network helps foster personal and professional growth for young professionals in our community.

Every spring YPN hosts a Nonprofit Night to introduce the nonprofit community to their hundreds of members, where HRPS will have a table. Members and friends are invited to come by! Scan the QR code at right for more info.

In This Place, Photographs of Reno

Artist Talk & Reception

May 6, 2023, 5:00-7:00pm

E. L. Wiegand Gallery · Oats Park Art Center
151 East Park Street · Fallon, Nev. 89406

Emily Najera is a visual storyteller based in Reno, Nevada. Her research as a photographer examines forms of architecture as vernacular artifacts. Partnering with historic preservationists and urban planners, Emily documents and archives the changing landscape of city neighborhoods.

Event Details

Nevada Historical Society Docent Training

Are you interested in learning how to become a volunteer at the Nevada Historical Society? Do you have some free time? Do you love sharing stories? We are looking for educational docents to help lead gallery tours for 4th graders, organizations and adults. What a great way to get hands-on training on Nevada History topics and engage our visitors. These are just a few of the types of projects available.

Saturday, May 6, 2023, 10am - Noon

Docent Orientation | Nevada Historical Society (nvhistoricalsociety.org)

Nevada Historical Society - Writers' Wednesday

Book signing/wine & cheese reception/lecture

Wednesday, May 10, 2023, 5:00-6:30pm

Nevada Historical Society, 1650 N. Virginia St., Reno, NV 89503

Michael Makley explores the complexities of the turbulent 1850's era, when white settlers first arrived in the eastern Sierra, when the pioneers’ actions set the stage for the area to become part of national incorporation.

With deft writing and meticulously researched portrayals of the individuals involved, including the Washoe and Northern Paiute peoples, Imposing Order Without Law focuses on the haphazard evolution of “frontier justice” in these remote outposts.

Writers’ Wednesday – Imposing Order without Law | Nevada Historical Society (nvhistoricalsociety.org)

Dangberg Ranch - Donate Your Clutter Fundraiser

Donate your clutter; then come shop for more! 😃 Scatter's Attic is May 12-14. (mailchi.mp)

How to Find a Historic House

One way preservationists can express their love for old buildings? Live in one. After all, older and historic homes bring with them craftsmanship, unique details, a sense of history, and (for the handy among us) an opportunity to restore a home to its former glory.

But finding and buying a historic home can be daunting if you’re not familiar with real estate, financing, historic building and district regulations, and inspection procedures. While we have a variety of resources available on how to find, inspect, purchase, and rehabilitate your old-but-new-to-you property, let’s start at the very beginning: with how (and where) to find your historic dream home.

How to Find a Historic House | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

9 Historic Artists' Spring Gardens

Throughout the centuries, artists have been inspired by spring. Perhaps they feel a creative spark from the blooming flowers and longer daylight hours, or maybe they connect to the symbolic nature of the season with its new beginnings, rejuvenation, and transformation.

Many artists also lent their creativity to their gardens where designing with plants was very similar to designing a painting. The varieties, colors, sizes, and textures of the plantings created an inspirational whole, which often became the subject of their artwork.

Here are nine sites - all members of the National Trust's Historic Artists’ Homes and Studios program—where the spring gardens are as awe-inspiring today as they were in the artists’ lifetimes.

9 Historic Artists’ Spring Gardens to Visit for Creative Inspiration | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

FootPrints - Summer 2007

If you are planning any walks in the downtown or old southwest Reno area this summer, this 2007 issue of FootPrints has some great articles on the Riverside Hotel, relocated monuments, and State Champion trees. Link is below.

FootPrints Summer 2007

Did you know - every issue of FootPrints is archived on the HRPS website. Thank you, Rosie Cevasco, our talented webmaster!

Virtual Tour of the old University Gateway District.

While most of these houses no longer exist, you can take a virtual tour of the area that once provided a gracious entrance to the University of Nevada.

Tour | Historic University Gateway (In Memoriam) | Reno Historical

Join HRPS Today!

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