May 2024

HRPS News & Updates

Dear HRPS Members,

Thanks again to everyone who made our 25th Anniversary Gala such a special night! The most frequent comments we heard were about how much everyone enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, people they hadn't seen in a long time. What I saw at the Gala is that we have the support of the community, and that our supporters themselves form a community.

Now it's time to turn our attention to a whole host of activities in May. May is designated National Historic Preservation Month, and among other things, is when we launch our Walking Tours each season. Our first one is May 11. Registration opened yesterday and we've already had dozens of sign-ups.

On May 4, the Nevada Historical Society is having a 120th Birthday celebration, and on May 9 we'll have a booth at the Chamber Expo at the Convention Center and that same evening HRPS will be accepting an award from the City of Reno Historical Resources Commission in recognition of our Walking Tours.

As I described in my Annual Report to Members at our April program meeting, HRPS has around 600 members, is financially sound, has an active volunteer base for our walking and home tours, top notch committee chairs who manage our speaker programs, membership, Reno Historical website and app, our Reno Heritage Fund grant program, FootPrints magazine, our website, Home Tour, and Walking Tours. We have a board that is engaged, committed, and diverse in their knowledge and skills. And we have a talented administrator in Amy Burton who supports us in our endeavors.

Please stop by our booth at the Nevada Historical Society's Birthday Celebration this Saturday (details below). We'll have Walking Tour Brochures, Reno Historical cards, and other information about National Preservation Month, with plenty to spare if you want to grab a few and hand them out to neighbors and friends.

Preservation month is more than just calling attention to historic buildings in danger. It's about cultivating a mindset of preservation, about paying attention to what's in front of us before it ever becomes at risk of going away.

Members may have heard that Sundance Books, housed in the old Levy Mansion at Sierra and California Ave, is closing their doors at the end of May.

While this may simply be the denouement of the owner's 39 years in business, it is also notable that the Nevada Museum of Art owns the building and raises questions about its future. We hope that future is another tenant. Meanwhile, we encourage all who cherish one of the few remaining independent bookstores in town to get there before May 31, do some shopping, and look around at this grand old place. We don't know what new tenant might move in (it was previously law offices), so avail yourself of the opportunity now!

Joy Orlich, President

joyorlich@sbcglobal.net

775-544-0686

May is Preservation Month!

Here are some ways you can celebrate Reno History and Historic Preservation Month

Attend the Nevada Historical Society Birthday Celebration on Saturday, May 4, from 10am - 3pm. Details
Participate in a Historic Reno Bike Tour on Sunday, May 12, at 9:30am. Details
Learn the basic steps to research historic properties - A Beginner’s Guide to Researching Your Historic Property | City of Reno Blog (aroundthearch.com)
Scroll through historic University photographs - 150 years of inspiring excellence (nxtbook.com)
Explore the Washoe County Recorder's Office digital archives - Washoe County Recorder Historical Records | University of Nevada, Reno | Digital Archive (dgicloud.com)
Read about the history of Preservation Month and what's happening at the national level - Preservation Month 2024 | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)
Join the National Register of Historic Places in celebrating Preservation Month - Preservation Month - National Register of Historic Places (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)
Sign up for one of HRPS' 26 Walking Tours - Walking Tours (historicreno.org)

Nevada Historical Society and Washoe County Libraries present

High Noon with Neal Cobb

Reno Historical - The App & the Website

with Dr. Alicia Barber

Thursday, May 16, 2024, Noon-1:00pm, via Zoom

Alicia Barber, Ph.D.

Event is free and open to the public, but advance registration is required.

Learn about the groundbreaking website and smart phone app, Reno Historical, from its editor, Dr. Alicia Barber.

Administered by the Historic Reno Preservation Society (HRPS), the interactive, multimedia platform features more than 260 entries (and counting!) about historic buildings, spaces, businesses, and landmarks throughout the city.

Alicia Barber, Ph.D., is a writer, historian, and founder of the historical consulting firm Stories in Place. She collaborates frequently with government agencies, museums, artists, architects, and community groups to create dynamic public history projects about Nevada and its people.

Barber is also author of the acclaimed Barber Brief, a newsletter dedicated to keeping the public informed about actions in Reno and Northern Nevada that impact the city's development.

Busting A Myth About Irish Immigrants

More than 1 million Irish people fled to the U.S. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, escaping poverty, seeking a new life.

Tyler Anbinder didn’t know what he’d find when he started digging into a vast trove of records that had been locked inside a bank — and inaccessible to the public — for nearly 150 years.

One detail immediately caught the historian’s attention: The accounts described in the bank’s ledgers had much more money in them than he expected.

The bank records revealed that even day laborers, who many would assume lived hand to mouth, had savings in their accounts that would amount to around $6,000 in today’s dollars.

A myth about Irish immigrants who came to the US during the potato famine gets debunked in a new book | CNN

Book Signing - The Divorce Seekers

Fun times: What was really going on at those Nevada divorce ranches? • Reno News & Review (renonr.com)

From 1931 to the 1960s, divorce seekers by the thousands were running to Reno for a six-week, no-fault divorce. If they had the money and the need for privacy, they stayed on one of the dude ranches around town. Someone called those dude ranches “divorce ranches,” and the name stuck.

The Divorce Seekers: The Intimate True Story of a Nevada Divorce Ranch Wrangler (BMC Publications, 2023) by William L. McGee and his co-author/wife Sandra McGee recreates the bygone era of the divorce ranch as seen through Bill’s eyes.

The book has recently been re-published in paperback form.

Book-signing - Wednesday, May 8, 2024, 5:00-6:30pm

More information

Pincolini Building

The Pincolini Building was the largest commercial building on South Virginia Street when it opened in 1954, with six commercial spaces on the ground floor and fifteen offices upstairs. Original tenants included the California Western States Life Insurance Company, the Federal Housing Administration, and Wilson’s Drug Store, which anchored the corner space.

Photo courtesy Pincolini Family

Pincolini Building - Guido Pincolini opened his namesake commercial building on the corner of South Virginia and Mary Streets in 1954. | 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