October 2023

HRPS News & Updates

Dear HRPS Members,

Thanks to all who attended our 2023 Harvest of Homes tour, and special thanks to our many dedicated volunteers. We had almost 700 people attend this year, and netted over $20,000 for our preservation programs!

If you grabbed an evaluation form but didn't get it turned in at one of the homes, you may scan and email it to board@historicreno.com. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Look for photos and highlights of the home tour in the next edition of FootPrints, later this year.

Did you happen to see the September 1 issue of the Reno News & Review? Our Walking Tours were mentioned in the Best of Reno 2023: Staff Picks section. Scroll way down until you come to "Best Walking Time Machine". Says Frank Mullen, "It’s one thing to read about history, but exploring historic sites—and walking in the footsteps of the people who made history while hearing their stories—forges a more immediate connection to the past."

Speaking of Walking Tours, we'll be holding a 2024 planning workshop for tour guides, researchers, and prospective tour guides on Tuesday, October 24 from 6-8pm. If you're interested, mark your calendar and watch for an email invitation or email us at board@historicreno.org.

Be sure to attend our October 8 program on the Truckee River and the 1902 Reclamation Act with Lake Tahoe native and Metropolitan State University of Denver professor, Matthew Makley, PhD. Details below.

This month we celebrate Nevada Day on October 28, a good time to reflect on our history and the people who first settled this little hamlet on the Truckee. We've included a link to official celebrations below.

Carol Coleman, Acting President

Historic Reno Preservation Society

board@hsitoricreno.org

775-849-3380

October Program

Pyramid Lake and the Truckee River

A History of the 1902 Reclamation Act

Sacred Waters, Secular Waters

Sunday, October 8, 2023, Noon-1:30pm

Downtown Reno Library Auditorium, 301 S. Center Street

No admission charge. Free street parking on Sundays

The sacred centrality of water for Indigenous communities in the American West has not been enough to protect that water in American courts. As the twentieth century unfolded, Native communities had to find secular and legally sound ways to protect sacred waters.

Nowhere is this clearer than on the Northern Paiute Reservation at Pyramid Lake. This talk will focus briefly on the Reclamation Act of 1902 which set in motion the “Newlands Project.” It will then describe the ways the Tribe fought, using the legal system, to reclaim and protect its sacred waters.

Tahoe native Matthew S. Makley, Ph.D., is a professor and chair of the History Department at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

He is the author of The Small Shall be Strong: A History of Lake Tahoe’s Washoe Indians (2018), which won an American Library Association award for “Outstanding Academic Titles.”

Nevada Historical Society and Washoe County Libraries present

High Noon with Neal Cobb

People of the Comstock

with Garrett Barmore

Thursday, October 19, 2023, Noon-1:00pm

via Zoom

Garrett Barmore

Admission is free but advance registration is required.

At its height, Virginia City was the most populated city between San Fransisco and St. Louis. Much has been said and published about the silver barons and bankers, but who actually lived in Virginia City? In this presentation, we will discuss the diverse residents of Virginia City and what day-to-day life would have been for an average citizen.

Garrett Barmore

Garrett Barmore is the Curator at the W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum at the University of Nevada, Reno. Barmore is an alumnus of the University of Nevada, Reno and received his Master’s in Museology from the University of Washington. Garrett is very passionate about Virginia City and Nevada history.

Historic Rail Yard Faces Demolition

The last remnants of the once bustling Sparks rail yard is the acre sized machine shops not far from the Nugget Casino. The brick warehouse has two levels of window openings, the top one segmentally arched, piercing recessed panels divided by pilasters.

Sparks Railroad History: Then and Now (tmparksfoundation.org)

As of this summer, Union Pacific has decided to terminate the lease of the land where the old railroad machine shop sits, due in part to their growing operations requiring additional space in Sparks to help meet local and regional economic demand. The current lease expires in the spring of 2024 and the building could be demolished soon after.

New Book by Ronald M. James

Historian, Ronald M. James, explores the evolution of early Silver State folklore. Monumental Lies: Early Nevada Folklore of the Wild West opens the door to understanding how legends and traditions emerged during the first decades following the “Rush to Washoe,” which transformed the region beginning in 1859.

‘Monumental Lies’: Historian Ronald M. James explores the evolution of early Silver State folklore • Reno News & Review (renonr.com)

Nevada Day - October 28, 2023

Each October, Nevadans turn their attention to the state capitol, Carson City, home of the “official” Nevada Day Parade. Since 1938, the Nevada Day Parade in Carson City has been an annual coming together to celebrate Nevada’s heritage and the founding of this great state on October 31, 1864!

Parade and Event Details

What's Historically Appropriate for your House?

Whether you’re looking for a change of scenery or are putting your place on the market, redecorating the interior of your historic house should be approached differently than a typical redecoration project.

Similar to the facade, the interior of your house not only reflects its residents’ taste, but it also broadcasts certain messages about its history. Just as with preserving a historic structure’s exterior, retaining its interior aesthetic is about maintaining our tangible past in a livable way.

What’s Historically Appropriate for Your House? Here Are 7 Ways to Find Out | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

6 Architectural Artists Whose Visionary Work Endures Today

The artists we've chosen to highlight in this story often worked on buildings and landscapes already destined to be important. But when they deployed their creative talents—in the areas of architectural tile, stained glass, mural design, ironwork, and architectural concrete—they gave each place a distinctive texture that made it truly unforgettable. Below, we celebrate the continued influence of their work on the built world that surrounds us.

6 Architectural Artists Whose Visionary Work Endures Today | National Trust for Historic Preservation (savingplaces.org)

Doten Project Needs Volunteers

Former UNR Special Collections librarian Donnie Curtis is looking for a few detail-oriented volunteers to help complete a 14-year project to bring the full, annotated diaries of Alfred Doten to the web.

They are asking for only a few hours per week, and Donnie will provide instruction and support.

If you can lend a hand, please email Donnie at dcurtis@unr.edu.

Full details here.

Byington Building

The northwest corner of Second and Virginia Streets houses one of Reno's oldest and most esteemed commercial structures. Located on one of the first lots on the original Reno townsite to be sold in 1868, it is sometimes said to have been Reno's first brick building, surviving two major fires. The brick edifice constructed in the 1870s remains at the heart of this building, which in many ways embodies the trajectory of Reno's ever-changing downtown.

Source: UNR Special Collections

Byington Building - The building at the corner of Virginia and Second Streets was a longstanding commercial anchor. | 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