Reno

"Reno has it -- in all faces big and small. Despite the busy commuters on the freeway ... the flashy cars mozying down the Virginia Strip ... the ranchers on the outskirts ... the visiting tourists on Interstate 80 ... the top-notch anglers on the Truckee ... the black ties in the courtroom ... the sharp-eyed pit bosses and casino workers ... the well-paid showgirls ... the snow bums ... the ballplayers ... the fledging college students ... the homeless, the hungry, the weary, the wealthy ... past or present ... Reno has them all." -- July 2007

[30]       

Along Virginia Street, Washoe County Courthouse -- Reno

Reno & Washoe County
  39.524140, -119.812250

Original Date Visited: 9/29/07
Revisited: 10/24/22
Signed: No

Notes: Parking in downtown Reno has become exponentially more difficult over the past decade due to strict enforcements within city ordinances. Today, you'll find a few reserved parking lots specifically for conducting business at the Washoe County Courthouse and other government buildings. However, all of these are metered streetside with a very strict time limit. Police will check and violators will be fined.

Fortunately, here are few locals' secrets to bypass all that mess:

1. You can use any of the paid metered parking along State Street at the Pioneer Center. This puts you right across the street from the marker and the courthouse. Simply use the crosswalk here for an easy conquering. There's also a free parking lot for the Pioneer Center, but I would use it only during the week or during the winter months. During the summer, the City of Reno cordons off this area for Hot August Nights and the Riverwalk events during the weekend.
2. The Washoe County Parking lot south of the courthouse is another paid option and it can get spendy during the weekend. Use this as a last resort.
3. I recommend using the covered parking garage for Harrah's and the CalNeva Club. Cross the river and use E. 1st Street to access the garage. The parking is completely free here as long as you go through the casino. Once you leave the front doors of the casino, turn left where the marker is a quick six-minute walk back over the river. This can be a great option if you're visiting during the busy tourist months! Unless you get here on a big time holiday such as Memorial, Thanksgiving etcetera where parking is pretty much certain.

Street View

Here's what you'll see!

Exact Description:
Before the coming of white man, roving Washoe and Paiute bands inhabited the Truckee Meadows. The first whites passed through the area with the Stevens-Murphy emigrant party in 1844 and settlement began in the early 1850's. Charles William Fuller established a river ferry across the Truckee in the fall of 1859 and completed a bridge and hotel by the spring of 1860. Myron C. Lake acquired Fuller's holdings in 1861, rebuilt the bridge and established Lake's Crossing. In 1868, Lake offered land for a depot to the Central Pacific Railroad and the town was laid out. The community's name honors a civil war officer, General Jesse Lee Reno.

Reno's transcontinental railroad connection and its rail link to the Comstock Lode helped lay the foundation for the economy, as did the lumber industry and the surrounding ranches and farms.

The community's reputation as a divorce center began in 1906 and gambling was legalized in 1931.

The History of Reno

Interstate 80 Roadtrip
 COVERED IN MY I-80 ROAD TRIP

Next Marker

OLD SPANISH TRAIL (1829-1850)

Related Links & Markers:

 - 13 - The Comstock Lode   - 238 - Huffakers    Reno-Sparks: A Great Place to Live  Reno Historical (Everything Reno & Sparks) 

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