Artown | reno

Artown in Our Town: Evolution of Reno's Image

by Brenda Shen

Being from Las Vegas, my first impression of Reno was that the city seemed and looked just like a miniature version of Las Vegas. I

remember wonder why there was a smaller version of Vegas’ Strip in the city and if building a Strip near a college campus like Vegas did was intentional. As pretentious as it sounds, I used to think that any Nevada city that isn’t Las Vegas is basically just a small town with nothing to offer. So I was surprised when I researched the history of Reno, Nevada and found out Reno is actually older than Las Vegas. Reno was known as “Sin City” and the place where all the casinos were located before Las Vegas. Reno’s image has greatly evolved from a desolate wasteland to a bustling city. However, Reno’s image did not change in one night. Over time, city officials have implemented many changes to the city in hopes of boosting the city’s image. One of these changes was the Artown Summer Festival which runs every summer in July. This festival was initiated in 1996 to make Reno seem like a culturally advanced city, defined by artistic collaboration, rather than a gambling center. The festival was also a way to get more people to visit the city and revitalize downtown Reno. Since the town’s founding in 1868, Reno is climbing its way up the social ladder to this day.

Author Alicia Barber traced the evolution of Reno’s image in her senior thesis at UNR, then later in a book. She has also written several articles about the history and evolution of Reno, such as the image of gambling towns and promoting tourism in Reno (Barber 1). In 1868, Reno was established based on its close proximity to the Comstock Lode (Barber 16). Its reputation as the primary gateway to the “Big Bonanza” was the start of Reno’s journey to attract residents. Throughout the 19th century, the city’s reputation was directly linked to Nevada’s physical environment and mining industry, specifically the Comstock mining industries (Barber 16-17). Many publications have portrayed mining towns as governed by competition and greed, and there remained a direct, fundamental connection between moral character and the environment, within the minds of citizens in the 19th century (Barber 16, 18). For example in 1868 the Overland Monthly featured the fictional piece “The Gentleman from Reno,” which represented the default skeptical view people had on Reno citizens at that time, despite never having been to the city (Barber 17-18).

The landscape played an important role in shaping the perception of Nevada earlier on. The Great Basin appeared bleak and of no potential for growth or development (Barber 19). Also, Thomas Jefferson’s idea of agriculture being the most important aspect for a city lingered, thus Nevada’s barrenness was damaging for its reputation as immigrants searched for fertile land (Barber 19). At that time, the land west of the Great Plains was only known through second hand knowledge of map and policy makers; migrants who crossed Nevada described the difficulty of traversing the Great Basin (Barber 19). Nevada’s climate also matched its daunting environment. Many accounts including those of Mark Twain and Caroline M. Churchill described its windy climate and how it easily picks up dust (Barber 20). Later on, completion of the railroad allowed more people to move in, but also allowed them to directly compare Reno to neighboring cities in California and Utah (Barber 21).

From 1880-1900, the Comstock mines, which were crucial to Nevada’s economy, started shutting down along with other mines in the state, and Congress considered abolishing Nevada’s statehood (Land 34-35). In the late 1870s, Nevada did not have any noticeable aspects aside from mining, so when the Comstock mining district declined, the state plunged into depression (Barber 22). This economic depression caused a decrease in reputation and population from 62,226 to 45,765 in 1880 to 1890 (Barber 22). People began to deride the state, believing it to be overrepresented in the Senate and that the state should not have been admitted into the Union (Barber 23). Desperate to get their city back on track, residents tried to distance Reno from the rest of the state and their efforts were aided by population growth by 1890 (Barber 26-27). Eventually, publications took notice of the city’s deviation from the rest of Nevada with its thriving businesses, patronage of the transcontinental railroad, and its ranching community (Barber 27). Despite their successes, the city’s promoters were less successful in establishing Reno as a tourist destination (Barber 32). Later, establishment of a state university prompted predictions of cultural elevation (Barber 34). Francis G. Newlands’ presence in the city gave Reno a boost in reputation as he tried to transform Reno environmentally, including the creation of the Newlands Project to provide irrigation from the Truckee River, and spread word of the city’s economic diversification (Barber 37-38). However, the depression ended in 1900 when a miner, Jim Butler, stumbled upon a vein of gold in Tonopah (Land 35).

I was surprised to learn that Reno actually gained the reputation of “Sin City” before Las Vegas did. Barbara Land, an author who graduated from the University of Miami, wrote about the history of Reno in her book A Short History of Reno (“Nevada” 1). Along with being a writer, she was also a fashion reporter for the New York Times (“Nevada” 1). In her book, she discusses the many events contributed to its reputation. It started when in 1861 Territorial Governor J. W. Nye asked the Nevada Territorial Legislature to pass laws to outlaw gambling (Land 33). The law passed and when Nevada became a state, Nye’s successors tried to keep gambling illegal, including the first state governor H.G. Blasdel (Land 33). However, in 1869 by overturning Blasdel’s veto, the legislature passed a law to control gambling, rather than completely outlaw it (Land 33). One of these features said that no game of chance can be played on the ground floor and that no sign saying that one could gamble on the upper floors can be posted (Land 34). Reformers in Reno decided that something must be done about gambling and other issues. The Reno Anti-Gambling League constantly fought to outlaw gambling completely and succeeded in 1910 (Land 36). Five years after the anti-gambling bill was passed, the legislature began to lift some of the restrictions (Land 38). But even then, gamblers secretly played in new clubs in Reno, which were partially hidden, dimly lit, not identified by signs, and continuing to run through the 1920s (Land 38). In 1931, Mayor E. E. Roberts ran for reelection and believed that gambling should be legalized as “you cannot legislate morals into people” (Land 42). After he was reelected, a rancher named Phil Tobin proposed a bill to legalize gambling, which was signed by Governor Fred Balzar on March 19, 1931 (Land 43).

Another factor that contributed to Reno’s reputation as “Sin City” was its reputation as a divorce capital. Back then, to get a divorce one simply had to visit Reno for six weeks and be a legal Nevada citizen (Land 45). One famous marriage scandal caused Reno’s reputation to spread worldwide. British Lord John Russell married Mabel Scott in 1890 and one year later, Scott unsuccessfully tried to divorce him (Land 47). Later, Lord Russell wanted to marry Mollie Cooke Somerville, who had previously divorced and was currently married to another (Land 47). So in 1899, Lord Russell and Mollie stayed in Lake Tahoe for six months, were each granted a divorce from their absent spouses, and were married (Land 47). Twenty years after Lord Russell’s death in 1931, divorces in Reno had become commonplace (Land 47). As more and more celebrities came to Reno to be divorced, the city gradually became a symbol for divorce and reformers successfully pushed to expand the required residence from six months to a year (Land 48). However, the city’s businesses and lawyers were losing money due to the decrease in divorces and the required residence was pushed back to six months (Land 49). In 1920, another big name decided to come to Reno. Mary Pickford, known as “America’s Sweetheart” decided to leave her first husband to marry an actor (Land 49). District Judge P. Langan granted her the divorce, ignoring the six month residence requirement and sparking a debate on the divorce’s legality (Land 49). In 1931, the six month waiting period was reduced to six weeks (Land 50).

Weddings became a huge business during World War II: more than 18,000 couples married in Washoe County in 1945 (Land 53). In 1950, Las Vegas began to compete with Reno for marriages with the hotels El Rancho Vegas and the Last Frontier participating in the “marriage bonanza” (Land 54). Even though other states gradually adopted more lenient divorce laws, Reno still kept its reputation of being a divorce capital into the 1990s (Land 57).

In the 1930s, Raymond L. Smith arrived in Reno and by the end of the 1940s changed the city. Smith, who was the son of a Vermont farmer, discovered that “Vermonters” could easily be convinced to gamble if there was a chance at a prize (Land 85). At a young age, Smith helped with operating one of these games, which allowed him to escape his farm life but left him no time for education (Land 85). When he discovered the attraction people had for gambling, after he married at 19, Smith went on a journey in search of Vermont farmers who wished to try their luck at gambling (Land 86). He and his wife had two sons, Harold and Raymond Jr. When the Smiths got fined and suspended for operating a bingo parlor in California, they moved their business to Reno, in 1936, where gambling had recently been legalized (Land 87). It was located on South Virginia Street and called Harolds Club (Land 88). The club became more famous in World War II when soldiers came to Reno from western military bases (Land 89). After reimbursing twenty-five hundred dollars to a lieutenant, “Pappy” Smith, as Raymond was called, started reimbursing small amounts to gamblers who had lost money (Land 90). The club’s success was due to Pappy Smith’s skill in dealing with both customers and employees (Land 92).

Bill Harrah came to Reno in 1937 after his gambling business featuring the “Circle Game” was closed down (Land 95). His business was located on Second and Center Street and decided to focus on the appearance of the casino after looking at the Golden Hotel (Land 96). His approach gradually worked, attracting customers until by the end of World War II he had bought up surrounding properties such as the Mint Club, the Bonanza Club, and the Frontier Club (Land 98). Harrah’s strive for perfection combined with Smith’s affinity for attracting customers and workers brought many visitors from many other cities, changing Reno forever (Land 99).

In the 1950s a red line was drawn to separate the property that can be used to establish casinos from the rest of the city (Land 101). Existing casinos would secure their businesses and would face little competition from new casinos. However the owner of the Primadonna, Ernest Primm, wanted to expand his casino beyond the red line and tried to erase it (Land 102). After many failed attempts to expand, in 1954 Primm got the approval from the Chamber of Commerce and the Retail Merchant Association to build a hotel that didn’t have gambling, outside the red line (Land 104). But he helped elect a new City Council that would be less opposed to his plans and would try to open up gambling to areas outside the red line (Land 104). Primm successfully established gambling spaces in his new building, but in 1961 a new City Council rejected his proposal to expand gambling over the red line (Land 105). Primm, in response, gathered six thousand petition signatures to open up gambling to areas outside the red line, which finally convinced the City Council to do so (Land 105). Reno was now open for expansion of the gambling industry.

At the turn of the 20th century, residents debated the importance of gambling, which was legalized in 1931, to Reno’s economy (Barber 3, 45). They decided that it was critical for Reno to be perceived as progressive instead of regressive (Barber 46). At the end of the 20th century, the city’s gambling industry was declining due to competition from Las Vegas (Barber 4). The city had developed a reputation of antiquity and its deteriorating casino district had given Reno a bad name (Barber 4). By 1983 many of Reno’s buildings were gone, including the Mapes Hotel, The Gold Dust, and even the Riverside Hotel, which closed its gambling business in 1986 (Land 120). In response, city officials called for a reinvention with at least 16 redevelopment plans from 1983-2000 to improve the city’s appearance (Barber 216). A new Reno arch was one of the first projects begun by the Biggest Little City Committee in 1987 (Land 121). City manager Charles McNeely has helped with the improvement of the city with his plan of “Building a Better Reno” (Good 1). He set six priorities including community service, redevelopment along the Truckee River, and a street rehabilitation program (Good 2). This plan led to the development of economic development projects including the Uptown, Downtown Artown summer arts festival, which brings both tourists and residents to downtown Reno (Good 1).

Changes to the town included demolition of the Mapes Hotel, Artspace Inc.’s addition of the “River Walk” near the Riverside Hotel, which was bolstered by Artown in 1996, and the opening of the Nevada Museum of Art (Barber 241). A few years after its development in 1991, the River Walk was a favorite place for eating and reading outdoors (Land 123). In 2006, an article stated that Reno has more to offer than gambling, specifically mentioning Artown (Barber 244). According to Peter Goin, the Foundation Professor of Art at the University of Nevada, Reno, “the Artown festival is critically important to the events/focus on community enrichment within and among northern Nevada. Reaching out to underserved populations, from minorities to the elderly, is an important element in furthering a sense of place, belonging, and believing in the place we all live.”

The Artown Festival is a 31 day event that takes place throughout July (Shields 1). According to the Artown organization, the mission of the festival is to “encourage local artist participation and highlight the best performers in northern Nevada” (Artown 1). The festival is set downtown and includes over 300 events; 350,000 people attend annually (Fey 47). Mel Shields, a correspondent for the Sacramento Bee, describes the visual imagery associated with this festival in 2013, which included many food booths along the street, 40 microbreweries, and big-name bands such as Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Artown arranges of numerous art exhibits, historical tours, and hands-on activities (Shields 1). Shields describes that the opening night featured Pink Floyd’s 40th anniversary of “Dark Side of the Moon” and a concert in Reno’s Wingfield Park featuring Corey Glover, Karl Denson, and other artists (1). Artown in 2014 featured numerous unique events such as the fish along the Truckee River, which is a display of native fish cut-outs decorated by Sierra Kids and The Boys and Girls Club; Art Slaves show and sale, which is a group exhibition of art by communication professionals; and many more events (Artown 1). Some events last all day while others are only at certain times. A full schedule of all the events can be found on the Artown website.

The Artown Festival features a lot of well-known artists such as Mikhail Baryshnikov, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and Mandy Patinkin (Shields 1). Baryshnikov, currently the director of the Baryshnikov Arts Center, is from Riga, Latvia and began studying ballet at a young age (BAC 1). He had danced with major ballet companies around the world, including the New York City Ballet and worked with choreographers George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins (BAC 1). Baryshnikov shared Artown’s desire to emphasize the importance of art. From 1990 to 2002, he directed and danced in the White Oak Dance Project as part of his desire to “be a driving force in the production of art,” and he changed the image and visibility of modern American dance (BAC 1). Baryshnikov has won many awards, including the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Medal of Honor, the Jerome Robbins Award, and was given the rank of Officer of the French Legion of Honor in 2010 (BAC 1).

Mandy Patinkin, another artist previously featured in Artown, is a concert singer who has been on many famous shows such as The Secret Garden, The Princess Bride, and Evita for which he won a Tony Award (Patinkin 1). In 1989, he released his first musical album, Mandy Patinkin, and started touring and performing songs by famous composers such as Stephen Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Irvin Berlin, for audiences across the United States, Canada, and Australia (Patinkin 2). His most personal project, called Mamaloshen, was a collection of classic, traditional, and contemporary songs sung in Yiddish (Patinkin 2). This project won Germany’s equivalent of a Grammy Award, the Deutschen Schallplattenprei (Patinkin 2). Patinkin collaborates with many shows including An Evenings with Mandy Patinkin & Nathan Gunn, The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville, and Bridges (Patinkin 2).

While Artown has featured numerous artists and art groups, the University of Nevada, Reno has been involved with the festival. In 2013, the Matthewson-IGT Knowledge Center displayed an exhibit of 80 pieces of artwork depicting gambling and casinos as a tribute to Nevada’s gaming industry (Walker 1). This art exhibit was created by the Special Collections Department and features sculptures commissioned by the Stremmel Gallery for Harrah’s in 1995 (Walker 1). The exhibit allowed viewers to experience the long history of gaming in Nevada, which had been important to the state’s development (Walker 1). In addition, there were four performing arts events including the S.T.A.R.S Vocal Ensemble, a youth percussive arts group, an instrumental performance of Disney songs, and a performance of Coppelia by the Sierra Nevada Ballet (Walker 1). The festival had also hosted a major dinner event, through the university, at the Artspace Gallery in downtown Reno (Goin).

The Artown Festival has had an economic impact on Reno. It was funded by a 1992 Reno Arts Commission of only $25,000 for arts and culture (Fey 47). While the festival started as a way to better Reno’s image and get people to visit downtown, it has done more than that. By 1999 when it became a nonprofit arts organization, participation had increased from 30,000 to 102,000 proving that “the city’s investment, artistic collaboration, civic pride, and local and national talent defines Reno” (Fey 47). Investment in Artown helped in bringing a “permanent art scene” to Reno (Fey 47). Construction of the Nevada Museum of Art, the National Automobile Museum, the Riverside Artist Lofts, and other buildings also contributed to a resurgence of art and economic growth with development of other independent art companies (Fey 47). From these developments in the arts, investment had increased from the $25,000 to $310,000 plus $250,000 to fund cultural projects such as Artown (Fey 48).

The city has succeeded in gaining public support as Reno has partnered with over 90 individuals and organizations to support the 2007 Artown Festival (Fey 48). Through partnerships with organizations, the Arts and Culture Division of the city of Reno Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department has been able to aid in charity such as the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, which collaborated with Artown (Fey 48). This collaboration, called Food for the Soul World Music Series, focuses on promoting hunger awareness by collecting donated canned food and cash in exchange for a night of world music, and takes place every Wednesday in July (Fey 49). Artown has partnered with New York’s Ballet Hispanico, whose performances were also presented by the Nevada Hispanic Services and endorsed by Nevada Bell, U.S. Bank, and 37 other partners (Fey 49-50). Artown has also provided scholarships for Diavolo, a Californian dance company, which allowed 15 professional and non-professional dancers to perform in Reno’s Wingfield Park Ampitheater (Fey 50). In 2007, Artown collaborated with 18 partners to put on the Discover the Arts Series which takes place for five days (Fey 50).

Reno, Nevada has a long history and its image has changed drastically over the years. The city started as a desolate wasteland with a reputation of being a mining city. Eventually, it evolved to becoming a city known for gambling and divorces. Now, it can potentially change to become a city known for its cultural diversity with its institution of the Artown Festival. While the festival started out as a way to draw visitors to downtown Reno, it has done more than just that economically and socially. After learning about the Artown Festival, from now on every time I walk in downtown Reno, I will no longer compare the number and quality of the casinos to those in Las Vegas. Rather, I will think about how much Reno has changed as I walk past the art graffiti on the walls, the Nevada Art Museum, and the Truckee River Walk. I no longer view Reno as a miniature version of Las Vegas, but as a city full of history with just as much to offer, if not more, as Vegas.

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Patinkin, Mandy. "Biography." The Official Concert Site of Mandy Patinkin. Mandy Patinkin, 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2014.

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Walker, Abbie. "University Collaborates with Artown during the Month of July." Nevada Today. University of Nevada, Reno, 27 June

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