Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

As we navigate an era of rapid technological advancement and innovation, the focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) careers is more critical now than ever. Reno’s economic landscape has undergone a transformation in recent years. Traditionally known for its gaming and tourism industries, the region is now gaining recognition as a hub for technology and innovation. The influx of tech companies and startups, such as Tesla and Panasonic, has fueled a growing demand for skilled professionals in STEAM fields. The City of Reno has goals within its Master Plan to work with regional partners to diversify the local economy and continue to foster growth in high-tech and knowledge-based industries, while also recognizing the important role small and local businesses play in the city’s economy and sense of place.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs in STEAM fields are projected to grow significantly faster than the average for other professions (Bureau of Labor Statistics). However, despite this projected growth in the field, it has been found that young students are growing increasingly disinterested in science and mathematics. One study showed that a third of students have lost interest in science by the 4th grade, and nearly fifty percent of students have lost interest or deemed science irrelevant to their education by the 8th grade (Daugherty, et al. 2014). Thus, it is important to encourage and expose students to STEAM education and careers early on so that there is greater awareness and interest around these employment opportunities.

But how do STEAM careers relate to sustainability? STEAM careers are important for advancing sustainability and addressing climate resilience because they include jobs related to energy efficiency and resource management. For instance, engineers design sustainable infrastructure, while scientists research renewable energy sources and climate change impacts, and artists contribute by raising awareness and inspiring action through their work. It is also aligned with the City of Reno’s Master plan that we continue to support arts and cultural activities, working in partnership with artists and art organizations to elevate the visibility and viability of ongoing efforts and to retain the presence of these individuals and groups as the community grows. Having vibrant spaces that speak to the community’s culture and history also spurs sustainability as residents and tourist have more to engage with as they walk and bike throughout our city.

Check out our Master Plan online.
Blog Authors: Jennifer Rodriquez Reynoso, Sustainability Intern, and Jesse Jo Rego, Sustainability Management Assistant.

“Fires are having a broader impact apart from the direct damage or threat to life and property.” Said Reno Fire Chief, David Cochran. “We are seeing the negative health effects associated with smoke plumes from these fires, not just in the area of the fire or in neighboring states but literally across the country and for extended periods of time.”

According to a poll conducted by the Reno Gazette Journal, concern over wildfires has united Nevadans. Respondents stated that the recent rise in the size, frequency, and severity of wildfires concerns them with 95% of Democrats and 72% of Republicans agreeing it is a problem. Climate Change currently poses an immediate threat to the tourism and outdoor recreation sectors of the Reno-area economy. Declining snowpacks, rising risks of wildfires, and increasing temperatures may diminish the region’s appeal to travelers.

The increasing intensity, duration, and scale of wildfires occurring in the western United States as the climate changes, worsens air quality across the country. Older adults, children, pregnant women, people with cardiovascular or respiratory disease, people of low socio-economic status, and outdoor workers may be at heightened risk for severe health effects from exposure to smoke.

Strengthening resilience against wildfires and other climate-related impacts will reduce the damage to ecosystems and critical areas such as sage grouse habitat and will reduce costs for combating hazards, property loss, and public health impacts. To protect our air quality as Reno grows, the Master Plan unanimously adopted by City Council in December 2017 directly and indirectly supports clean air. An important theme in the Master Plan is improving the city’s development and redevelopment patterns so that they provide transportation options such as transit, walking, and biking as an alternative to driving. Every proposed project from re-striping a street to developing a major new residential community is an opportunity to include sustainable features that reduce our dependence on cars.

Increasing the tree canopy along these active transportation routes will make them more attractive and comfortable to use. Tree canopies also reduce urban heat islands caused when open land and vegetation are replaced by buildings, roads, and other infrastructure that absorb and retain heat. Heat islands increase air pollution and the demand for energy rises from greater use of air conditioning, causing an increase in greenhouse gas emissions.

Regionally, the City of Reno can address the effects of wildfires through its hazard mitigation planning processes. The Local Mitigation Planning Guide released by FEMA on April 19, 2022 (effective April 19, 2023), explicitly states regional bodies must address the effects of climate change on vulnerable populations. This guide will also help address the mitigation planning process over state lines. Reno and this region can be at the forefront of policies and strategies that can reach beyond our borders.

Clean air is an important factor in creating a more sustainable future. It contributes to a healthy environment, strong economy, and the well-being of the community.

Learn more about the EPA Strategic Plan.

Chris Lanier, Reno City Artist 2024

After posting almost daily photos from his life onto Instagram for twelve years, 2024 Reno City Artist, Chris Lanier is bringing his digital photographs back to the physical realm. Backyard Radiance: Photos and Videos of the Marvelous/Mundane is now on view in the Metro Gallery through May 17, 2024.

The images often feel like echoes, something that seems both familiar and new. Rather than alienating the viewer through artistic formality, the familiarity of the ordinary creeps in, inviting us to reflect on the beauty of our own moments.

As the Arts & Culture Program Assistant, I recently sat down to ask Chris a few questions. I’m quite familiar with his work as he was one of my professors, and later colleague, at Sierra Nevada University (which has since closed and become UNR at Lake Tahoe). As an original follower of his Instagram feed, I was excited to delve a little deeper. The conversation has been edited down to the juicy good bits.

I want to start with your Instagram, as that is where the work for your City Artist solo show comes from. Can you talk about your (artistic) approach to your profile? Do you believe each photograph you post is “art”?

When I started using Instagram 12 years ago, it wasn’t that I disliked everything I saw, but I started using it differently than others. My Instagram acts as a personal mobile gallery. This photographic space lowered the threshold of preciousness for me to take a photo. If I thought about filling up a physical gallery with photographs, I would be self-conscious.

I’ve also become attuned to look for moments. The first year I started this project I posted once a day. The second year was rough. If I were to write a synopsis of that year, it would be grim. Yet, I had this documented counter-narrative running throughout the year on my Instagram account. There were these small moments of joy or humor. It was a preserved experience that was better than my memory recalled. Being on the outlook for image-worthy moments has changed my perspective and approach to my practice. And I want to keep doing it, a dozen years later.

Looking through your feed, there is a noted absence of the figure. An exception to this is your daughter, Julia. Can you speak to her role as a primary subject in your photographs?

I’m not comfortable taking photos of people; it feels intrusive. Yet there is something about my relationship with my daughter where I have always been comfortable photographing her. Julia likes the photos and enjoys looking back on herself through photographs. I always ask her before sharing images of her, but she’s getting older and she’s less likely to say yes.

A few of the images of Julia are posed, or rather, she expects a photo to be taken, like when she’s in a costume. I’m more interested in the ones where I’m capturing her behavior like she’s a wild animal and I’m a nature photographer. I like images that I find naturally occurring. The photographs of her also bring a thread through the work that I think would otherwise be lonely without her.

#shoresilhouette, 2024

You title your images using obscure hashtags that will most likely never be searched for. Some hashtags are perhaps less obscure, and recurring, like “#cartography”. Rather than focusing on maps, these images subvert the meaning by featuring shopping carts. What is the thought behind your titles/hashtags?

I’m satisfied when I’m the first one to use a hashtag. There is a poetic quality of smashing the words together, almost creating portmanteaus, requiring viewers to read more carefully. If the internet has its own language, it’s like I’ve come up with a new word.

The hashtags that aren’t one-offs make me curious of what else will show up under it. I’m interested in how others have come to use the hashtag, like “#accidentalframe”. These contribute to the social aspect to the platform. I can imagine a cartography global campaign to encourage others to take a photograph of their closest shopping cart and add the #cartography tag, creating a larger conversation.

Your bio says you’ve always had “a focus with visual communication, the way visual information constitutes a language of its own, one that can both clarify and distort reality.” We live in the information age, with increasing fake news, deep fakes, and A.I.-generated everything. It feels like we’re already in both a clarified and distorted reality. How does (your) art intersect with this experience?

I believe there is a freedom in breaking off from reality, like in science fiction and fantasy. Particularly when done by people like Samuel Delany and Octavia Butler; the result has been rooted in reality and their lived experience. Counter to this, A.I.’s distortion of reality doesn’t tie back to someone’s reality. I’ve taught classes using A.I., and the more I dig in, the more negative I feel about it. It is an alienation from reality.

When I first started on Instagram, I intended to not use filters, looking at the images purely as documentation. About three days in, I started editing as a means to negotiate between what I saw and what the camera saw. The photographs I take aren’t staged; they’ve actually happened, as opposed to an A.I.-generated image that depicts something that has never occurred. I do edit photos to approach what I saw in my mind.

#obscureselfie, 2024

Knowing some of your past work, a thread that I draw beyond communication is one of education—and not just your work in the classroom. You made a comic adaptation of the Ferguson report looking to communicate institutional racism, you collaborated with a past student to make a film about his experience at Standing Rock. How do these projects intersect with your Instagram?

The Instagram practice intersects because partially, I didn’t have time at my disposal to work on larger, more ambitious, projects.

I believe we have weirdly professionalized art marking in American culture. There has been a cultural shift from when my grandparents would get together, someone would play piano, and they would all sing and dance together. People are pulled away from making art that makes life better and more enjoyable. There is a belief that if you aren’t making money, you shouldn’t be doing it. We know you can get something out of art without doing it for a living. I think Instagram is a “democratic” way for people to engage in an artistic documentation of their lives.

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The City Artist program was started in 2019 by the Reno Arts & Culture Commission and Public Art Committee as an initiative to support our local visual artists and elevate their work. The mission of this program is to promote visual artists living in Reno, to highlight visual art in the community, and to engage with the public through visual art.

Historic buildings in Reno must often be adapted to new uses as time goes on, for many different reasons. Often, our old buildings become too small to serve the growing population and run out of room to continue accommodating a particular use. Sometimes, the original use becomes irrelevant in modern times. In either case, the historic building must respond to the changing needs of the Biggest Little City in order to remain useful to residents and ensure its continued presence in the city. To preserve a historic building that has outlived its original intended use, the Secretary of the Interior and National Park Service have recommended ways to treat historic buildings that conserve the building’s inherent integrity while adapting it to the changing needs of a community. The guidelines are called The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. While there are four different fundamental approaches to protecting historic buildings, the most common is to rehabilitate the building to make possible a new use compatible with the historic building and to preserve as much of the original historic building fabric as possible. There are many examples of historic building rehabilitations in Reno, but this article will take a closed look at one excellent example.

West entrance to the Depot in October 2023 from the location of the former railroad tracks. State historic marker is to the right of the entrance. Photo credit: Melissa Hafey

The Historic N-C-O Railroad Depot

Reno, Nevada started out as a railroad town when a man named Myron Lake convinced the Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) to build a depot for the transcontinental railroad near the site of his crossing of the Truckee River in 1868. CPRR named the little town Reno, and it became an important stop for trains heading west to California before they started the arduous climb over the Sierra Nevada mountains. Shortly after the transcontinental railroad was completed, a railroad track was laid between Virginia City (site of the Comstock Lode, one of the richest mines in history) and Reno (the Virginia and Truckee Railroad). In 1880, a third rail line was established in Reno, the Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad. This was a narrow-gauge track intended to connect Reno to the Columbia River Valley in Oregon and provide transportation for lumber, cattle, and agricultural products in the three states.

The N-C-O Railroad built a new depot during the height of its prosperity in 1910. The building was designed by the then up-and-coming Reno architect, Frederic DeLongchamps. The depot building is an eclectic blend of architectural styles including Spanish and Roman elements and extensive use of concrete features including the masonry blocks at the corners of the building (quoins), keystones, and windowsills. The N-C-O Railroad succumbed to increased competition from larger railroad lines less than a decade after the depot was built and the property was sold to Western Pacific Railroad (WP) in 1918. The building served as a passenger and freight depot for WP until 1937 and then as offices for WP until 1958. A new owner, Sierra Wine and Liquor Company, continued to maintain the building in good condition as office space through the 1990s. After sitting vacant for well over a decade, new owners purchased the building in 2013.

Conservation

The entrance to the depot in 2013. Photo credit: Mike Higdon

From the beginning, the new owners were determined to restore the historic building. Since the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its historic significance is well documented. As one of DeLongchamps’ early designs, restoring the depot building would add it to a collection of other significant downtown Reno landmarks that were designed by the architect and rehabilitated for modern use including the Riverside Artist Lofts (originally the Riverside Hotel) and the Downtown Reno Post Office (now a retail and office space).

The Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot around the time of its completion in 1910. Special Collections and University Archives Department, University of Nevada, Reno. UNRS-P1141-01

The Depot Brewery and Distillery in 2015 at the completion of the rehabilitation project. Photo by The Depot.

The building was in too derelict condition to be preserved without some alterations and the new adaptive use as a restaurant/distillery/brewery required many interior upgrades and modifications to meet code and accessibility requirements. The treatment standard applied in this case was rehabilitation, requiring repairs and interior alterations to make the building compatible with the new intended use. While the building interior needed extensive rehabilitation, the building exterior was almost entirely unaltered and was largely restored to its original appearance.

Images from the rehabilitated building: original windows, doors, and hardware (top two pictures) and a mural of the 1918 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Reno in a dining area. Photo credit: Melissa Hafey

This strategy of rehabilitation coupled with adaptive use proved successful in this case. The interior floor plan of the depot was mostly compatible with the new use as a restaurant and brewery. Many interior elements were preserved and incorporated into the new use. For example, a large and heavy floor safe leftover from the building’s days as a train depot was incorporated into the men’s restroom. Windows, doors, and remaining hardwood floors were restored. The distinctive tiled main entry was restored and inspired design elements in the building’s interior renovation. A floor to ceiling mural of a section of a 1918 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map was installed on a wall in the dining area as a nod to the building’s original purpose and long-standing presence on East 4th Street. Conservation and amplification of these historic elements allows the building to continue to convey its period of historic significance and encourages visitors to envision how the building might have appeared and interacted with the people of the past.

Benefiting the Public

East 4th Street, where the building is located, is also the route of both the Lincoln and Victory Highways and was once the main east-west route through Reno. After the completion of Interstate 80 in the 1970s, the 4th Street corridor was largely abandoned and the many businesses and motels that catered to automobile traffic struggled. There were many business closures along the street and the area became known for many unattractive and abandoned storefronts- in a word, blight.

Rehabilitation of vacant buildings is generally a benefit to the public. Re-activating spaces that have been abandoned helps ensure urban density and contain sprawl. People feel safer on city streets that have welcoming storefronts to engage pedestrians. Conserving a building rather than demolishing it provides jobs, keeps money in the local economy, and is environmentally friendly. The presence of historic buildings in our community provides a sense of place and cultural heritage that can’t be reproduced in new construction projects.

In the case of The Depot Brewery and Distillery, Reno’s residents and visitors are reminded of the city’s rich railroad history. Reno’s historic character is enhanced by the collection of DeLongchamps buildings still in use in the downtown area that help give our city a unique sense of identity. The Depot is part of the revitalization of East 4th Street and Reno’s growing regional reputation as a great destination for craft brewing and distilling. How might we as a community support more projects like the rehabilitation of the N-C-O Railroad Depot? What historic buildings can be preserved for our future through new uses?

References

Abbe, Sally. “Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form #80002469. September 19, 1979.

Barber, Alicia. “Nevada-California-Oregon Railroad Depot,” Reno Historical, accessed October 18, 2023, https://renohistorical.org/items/show/52.

Beasley, Yvonne. “The Depot will make beer, booze, on E 4th” Reno Gazette Journal, November 14, 2014.

“History.” Nevada-California-Oregon Railway Historical Society website, accessed on October 26, 2023, https://www.ncory.org/history/

Higdon, Mike. “21 photos of The Depot Craft Brewery Distillery renovation.” Drinkable Reno, accessed on October 26, 2023, https://www.drinkablereno.com/the-depot-craft-brewery-distillery/

Higdon, Mike. “The Depot on 4th Street plans to be Reno’s first brewery-distillery.” Drinkable Reno, accessed on October 26, 2023, https://www.drinkablereno.com/depot-fourth-street-reno-first-brewery-distillery/

“Sierra Wine & Liquor Co. to Open New Warehouse” Reno Evening Gazette, January 16, 1959.

Figure 1: Newlands’s Shingle style home (to the right in the photo) on the bluff above the Truckee River and the center of Reno, ca. 1900. Photo courtesy of Special Collections and University Archives Department, University of Nevada, Reno.

Newlands inherited a fortune after his wife’s early death and used his influence to become a congressman and later a Senator representing Nevada in Washington, but he was also a prolific land developer and began subdividing his large estate on the bluff in the early 1900s. At first, the homes were mansions lining the bluff for Reno’s elite, but later tracts were developed for more modest homes. By the end of the 1960s, a large 171-acre neighborhood had been developed with handsome and diverse home styles, quiet tree-lined streets, and an inviting, walkable street design. This neighborhood is remarkably intact today and was recognized as a National Historic District in 2016.

What is a National Historic District?

A National Historic District is a collection of historic resources that are significant in a local, state, or national context and have been added to the nation’s official list of properties worthy of preservation known as the National Register. Historic generally means 50 years old or older and resources refers to buildings, structures, sites, or objects. It is possible that within a historic district there will be some buildings that are not significant or historic and these are known as non-contributing while the historic buildings in the district are contributing to the collection of resources that comprise the district. A register nomination also identifies a “period of significance” or the historic period that correlates with the significant history of the resource expressed as years. There are four criteria that may qualify a historic resource for listing on the National Register and the Newlands Historic District reflects two of these; this article will describe some of the tangible features that express these criteria. You can learn more about the process and requirements of listing a historic resource on the National Register from Nevada’s State Historic Preservation Office.

The Newlands Historic District is spread over 170 acres in Southwest Reno and is bordered by the Truckee River to the north, S. Arlington Avenue to the east, Monroe Street to the south, and Keystone/Marsh Avenues to the west. The period of significance spans over 75 years from 1889-1965.

There are 469 contributing resources including buildings and objects (roughly 80% of the buildings within the district boundary contribute to its historic character). The nomination form acknowledged the work of ten local builders or architects including eminent names such as Frederic DeLongchamps, Paul Revere Williams, Edward Parsons, and Russell Mills. Nineteen distinct architectural styles are noted as well as a variety of building materials.

National Register Criteria A: Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of history.

The Newlands Historic District was eligible for listing under National Register Criteria A in relation to the area of significance known as Community

Figure 2: Overview of subdivisions within the Newlands Historic District (Summit Envirosolutions, Inc.)

Development and Planning for its demonstration of the transition from streetcar and pedestrian based suburbs to automobile-oriented suburbs that occurred nationwide during the early twentieth century. When the Newlands neighborhood was just beginning to be developed, around 1900, Reno was still a small and walkable town.

Notice in Figure 2 how the streets to the north and the east (near the top of the image and to the right) are primarily composed of rectilinear grids (except where they must follow the topography of the bluff). This area of the district represents the streetcar and pedestrian oriented era of development. The red line in the image represents a streetcar line that existed along Plumas Street from 1907 to the 1930s. In contrast, as the southwest area of the neighborhood developed, automobiles were becoming increasingly popular, especially among wealthier households like those in the Newlands District and the neighborhood plan became more car oriented as evidenced by the transition to more Picturesque curvilinear streets and corridors.

This transition is also observable in the home and landscape design. In Figure 3, the homes in the top row were built during the streetcar and pedestrian oriented era of development. Notice that there is no place for an automobile (such as a driveway or garage) visible from the street. The home entrance and front yard landscaping are prominent from the sidewalk. In the second row of images, the homes were built during the automobile-oriented phase of development as evidenced by the prominent driveways and garages visible on the street facing view of the homes. Walking through the Newlands Historic District, the homes in the gridiron blocks generally have shorter setbacks and smaller lots, which creates a cozy pedestrian feel. The straight streets provide a clear line of site and the most direct route through the neighborhood. The southwest area of the district, with curving streets and larger lots and setbacks, is more difficult to navigate by foot but makes for a pleasant drive in an automobile. The homes welcome residents and guests arriving by car with wide driveways near the home’s entrance as opposed to street or alley parking available in the more pedestrian oriented areas.

Figure 3: 527 S. Arlington Ave (top left), 990 Joaquin Miller Drive (top right), 701 Walker Avenue (bottom left), 159 Circle Drive (bottom right). All images by ZoAnn Campana.

National Register Criteria C: Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or that represent a significant and distinguishable entity whose components may lack individual distinction.

The Newlands Historic District was eligible for listing in the National Register under Criteria C because of the neighborhood’s significant architecture and landscapes that reflect the ideals of the City Beautiful movement and for the hundreds of contributing resources within the district that embody the distinctive characteristics of numerous architectural styles reflecting popular trends of the early twentieth century as well as for the abundance of architect-designed homes that retain a high degree of integrity and that are beautifully constructed. The neighborhood was designed to be attractive and peaceful, an exclusive respite for its affluent residents meant to insulate them from the bustle, noise, and industry of urban life. This area of Reno retains some of the densest tree canopy in the city and the mature landscaping in the district lends a park like feel to the park strips and public spaces.

The Newlands Historic District area is one of the most admired neighborhoods in Reno. It is a popular destination for walking tours and architectural lectures. The abundant variety of architectural styles and the fine construction of the homes in the area represent some of the most unique and attractive homes in the region. Reno’s most renown architects designed many homes in the neighborhood including their own homes. For example, the picture in the top left of Figure 4 was designed by Frederic DeLongchamps to be his home. DeLongchamps was a prolific and talented Reno-born architect who designed many significant buildings in Northern Nevada; he remains well known for his beautiful home designs in the Newlands Historic District. The homes in Figure 4 represent some of the varied architectural styles and features of the district. Stone and brick were popular building materials but there are also many wood-clad and stucco homes. The homes in Figure 4 also display the lush landscaping in the district and mature trees that contribute to the Picturesque and City Beautiful ideals promoted by Newlands and his development company.

Figure 4: 4 Elm Court (top left) by Donna and Paul Erickson, 571 Ridge Street (top right) by Donna and Paul Erickson, 970 Joaquin Miller (bottom left) by Gilbert Properties, and 620 John Fremont Way (bottom right) by Scott Gibson.

Walking through the Newlands Historic District in fall treats visitors to stunning autumn colors and falling foliage provides a better view of the homes which are often hidden behind tree canopy during the spring and summer months.

Reno is fortunate to have this nationally significant historic district that so clearly represents the transition from streetcar and pedestrian friendly neighborhoods to more automobile-oriented development, especially as exhibited by the remarkable and handsome homes of the Newlands District. This area represents some of Reno’s best residential construction from the historical period, featuring the work of local masters, the architectural trends of the early twentieth century, and the tranquil landscape architecture of the City Beautiful movement as expressed in Reno, Nevada.

To learn about more designated historic properties in Reno, visit the City of Reno Historic Resources Story Map.

References

Barber, Alicia and Campana, ZoAnn. “How Features in Reno’s Old Southwest Acquired the Newlands Name: A Brief History.” Historic Reno Preservation Society website, https://www.historicreno.org/index.php/history-preservation/newlands

Campana, ZoAnn. “Newlands Historic District.” National Register of Historic Places Registration Form #16000912. May 26, 2016. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nationalregister/database-research.htm

Campana, ZoAnn. “Newlands Historic District Listed on Register.” Footprints Vol. 20 No. 2, 2017. https://www.historicreno.org/index.php/archives/footprints

Erickson, Donna and Paul. “Frederic DeLongchamps Cottage,” Reno Historical, accessed October 13, 2023, https://renohistorical.org/items/show/190.

Nevada State Historic Preservation Office. “Newlands Historic District Listed in the National Register.” Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (website), January 06, 2017. https://shpo.nv.gov/posts/newlands-historic-district-listed-in-the-national-register