Today's Friends of the Library presentation was the perfect end to National Library Week.
Reno Now and Then II Book Talk. Author Neal Cobb, a Reno native of a certain age who grew up during the zenith of its day, told the incredible history of this incredible town. Through historic photos and contemporary re-photography of selected locations, the author illustrated the tension between growth and stability that characterizes Reno. This presentation evoked fond memories in old-timers while newcomers found a better understanding of the town just down the hill. What an interesting history lesson about "The Biggest Little City in The World".
I appreciated the order in which Neal shared his images. The now came before the then.
At times, the audience expressed surprise at how much Reno has changed, though for some buildings, the surprise was because of how little had changed. Very, very interesting.
This now photo captures the famous arch and is looking the opposite direction as the image below. It gives you a good grasp of the changes on North Virginia Street over the last 50 years.
This then photograph was taken by my dad in the 50s. I love the image of Harold's Club on the right. On his 25th birthday (1935), Harold Smith Sr. opened a tiny gambling club here. He had come to Reno because California was cracking down on the carnival games his family ran in the Bay Area, and in 1931 Nevada had legalized gambling. Harold's Club was to become one of the most famous gambling place of its day and one of the first modern casinos. Sadly after six decades and numerous owners (including Howard Hughes) the casino failed. In 1999, Harrah's bought the building and on December 16 imploded it and the adjacent Nevada Club, replacing them with an outdoor plaza. Such history lost. That seems to be Reno's way. I'm happy there are people like Neal who are documenting it all to share with us. This was a great history lesson about the biggest little city.
posted under |
0 comments:
Post a Comment