The University of Nevada Historic District is comprised of over 400 acres, 13 buildings, and two structures. The following text comes from the NPS.gov
webpage that highlights this historic district and reads:
The University of Nevada was established as a Land Grant university in Elko in 1874. In 1884, the campus was moved to Reno, where it has become a well reputed, but comparatively small, educational institution. Until the 1960s the University of Nevada-Reno was the only institution of higher education in the state. It has contributed greatly to numerous fields, including the humanities, mining, engineering and agriculture, and to educational opportunity within Nevada.
The University's quadrangle was modeled on Thomas Jefferson's plans for the University of Virginia campus. Incorporating three existing 19th-century buildings such as Morrill Hall, the campus concept became the master plan guiding the university's growth from 1906 to 1941. During this period, philanthropist Clarence Hungerford Mackay had great influence over the physical form of the campus through his financial support and personal involvement in the development of the campus. The historic campus contains 13 buildings, built from 1886 to 1945, that represent architectural styles of the late 19th century, the Classical Revival which predominated in the early 20th century, and one example of Art Moderne. These buildings represent the work of a number of architects noted for their work in Nevada and elsewhere including Frederick DeLongchamps of Reno, Robert Farquhar of Los Angeles, and the New York firm of McKim, Mead and White, whom Mackay hired to design several buildings starting with the Mackay School of Mines.
The thirteen extant historic buildings on the UNR campus represent three time periods, each characterized by a national style of campus architecture. Three buildings survive from the earliest period, the late 19th century. These designs reflect styles popular at that time in eastern United States colleges. They are symmetrical, two-and-one-half story, brick buildings, clad in common bond. Morrill Hall is rectangular, with a mansard roof; the two dormitories, Lincoln and Manzanita Halls, are constructed on H-plans, and have gabled roofs. All three have gabled dormers in the half-story. All are oriented towards the south, toward the town of Reno.
Significance
The University of Nevada-Reno Historic District is a distinguishable entity of exceptional significance for the quality of its architectural design and for its historical associations with the development of Nevada's university system. The district is eligible for listing in the National Register under criteria A, B, and C. The historic district is a unified educational complex designed in the Jeffersonian Revival style. Nevada's first land-grant institution, the University of Nevada-Reno served as the state's only institution of higher learning until the 1960s. The development of the district is also associated with prominent philanthropist Clarence Hungerford Mackay.
The University Gymnasium is the one building in the district not located around the central quadrangle and lake area. It was a departure not only from the classic campus plan, but also the classical architecture that dominated the university's early 20th-century buildings. Designed by DeLongchamps, the Art Moderne gymnasium was begun in 1942 but, due to World War II, not completed until 1945. DeLongchamps's design for the gymnasium tied it to the rest of the core campus by his choice of materials, brick and concrete, and the overall symmetrical massing of the building. The building reflects an important phase of DeLongchamps's work, an architect who worked in numerous period styles.
Included below is a list of the 13 buildings and two campus landscape features that make up the University Historic District. Morrill hall and Mackay School of Mines were individually listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and 1982, respectively.
My posted coordinates will place you in front of Morrill Hall, the oldest building on campus and a good place to start your walking tour of the Historic District, since there is visitor parking located in front of the Hall.
List of Historic Contributing Structures in the University District
Note: The above table is a work in progress as waymarks have not yet been created for all contributing buildings and sites in the district. If you create a new "contributing" waymark in the district, let me know and I'll add the link to the table above. Thank you.