Reno's Beginning - Reno, NV
N 39° 31.484 W 119° 48.845
11S E 258115 N 4378791
This historical placard resides along Truckee Lane in the NW corner of the Virginia Street Bridge and in the heart of downtown Reno, NV.
Waymark Code: WMKZ74
Location: Nevada, United States
Date Posted: 06/19/2014
Views: 3
Passersby walking along Truckee Lane might notice this historical placard that stands in the NW corner of Virginia Street Bridge and near where the beginnings of Reno began. The placard reads:
Reno's Beginning
Lake's Crossing and the Riverside Hotel
A Missouri mulepacker, William C. Fuller, failed to strike it rich in California's gold fields. His trek home, around 1859 or 1860, included a stop in the marshy valley known as the Truckee Meadows. Located north of the Comstock Mining District, it was obvious that the pioneer trail to the Sierra Nevada was going to get busy.
Fuller found the highest piece of ground along the Truckee and built a log bridge near this site. He charged a small toll for crossing. He also built a log shelter that was popular among the tired and dusty prospectors. A spring flood washed away the bridge in 1861. He re-built the bridge, but Fuller was looking for a way out of the toll business.
Myron C. Lake, was another disillusioned miner who decided ranching might be the real Mother Lode of the West. We settled on a ranch near Honey Lake north of the Truckee Meadows, but barely made a living. Lake saw much more than just a way to cross the river in Fuller's rickety bridge and traded his land to Fuller for the franchise.
Lake built a stronger bridge and moved it upstream to a better footing. He added an inn for weary travelers and even offered hot meals and libations at his tavern. The profits grew and so did "Lake's Crossing." By 1862 there was a grist mill, a livery stable and a kiln. Lake's vision did not stop there. He lobbied hard for a transcontinental railroad to pass through his town before climbing the Sierra Nevada.
In 1888 the building was renamed the Riverside Hotel with a new owner and manager Harry Gosse. Gosse replaced the old wooden structure with brick. In 1922 the structure burned down and soon after George Wingfield purchased the property. Wingfield hired notable Nevada architect Frederic J. DeLongechamps to design the new building. The landmark was finished in 1927 and began catering to Reno's newest clientele, prospective divorcees taking advantage of the Silver State's liberal laws regarding marital separations.
A new west wing and swimming pool were added, and the hotel went through a series of owners over the next 36 years until the building closed in 1986. Ten years later, community efforts to revitalize this cornerstone of Reno history created an artists' enclave of residence lofts, an arts gallery, office space and commercial businesses.