Reno, Nevada

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Reno, Nevada
File:Renologo.JPG
City Logo
City nickname: "The Biggest Little City in the World"
Location of Reno, Nevada
Founded May 13 1868
County Washoe County
Mayor Bob Cashell
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
179.6 km² (69.3 mi²)
179.0 km² (69.1 mi²)
0.6 km² (0.2 mi²) 0.32%
Population (2000)
 - City
  - Density
180,480
1,008.3/km² (2,611.4/mi²)
Time zone Pacific
Location 39°31′38″N 119°49′19″W / 39.52722°N 119.82194°W / 39.52722; -119.82194
Elevation 4498 feet (1371 m)
http://www.cityofreno.com


Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 180,480, making it the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas. Current estimates place the population of the city proper at 207,000 which would make Reno the third most populous city, after Henderson. Reno lies 26 miles (42 km) north of the Nevada state capital, Carson City, and 22 miles (35 km) north-east of Lake Tahoe in the high desert. Reno shares its eastern border with the city of Sparks. Reno, known as The Biggest Little City in the World, is famous for its casinos, and is the birthplace of the gaming corporation Harrah's Entertainment.

Reno is the corporate headquarters for International Game Technology, which manufactures most of the world's slot machines.

History

As early as the 1850s a few pioneers settled in the Truckee Meadows, a relatively fertile valley through which the Truckee River made its way from Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake. In addition to subsistence farming, these early residents could pick up a bit of business from travellers along the California Trail, which followed the Truckee westward, before branching off towards Donner Lake, where the formidable obstacle of the Sierras began.

Gold had been discovered in the vicinity of Virginia City in 1850 and a modest mining community developed, but the discovery of silver in 1859 led to one of the greatest mining bonanzas of all time as the Comstock Lode spewed forth treasure. The Comstock's closest connection to the outside world lay in the Truckee Meadows.

To provide the necessary connection between Virginia City and the California Trail, Charles Fuller built a log toll bridge across the Truckee River in 1859. A small community to service travellers soon grew up near the bridge. After two years, Fuller sold the bridge to Myron Lake, who continued to develop the community with the addition of a grist mill, kiln, and livery stable to the hotel and eating house. The tiny community acquired the name Lake's Crossing.

Reno as it appeared during the late 1980s and early 1990s

In 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad, building tracks across the west to connect with the Union Pacific, built from the east to form the first transcontinental railroad. Myron Lake, realizing what a rail connection would mean for business, deeded land to the Central Pacific in exchange for its promise to build a depot at Lake's Crossing. Once the railroad station was established, the town of Reno officially came into being on May 13, 1868. The new town was named in honor of Major General Jesse L. Reno, a Union officer killed in the American Civil War. (Had Jesse Reno not changed the spelling of his name early in life, presumably the biggest little city would today be Renault, Nevada.)

The extension of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad to Reno in 1872 provided another big boost to the new city's economy. In the following decades, Reno continued to grow and prosper as a business and agricultural center and became the principal settlement on the transcontinental railroad between Sacramento and Salt Lake City. However, political power in Nevada remained with the mining communities, first Virginia City and later Tonopah and Goldfield.

File:AlfredEisenstaedtLife06211937.jpg
Alfred Eisenstaedt, Reno Divorce, 1937


As the mining boom waned early in the twentieth century, Nevada's centers of political and business activity shifted to the non-mining communities, especially Reno and Las Vegas, and today the former mining metropolises stand as little more than ghost towns. Despite this, Nevada still accounts for over 11% of world gold production.

It was in Reno in 1871 that Jacob Davis, a tailor, started reinforcing his canvas pants with copper rivets. Davis later pantented his idea with Levi Strauss, his canvas supplier to create the product now known as Levi's.

Nevada's legalization of casino gambling in 1931 and the passage of liberal divorce laws created another boom for Reno. The divorce business eventually died as the other states fell in line by passing their own laws easing the requirements for divorce, but gambling continued as a major Reno industry.

In more recent years, Reno has experienced rapid growth as a strong economy and a cost of living less than most of California has resulted in a housing boom. New construction is widespread emanating from all sides of the city and into the surrounding valleys. A direct result of such rapid growth has been a dramatic increase in housing prices in the area, with Reno-Sparks being named one of the most overvalued housing markets in the nation in 2006. On March 15, 2006, a new upscale shopping center, The Summit Sierra, opened in the southern suburbs of Reno.

Climate

Reno is situated in high desert valley of approximately 4,400 feet (1300 m) above sea level. There are four fairly distinct seasons, all of which are relatively mild compared to many parts of the country. Winters see snowfall, however it is rarely heavy. Most precipitation occurs in winter and spring, with summer and fall being extremely dry, much like neighboring California. Mid-summer highs typically top out in the 90s (degrees Fahrenheit, 30s in degrees Celsius), however temperatures of 100°F (38°C) and above do occur on occasion. The low humidity and high elevation generally make even the hottest and coldest days quite bearable. July high and low temperatures average at 91°F (33°C) and 51°F (11°C), respectively, while in January this falls to 45°F (38°C) and 22°F (-6°C).

Education

Universities and Colleges

  • The University of Nevada, Reno is the oldest university in the state of Nevada and Nevada System of Higher Education. In 1886, the state university, previously only a college preparatory school, moved from Elko in remote northeastern Nevada to a site north of downtown Reno, where it became a full-fledged state college. The university's first building, Morill Hall, still stands on the historic quad at the campus' southern end. The university grew slowly over the decades, but began to expand rapidly along with the rest of the state and currently has an enrollment of approximately 15,000, with most students hailing from within Nevada. Among its specialties are mining engineering, agriculture, journalism, and one of only two Basque Studies programs in the nation. It also houses the only judicial college in the United States.
  • Truckee Meadows Community College is a regionally accredited, two year institution which is part of the Nevada System of Higher Education. The college has an enrollment of approximately 13,000 students attending classes at a primary campus and four satellite centers. The college offers a wide range of academic and university transfer programs, occupational training, career enhancement workshops, and classes just for fun. Courses are conducted daytime and evening in the classroom, by cablecast, and on the Internet. TMCC offers associate of arts, associate of science, associate of applied science or associate of general studies degrees, one-year certificates, or certificates of completion in more than 50 career fields, including architecture, auto/diesel mechanics, criminal justice, dental hygiene, graphic design, nursing, and welding.

Public schools

Public education is provided by the Washoe County School District.

  • Reno has eleven public high schools: Damonte Ranch High School, Galena High School, Hug High School, I Can Do Anything Charter High School, Robert McQueen High School, North Valleys High School, Regional Technical Institute High School, Reno High School, Truckee Meadows Community College High School, Washoe High School, and Earl Wooster High School.
  • There are also three public high schools in neighboring Sparks, attended by many students who live in Reno: Edward C. Reed High School, Spanish Springs High School, and Sparks High School. Coral Academy of Science.
  • Reno-Sparks has 16 middle schools: Billinghurst, Clayton, Damonte Ranch, Dilworth, Gerlach, Incline, Mendive, O’Brien, Pine, Shaw, Spanish Springs, Sparks, Swope, Traner, Vaughn, and Washoe.
  • Reno-Sparks's elementary schools are Allen, Anderson, Beasley, Jesse Beck, Bennett, Booth, Brown, Cannan, Caughlin Ranch, Corbett, Desert Heights, Diedrichsen, Dodson, Donner Springs, Double Diamond, Drake, Duncan, Dunn, Elmcrest, Gomes, Roy Gomm, Greenbrae, Hidden Valley, Huffaker, Hunsberger, Hunter Lake, Johnson, Juniper, Lemmon Valley, Elizabeth Lenz, Lincoln Park, Loder, Mathews, Maxwell, Melton, Mitchell, Moss, Mount Rose, Natchez, Palmer, Peavine, Picollo Special Education School, Pleasant Valley, Risley, Sierra Vista, Silver Lake, Alice Smith, Kate Smith, Smithridge, Spanish Springs, Stead, Sun Valley, Taylor, Towles, Van Gorder, Verdi, Veterans Memorial, Warner, Westergaurd, Whitehead, and Winnemucca.

Private schools

Reno has several private high schools, the largest of which is Bishop Manogue High School. The only college preparatory school in Reno is Sage Ridge School.

Gaming Industry

Downtown Reno, including the city's famous arch over Virginia St.

Before the 1960s, Reno was the gambling capital of the world, but Las Vegas' rapid rise, American Airlines' buyout of Reno Air and the growth of Indian gaming in California have seriously reduced its business, though not that of Las Vegas. Smaller casinos like the Comstock and the Sundowner closed, while the larger casinos experience slow days during the week, epecially during winter. Only during weekends, holidays and special events does Reno see an increase in business.

In an effort to bring more tourism to the area, Reno holds several events throughout the year, all of which have been extremely successful. They include Hot August Nights (a classic car convention and rally), Street Vibrations (a motorcycle fan gathering and rally), The Great Reno Balloon Race, the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off (held in Sparks), a Cinco de Mayo celebration, bowling tournaments and the Reno Air Races.

Downtown Revitalization

The closure of many downtown casinos has sparked a surprising movement to turn these empty buildings into condominiums. Out-of-state developers have purchased the Comstock and the Sundowner, amongst others, in hopes of turning them into upscale condos. In addition to converting old properties, these developers are building new structures on once-vacant lots.

The Reno Trench Project (ReTRAC) hopes to solve noise pollution and traffic congestion on Virginia Street by lowering the train tracks below the street level. This would also add to the city's efforts to make the downtown area friendlier to tourists. The trench was completed on November 22, 2005.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 180,480 people, 73,904 households, and 41,681 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,008.3/km² (2,611.4/mi²). There were 79,453 housing units at an average density of 443.9/km² (1,149.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.46% White, 2.58% African American, 1.26% Native American, 5.29% Asian, 0.56% Pacific Islander, 9.26% from other races, and 3.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.18% of the population.

There were 73,904 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 10.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.6% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 22.2% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 104.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,530, and the median income for a family was $49,582. Males had a median income of $33,204 versus $26,763 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,520. About 8.3% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The Truckee River runs through town, as does the Union Pacific Railroad, Interstate 80 (east-west) and US 395 (north-south).

Reno has an extensive bus system called RTC RIDE, which is provided by the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County. The bus system has its main terminal in downtown Reno and secondary terminals in Sparks and at Meadowood Mall in south Reno. The RTC also has a service called RTC ACCESS that provides transport for handicapped people. RTC INTERCITY buses link Reno to Carson City.

The city also provides a free bus service up and down Virginia Street called RTC SIERRA SPIRIT, whose bright yellow buses are easily recognizible. This regular service is free of charge.

Amtrak also serves the city of Reno. Amtrak train 5, the westbound California Zephyr, departs Reno every morning and serves the cities of Truckee, Colfax, Roseville, Sacramento, Davis, Martinez, Emeryville, and Sacramento. Amtrak train 6, the eastbound California Zephyr, departs Reno every afternoon and serves the cities of Sparks, Winnemucca, Elko, Salt Lake, Provo, Helper, Green River, Grand Junction, Glenwood Springs, Denver, Omaha, Galesburg, and Chicago. Amtrak California Thruway Motorcoaches also arrive and depart Reno four times daily in each direction connecting to and from the Coast Starlight, Capitol Corridor, and San Joaquin trains at Sacramento, California.

The city is served by Reno/Tahoe International Airport, with general aviation traffic also handled by Reno Stead Airport.

Environmental factors

The Reno-Sparks wastewater treatment plant discharges secondary treated effluent to the Truckee River. In the 1990s this capacity was increased from 20 to 30 million gallons (70 to 110 million liters) per day. While treated, the effluent nevertheless contains suspended solids, nitrogen and phosphorus. aggravating water quality concerns of the river and its receiving waters of Pyramid Lake. Local agencies working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have developed a number of watershed management strategies to accommodate this expanded effluent discharge; to accomplish this successful outcome, the DSSAM Model was developed and calibrated for the Truckee River in order to analyze the most cost effective available management strategy set. The resulting management strategies included a package of measures such as land use controls in the Lake Tahoe basin, urban runoff controls in Reno and Sparks and best management practices for wastewater discharge.

Culture

Trivia

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