Reno YMCA Then and Now

32 E First Street – Reno, Nevada

Reno tried to sustain a chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association as early as 1872. This one on Virginia Street seemed to last until around 1874.

While the local community seemed generally supportive of these efforts, it wasn’t monetarily supportive so chapters (and I’m using that term very loosely) came and went.

Trinity Church held meetings to gather support for a new Reno YMCA in late 1887. There was another attempt in February of 1894 and another in February of 1896. That one was actually successful.

The YMCA secured rooms in the rear of the Bank of Nevada building which contained books, games, and comfortable furniture but no sleeping quarters. A Ladies’ Auxilliary was also formed at that time.

After bouncing around between different locations, the YMCA closed indefinitely due to a lack of support in January of 1898.

The subject was revisited year after year.

Meetings began anew in March of 1910 to get things moving. A dinner was held that May with around 200 in attendance. The group planned to collect enough subscriptions to construct a $75,000 building. Several signed pledge cards at that time totaling around $10,000. A major capital campaign commenced with big commitments.

Senator George S Nixon offered to donate a building lot if the group raised $85,000 by May 28.

An empty lot on First Street was selected, east of the post office and south of City Hall.

Local architects were invited to submit plans that June. In July of 1910, the three-story design of Frederic J DeLongchamps was selected. The new YMCA was to be constructed using Reno red pressed brick with terra cotta trimmings and was expected to accommodate 700 members.

The height of the building’s basement gave the appearance of four full stories. It contained a heated swimming pool, two-lane bowling alley, shower and locker rooms, and boys’ club rooms. In addition to a lobby, offices, rooms for games, reading, and socializing, and an approximately 2,500-square-foot gymnasium were located on the main floor. The gym’s balcony and running track were accessed from the second floor along with a kitchen and banquet hall, classrooms, storage rooms, and four sleeping rooms. An additional 25 dorm rooms were located on the third floor.

At the rear of the building was a single-story addition containing a handball court and an exercise room off the gym. Above this addition was a roof garden facing the Truckee River.

The first installment of pledged amounts totaling $116,000 became due on July 15. The big question was how much would be collected. Hundreds waited in line at the Washoe County Bank to make good on their commitments. Unfortunately, those were small donors.

Bids were restricted to local contractors with a cost not to exceed $55,000. Furnishings were expected to cost between $15,000 and $20,000. In September of 1910, the building contract was awarded to Ward Brothers and Calder, who bid $53,532. Foundation work began on October 31.

The building’s cornerstone was scheduled for installation on January 14, 1911 but the ceremony was postponed until January 22 due to a storm. Governor Tasker L Oddie delivered a speech praising the works of the organization.

The board’s July 11, 1911 meeting minutes noted many unpaid pledges. The building committee wanted to suspend construction for at least 30 days while they attempted to collect on delinquencies. It was suggested that they might have to borrow money. By August, the treasurer reported only $228.24 in the fund with more than 200 delinquent subscribers.

Construction continued and the building was accepted that October. At that time, legal remedies were discussed for collecting on delinquent subscriptions including charging 8% interest and possible lawsuits. Residents began occupying rooms on November 11.

A dedication ceremony was held the following day with speeches by Senator Nixon and Bishop Henry D Robinson. Over the weeklong grand opening celebration, the board reported more than 4,000 people had visited the beautiful new building.

This undated image shows a bit of the rear addition and roof garden, which originally was surrounded by brick and terra cotta walls with openings to view the river.

In December of 1911, the board explored borrowing funds to cover the balanced owed for construction. They only had $260.95 on hand and resolved to obtain a mortgage for $12,000 at an interest rate not to exceed 8%. Collection on delinquent pledges began in earnest the following January.

Financial struggles continued and by 1921, the YMCA was operating at an annual deficit of about $1,500. This caused additional borrowing and much deferred maintenance. The board kicked off a $26,500 capital campaign that October.

Membership dwindled throughout the 1920s and the organization continued to be deeply indebted.

The Elks leased the building for a term of five months in the Spring of 1929 and operated a junior club there as the board tried to find a solution. They tried to work out a partnership with the school district. At that time, the building needed a new roof and heating plant.

Somehow, the organization managed to have a great year in 1930. In the last five months of the year, total membership surged from 68 to 311. The organization refinanced its debt and resolved to live within its means. Building maintenance was also brought up to date.

In January of 1941, the Y began a $10,000 capital campaign to reduce debt and again make needed repairs and improvements. In November of 1945, the organization finally paid the remaining balance of $16,000 to mortgage holder Tony Petetti. This was made possible by a donation from Raymond I Smith. At this time, the board acknowledged the building needed to be replaced but refused to sell it until they could make arrangements for another facility.

The Truckee River flooded in November of 1950, sending waves down First Street.

Water rose above the lockers in the YMCA basement with pressure pushing it up through the floor.

This photo of workers pumping water from the neighboring Mapes Hotel shows the rear addition windows had been infilled and the walls of the roof garden had been removed. The high-water mark was impressive.

In January of 1953, a proposal by siblings Charles and Gloria Mapes was announced to purchase the YMCA building and vacate the south end of Lincoln Alley to allow for expansion of their hotel.

At around 11:30 a.m. on February 7, 1953, the YMCA was hopping. A swim class was in progress in the basement. 15 boys were playing basketball in the gym.

The boiler, which had undergone welding repairs the day before, exploded causing the heating chamber to blast through an 18-inch brick wall under the gym. The brick walls of the gym were pushed out and the floor pushed up, launching Vinton Goure into the air and breaking his femur. The two other boys injured and taken for treatment were Roy Clayton and Bob Gordon.

Fortunately, no one was in the adjacent shower room, which was destroyed.

The boxing ring is shown here with a couple turnbuckles still standing.

A heavy bag was left hanging on the left in a room full of debris.

A water line broke in the explosion causing a 50-pound drum of chlorine crystals to get wet. This filled the basement with dangerous fumes and it’s a miracle no one was killed. The structure was immediately condemned and utilities were disconnected. However, staff continued using the front offices without services while the organization sought temporary quarters.

YMCA staff moved to the Hobson building at Center and State on March 31, 1953. The condemned building was sold to the Mapes Hotel for approximately $150,000 minus insurance claims collected. Demolition began on May 19.

Building materials, furniture, and fixtures were salvaged from the building and offered for sale.

After the lot was cleared and the alley was vacated, the former YMCA property was used as a parking lot. The planned Mapes Hotel annex never materialized.

An open house event was held at the new Reno YMCA on Foster Drive in May of 1956. The Mapes Hotel closed in 1982 and was imploded on January 30, 2000. The site, including the former YMCA lot, is now home to City Plaza, often called Believe Plaza.

This is how the former site of the Reno YMCA looks today:

It seems fitting that a property which was donated to serve the public for more than 40 years has been returned to that use. City Plaza is now the main gathering space in Reno for protests, vigils, and community celebrations.

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September 21, 2026 0

Nevins Hardware Then and Now

305-307 W Chestnut Street – Dodge City, Kansas

In Dodge City’s earliest days, what became Chestnut Street was just an alley behind the Front Street buildings. Business was conducted within close proximity to the Santa Fe depot so the block between Second and Third Avenues took a while to fill with structures. Aside from the post office at the northwest corner of Second and Front, that block held a saddle and harness shop, a blacksmith shop, and a dance hall.

One of the challenges with documenting establishments is attempting to decipher what people meant when they used descriptions like “One Door West of the Post Office.”

Typos happen and also how many empty lots were located between the doors?

Buildings came and went and so did the businesses.

Without being too precious, I can tell you Jacob and Jennie Collar ended up owning lots 46 and 48 west of the first post office. They owned several lots on Front Street and leased the buildings to a variety of businesses.

In March of 1884, brothers James and William Keady and Bro opened a grocery and produce business one door west of the post office.

That October, the grocery temporarily relocated and the Collars replaced the small wood structure with a single-story brick building with two spacious storefronts and a tiny one between them.

After the Keadys moved to the new brick, Joseph Felkel used a corner of the space for his shoe shop. Adolphus Gluck also used part of the building for his jewelry store. I won’t bore you with the musical chairs which transpired from then until Jacob Collar’s death in March of 1893. Jennie retained ownership of the brick building, which she leased to a barber, a grocer, and a furniture dealer.

After Jennie Collar died in January of 1899, her sister, Fannie Goodman, inherited the property. Adolphus Gluck was chosen to administer the estate and it took him a few years to dispose of the various properties. As this was taking place, William A Sturgeon bought the Keady grocery store in October of 1902 and it became known as Sturgeon’s Cash Grocery.

The following spring, William and his father, Frank, bought the building from Fannie Goodman for $3,000. Other tenants at that time were the C. H. Gingrich cigar factory and the C. L. Peterson tailoring business. The north ends of the lots along Chestnut were empty.

Frank Sturgeon intended to construct a two-story brick building along Chestnut and then add another story to the Front Street side but he died in November of 1904 at only 58 years of age. In June of 1906, William Sturgeon sold the grocery to brothers Roy and Ralph Burnett.

J. F. Ayers moved his Central Meat Market to the space west of the Burnett grocery in the Spring of 1912.

Ralph Burnett bought his brother’s share of the business in January of 1913. The building is shown here west of City Hardware with the Chestnut Street portion still empty.

Around that time, the skinny middle space was occupied by the general repair shop of John E Reynolds.

Hiram A Burnett, President of the National Bank of Commerce, began construction to fill in the space between his son’s grocery and Chestnut Street in the Spring of 1915. This would allow Ralph to expand his store and have additional space to lease in the west half of the building. Initially planned as a single-story extension, Burnett saw improvements the Nevins family was making to their new hardware store next door to the west and decided to match them. Main entrances would be on Chestnut but the Front Street doors would be retained. The Front Street section also remained a single-story structure.

Newt and Martha Nevins opened their Dodge City location of Nevins Hardware Company at 309 Chestnut on April 30, 1915 with hundreds in attendance. Initially, son Clarence managed the store in Ford, while Ralph and Arthur worked at the Dodge City store with their dad. Daughter Eulalia was the county education superintendent by that time but she was never far from the store, eventually serving as secretary and treasurer. Clarence came to Dodge about a year later to become the general manager of the Nevins Hardware and Implement Company.

Ralph Burnett held a grand opening at his expanded store on July 31, 1915.

Happy Jack BeDillion then opened his Popular Cafe in the west half on August 8. The move to larger quarters allowed space for confectionery and ice cream departments as well as a cigar section.

The Burnett grocery and Popular Cafe used similar typefaces in their clerestory signage on the right.

The original Burnett space on Front Street was remodeled and occupied by Dodge City Plumbing Co. in the fall of 1916.

That December, brothers Leo and Wilbur Liggett bought the Burnett grocery.

At that time, John McChristy operated a grocery at 306 Front. Brothers Harry and Jesse Holmes bought the Popular Cafe and moved it a couple blocks east in February of 1919. Flora Burgland then used the former cafe for her millinery store.

The Nevins Hardware Company needed additional storage space and bought the Burnett building in September of 1920 for around $30,000. At that time, the tenants were allowed to stay. This postcard with a postmark of March 29, 1923 shows the Liggett’s and Burgland signage at far right.

The Burgland millinery store became the Sturgeon Hat Shop around the Spring of 1926.

The plumbing shop became the Cozy Cafe.

Tasker Book and Stationery Shop temporarily used the west space on Chestnut in the latter part of 1928.

Big changes were made around 1929. Suddenly, the Front Street side was a proper two-story building.

After an extensive remodeling project, what was then called Skaggs Safeway held a grand opening on October 18, 1929.

The Safeway store is shown here during the parade celebrating the premiere of Dodge City on April 1, 1939.

Safeway closed around 1940 and Nevins Hardware moved next door into the much larger space. By this time, the implement and hardware businesses had split with Arthur taking on the implement side and Ralph operating the hardware store.

Nevins Hardware is shown here during the 1950s with Fowler Furniture in their former location to the west.

This is the view looking east.

I know I’ve seen a photo of the full Nevins Hardware sign painted on the east wall of the Front Street side but of course, I can’t find it when I need it.

UPDATE: Found it! Just a few days late.

The Eckles family bought the store in February of 1963 and it was renamed Eckles Hardware. This photo was taken when Fowler Furniture caught fire in 1964.

It operated until at least 1967 but the entire block was doomed by the infamous Urban Renewal project. Not everything went to waste, however. Building materials and fixtures were salvaged and sold. In his book, Dragging Wyatt Earp: A Personal History of Dodge City, Robert Rebein tells the story of his father buying the glass door from Nevins Hardware and using it as the back door of their home at 1211 W Cedar Street. By 1970, all of Front Street had been completely erased.

Here’s a full view of the old hardware signs with Nevins painted over just prior to demolition.

Photo by Joleen Fromm
Photo by Joleen Fromm

This is how the former site of Nevins Hardware looks today:

Rather than repeatedly harping on the negative effects of Urban Renewal, I feel I should acknowledge the extent to which I torment the fine folks at the Kansas Heritage Center with my exhaustive inquiries. Thanks for all of your help!

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September 14, 2026 0

Parry’s Livery Stables Then and Now

47 W Fourth Street – Reno, Nevada

Stockman Levi W Lee and his wife, Julia, owned a ranch north of Reno on the Susanville state road. They moved to Reno around 1874 where Levi acted as superintendent of the fairgrounds and served on the board of Reno Water Company.

The Lees purchased the west half of the block on the east side of Sierra between Fourth and Fifth Streets. In June of 1876, construction began on a two-story livery stable with hay storage and living quarters on the second level. The first floor was constructed of stone with brick above. A large wooden balcony wrapped around the south and west sides of the building.

The facility opened for business that September.

Lee served both the traveling public and the stock trade so he installed a Fairbanks scale in May of 1877.

A new harness shop opened at Lee’s in March of 1878. Continuous improvements were made to the yard with a series of corrals and frame stables occupying the large parcel.

Levi Lee suffered a stroke in the early morning of March 26, 1886 and died five days later at the age of 52.

Levi and Julia’s three school-aged sons, Frank, Eugene, and Ben, chipped in to help keep the stable running while a buyer was sought. Partners Andrew Benson and Frank Engstrom bought the entire operation for around $20,000 in July of 1886.

The name of the business was changed to Eureka Stables shortly after the purchase. Benson continued the operation as a sole proprietor after his partnership with Engstrom was dissolved in June of 1887.

After his Depot Hotel burned, Robert W Parry purchased the Eureka in August of 1889.

The stone and brick stable is depicted here in an illustration from around 1898. This would be looking northeast from Fourth and Sierra.

By April of 1899, wood structures and fencing lined most of the alley behind the stable. The largest was a two-story barn measuring approximately 40 by 125 feet. The main floor contained several horse stalls with hay storage above.

That barn went up in flames on November 12, 1899. A bucket brigade saved the home across the alley, which only received damage to a porch roof. “Drunken Indians” were blamed for the blaze. In this photo showing the aftermath of the fire, the building with the arched windows appears to be the First Congregational Church at Fifth and Virginia.

Parry decided to replace the wood barn with a new brick structure connected to the east end of the main stable building with frontage on Fourth Street. This addition would be taller so the roof on the corner building would be raised to match the new height of approximately 52 feet. This would make the main stable building two and a half stories tall. The combined structures measured about 140 by 90 feet.

In February of 1907, Parry announced his intention to transform the entire building into a theater. He wanted to reconfigure the property so the entrance to the stockyards was on Fifth Street. Instead, the east addition became a “strictly fireproof” skating rink.

Reno Amusement Company’s Aetna Rink opened to the public on November 27, 1907 complete with a 14,000 square foot maple floor. Music came from a German orchestrion machine.

The rink’s fireproof claims were disproven when the building went up in flames on July 25, 1909. Parry’s neighboring stable building, by that time used as a warehouse for Studebaker wagons and buggies, was also engulfed. People sleeping upstairs barely escaped.

Parry prepared to rebuild once again but this time, with the upper floors removed.

Brothers Frank and Otto Steinheimer had recently acquired the Studebaker agency and they would occupy the corner space. The Steinheimers also sold coal from this location.

The east half of the building was occupied by the Central Auto and Machine Works garage.

*Reno Evening Gazette,* October 8, 1910, 8. Newspapers.com.

Central Auto moved to Fifth and Sierra at the end of 1914 and their previous spot became occupied by Reo Sales Company.

This establishment was also known as the Lincoln Garage.

On January 15, 1921, Frank Steinheimer announced he had purchased the Lincoln Garage. This circa-1921 photo shows the two Steinheimer businesses.

Lincoln Garage was advertised for lease in January of 1934 and the business itself was sold the following year. The garage relocated across the street and its former space was leased to Nevada-California Fast Freight Line, which became Pacific Intermountain Express. They vacated the building in 1940 and it was again used as an auto repair shop by C. C. Hooley and George Russell.

The Steinheimer brothers retired in 1942 but retained ownership of the buildings.

B. F. Goodrich moved to the Steinheimer building in November of 1943.

At that time, the east building was used by the Wesley J Gritton Studebaker dealership, which became Nevada Car Co. in 1950.

In December of 1956, the dealership became Seevers Studebaker and Packard owned by Farrell L Seevers. Reno Transmission Exchange occupied that space by January of 1961. That March, Goodrich announced the store would be moving to a new location on East Fourth.

The former Goodrich store is shown here in April of 1961.

By 1963, the corner building hosted Allied Automotive’s paint shop. Around 1965, Allied had the entire complex with half being used as a warehouse. Sadie Steinheimer, Otto’s widow, died in June of 1968 and the family decided to sell the property. It was purchased by James Daniels, who owned part-interest in the Daniels Motor Inn. The former Steinheimer building was demolished that fall for a parking lot.

U Park & Lock became somewhat notorious as a hangout for the criminal element. Local business owners reportedly thanked Don Carano after his May 1993 announcement that the parking lot would be replaced by a hotel casino.

Project C was a joint venture of Eldorado Hotel Casino and Circus Circus Enterprises. The original plan called for a huge facility with a 16th-century Spanish “theme resort” and 2,000 rooms. Ground was broken in early 1994 but that June, the group pivoted to a plan which would honor the history of the Comstock Lode in the form of a fictitious character called Sam Fairchild.

That November, word got out that Project C would be called Silver Legacy when state Senator Bill Raggio accidentally let it slip. The named project was finally unveiled that December complete with a 120-foot mining derrick distributing “minted” coins on the gaming floor. The derrick would be inside a dome measuring 180 feet in diameter. The main building was designed with false storefronts in the style of a Victorian-era mining town. A large events center was planned for the basement.

Wide pedestrian bridges with shops, eateries, and even a microbrewery would connect the Silver Legacy with the Eldorado and Circus Circus. The plan included three hotel towers (37, 34, and 31 stories) with around 1,720 rooms. Due to the redesign, the Silver Legacy was projected to cost about $310 million.

The steel structure was completed by the end of 1994 followed by the dome in March of 1995. That June, a four-inch natural gas line was ruptured and the dome was filled with gas. Businesses nearby were evacuated and more than 60 people were treated for exposure at area hospitals.

Many locals were displeased with the new addition to Reno’s skyline. It was suggested that the dome’s appearance could be improved by painting it. That didn’t happen. Others countered that it was across the street from a giant striped circus tent. Like, how offended could you realistically be?

But for a casino with false exterior storefronts designed to mimic an old west mining town, complete with a sign saying it was established in 1895, why was it designed with a giant modern dome on top? In my opinion, that’s a swing and a miss.

Silver Legacy opened on July 28, 1995 to a packed house. The evening was capped off with a fireworks show. The hotel reportedly sold out its first 22 nights, although at slightly less than full capacity of 1,284 completed rooms. Early versions of the Silver Legacy website can be found on the Wayback Machine.

Silver Legacy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the spring of 2012 in an attempt to restructure around $142 million worth of debt. The company reportedly took out a mortgage in 2002 at TEN PERCENT interest. The facility was remodeled in 2021 for around $47 million and currently lists 42 floors with more than 1,700 rooms. In addition to the huge gaming floor, there are also five restaurants and six bars and lounges. It is currently owned by Caesars Entertainment.

Normally, I try to photograph every site I write about from an angle matching a historical image but between the weather and me not wanting to take pics of another casino, I just didn’t.

Here are a couple shots of the giant boob from earlier this year.

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

I am also including an interior walking tour found on YouTube.

I find the decision not to paint the giant boob disappointing. Reader, I know it’s all about that money. But don’t you ever get tired of old buildings being replaced by soulless casinos?

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September 7, 2026 0

Flint Motor Co. Then and Now

709 N Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Brothers Glen and Roy Flint of Englewood bought Dodge City’s Hudson-Essex dealership from James P McCollom in January of 1926. As part of the sale, the Flints were able to use space in McCollom’s Santa Fe Trail Garage at the southwest corner of Second and Spruce until they could find a permanent location.

Glen moved to Dodge along with his wife, Veronica, and managed operations, while Roy remained in Englewood. That April, plans were announced for a new building on Second Avenue between the new Odd Fellows Hall and the Elks Home. Julian Parham was awarded the contract to build a two-story brick and concrete structure with a full basement. Flint Motor Co. would use the main floor for automobile sales and the machine shop, managed by racecar driver Chick Logan, would be located in the basement. Access to the shop would be through a door facing the alley. The second floor was expected to be divided into office spaces.

This circa-1927 photo shows the Flint Motor Co. building with loads of glass along the front. The cars parked out front belonged to the Gum Motor Co. next door.

Flint Motor Co. began occupying their new quarters in October of 1926. At that time, the second floor hadn’t been finished.

The company began selling International trucks in 1929.

Around that time, Loyal Order of Moose Dodge City Lodge No. 1187 began occupying the second floor. Flint moved south of the tracks on Second Avenue in the early 1930s and Dodge City Parts Company moved to their former space.

That business ultimately became part of Scheufler Supply Co., which moved to West Trail Street in 1937. At that time, Kansas Power Company was expanding and began using the building for offices. By the early 1940s, the power company shared the building with the Western Investment Co. and the H. F. Krey Agency. This insurance and real estate firm became Krey and McCook Agency.

This photo from 1950 shows all of the glass along the front still intact. The door where the cars had been driven though had been converted to a store front entrance under the Moose sign.

Kansas Power Company became Western Light and Telephone Co. Its business office interior is shown here in June of 1952.

Krey and McCook moved to the other side of the street in the early 1950s and the Moose Lodge relocated to Minneola Road. New building occupants included accountant Morton Fisher and Russell Realty Co.

All of the glass is still intact in this image from the 1956 Boot Hill Fiesta Parade.

By 1957, the large upper windows had been replaced by glass blocks with tiny window inserts.

That sign was a real treasure.

Western Light and Telephone became Western Power and Gas in 1965. In 1968, the south storefront became vacant, followed by the rest of the building. Around 1972, Western Power began using the building for their accounting center. I believe the main floor storefronts were removed and replaced with marble infill around that time. For some reason, they chose white for the north and pink for the south.

By the early 1980s, data entry functions were also performed in this facility, which became known as Centel Electric.

Ownership changed again to WestPlains Energy in the 1990s. After that, the building was used as an annex by the Dodge City Daily Globe. Since a doorway connects the two structures on the second floor, it was easy for dance classes to be held on either side by various studios located next door.

The Globe began the slow process of vacating the property in 2021 and it was sold to an out-of-state investor. It’s been for sale and for lease pretty much ever since but hasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, ever been improved. Facebook listings show an outdated, stained, and generally grim environment which could be the location for a Backrooms sequel. See for yourself:

Here are some photos I have taken over the past several years. Note the WestPlains Energy ghost sign on the back door.

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

I was asked to write about this building more than a year ago and just haven’t had it in me. It’s sturdy and has great potential but my God, it’s had every ounce of light stripped from it. Good luck, I guess.

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August 31, 2026 0

KOH Radio Then and Now

Various locations – Reno, Nevada

Radio came to Reno in fits and starts. The University of Nevada’s School of Electrical Engineering attempted to get their own station going during the 1921-22 school year.

Call letters KOJ were assigned in the Spring of 1922.

But the school wasn’t actually ready to proceed and by that July, the university no longer had a license. Later that year, there were KDZK (Nevada Machinery and Electric Company) at the Majestic Theatre and KFAS (Hadley S Beedle and Dr. D. H. Cordano). KFFR was at Sparks High School in 1923 but there was no local radio in Reno by 1924. In the Spring of 1928, listeners relied on regional stations as far away as Denver.

That July, the local broadcasting question was posed to readers.

*Nevada State Journal,* July 9, 1928, 4. Newspapers.com.

Enter mobile broadcaster, Jay Peters. In the Spring of 1928, the Albuquerque Journal reported Peters’ portable station KGGM would be broadcasting during the C. C. Pyle cross-country marathon in a Graham school bus. The Federal Radio Commission banned portable stations that summer so Peters made arrangements to set up a permanent location in Albuquerque. KGGM began broadcasting from the mezzanine of the Franciscan Hotel that August.

Leaving W. E. Whitmore and A. R. Riedling to operate the station in Albuquerque, Jay Peters made his way to Reno.

Space was leased by the newly formed Jay Peters, Inc. in the basement of the Elks’ Home at 50 N Sierra Street.

Broadcast station KOH was granted a construction permit in September of 1928.

A transmitter was installed at Blanchfield Field southwest of Plumas Street and Urban Road.

To operate a radio station, one needs programming. Prior to securing network affiliation, KOH was on its own and began appealing to the community for talent.

The first official KOH broadcast was scheduled for November 11, 1928, which was Armistice Day.

However, the station needed to make sure everything worked properly so test broadcasts were conducted followed by a singing competition on October 30.

Everything went so well, KOH was able to broadcast election returns live from the Gazette offices. Church services were broadcast on the fourth Sunday of each month. Listeners could also set their watches to the radio, as KOH gave the correct time each hour.

There’s a lot going on in this photo from April of 1929. I haven’t been able to locate the name of the announcer but he had bottles of whiskey and sparkling wine stashed on top of the equipment in the basement window.

The Elks Home was demolished after the gas explosions at First and Sierra on February 5, 1957. The site is currently occupied by The Palladio apartments and retail shops. Here’s how it looks today:

Peters leased a third of the Otto Steinheimer building at 440 N Virginia in the Summer of 1930.

This allowed the station to remove the transmitter from the old municipal airport (Blanchfield Field) and install two new 100-foot towers on the building. KOH moved to its new location that October.

The former site of the airport, which was known by several names, is now the Washoe County Golf Course and Reno Tennis Center. A marker on Plumas Street commemorates the site.

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

Peters sold KOH to the McClatchy Company in February of 1931, right after becoming a CBS affiliate. Joy True became the station’s general manager at that time and was also responsible for the Bee Engraving Company, which was part of the Sacramento Bee.

Former Reno resident and heavyweight boxing champion Jack Dempsey is pictured at the KOH microphone, possibly prior to a fight at Race Track Arena in 1931.

True resigned as general manager when she remarried in July of 1937. Her replacement was Wallie Warren.

In September of 1939, McClatchy announced plans to build a new transmitter on a 20-acre site northeast of what is now Sparks Boulevard and E Prater Way. Their FCC application requested a power increase from 500 to 1,000 watts and a frequency change from 1380 to 630 kilocycles. After initially being denied, the application was finally approved that December. A new studio building projected to cost $20,000 was also in the works, as was a change from CBS to NBC effective January 1, 1940.

The former KOH studio at 440 N Virginia Street is shown here in the 1980s.

This is the building as of May 2026:

The new KOH studio building was constructed at 143 Stevenson Street. This air-conditioned facility included two studios, a control room, and staff offices. Members of the public were invited to inspect the new building, which opened August 23, 1940.

Announcer and technician Bryan Wright, who had joined KOH in 1937, is shown here in the Stevenson studio.

Chief transmitter engineer Tom Boland, shown here cueing up a record, left Reno to become an experimental engineer with Boston’s Submarine Signal Co. in October of 1944.

Merrill Inch was hired to manage KOH in November of 1947.

In the Spring of 1964, KOH obtained a variance from Washoe County to build a new studio and office space at the transmission site on E Prater Way. The transmitter building was also expanded as part of that project. The old facility on Stevenson was vacated by the Spring of 1965 and later housed the Nevada Thrift Shop. It was demolished in the 1970s to make way for a new Greyhound bus station. That building was also demolished in late 2018 to early 2019. It is now an empty lot.

KOH, which had broadcast all sorts of entertainment since 1928, switched to an all-news format in 1975. They did continue with sports broadcasts, however.

In February of 1982, a public hearing was scheduled to discuss McClatchy’s plans to develop the 20 acres so that about half would be office buildings surrounding the studio and the other half would be a mix of townhomes and shopping. This would require the two towers to be moved. The name for the project would be McClatchy Corner. In October of that year, McClatchy sold KOH in a confusing move which can only be explained by FCC rules. Sierra-Pacific, Price, Klein…you get the idea.

So McClatchy Corner wasn’t really a thing but the development did eventually materialize with the studio and transmitter towers both being relocated. Olympic Broadcasters, Inc. acquired the station in the Summer of 1990. KOH began operating in an office park on Delucchi Lane.

Olympic sold the KOH call letters and programming to Citadel Communications, Inc. in the Spring of 1994 but not the station itself. Space was acquired at 595 E Plumb Lane for this new operation. As part of the deal, Citadel wanted to increase its power to 50,000 watts and that meant losing the familiar three-letter call. The new KKOH moved to 780 on the dial but has continued being advertised as KOH.

Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was reorganized as Citadel Broadcasting Company in 2010 and it then merged with Cumulus Media, Inc. An application to transfer the KKOH license was submitted in the Spring of 2011.

KKOH continues to operate at 595 E Plumb Lane.

Terrestrial radio was a vital part of everyday life for the majority of the twentieth century. The stations hanging in there today have adapted to the digital age while keeping on-air personalities who are connected to their communities. KOH seems to have found its niche in the talk format and is going strong after nearly 100 years.

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August 24, 2026 0

Municipal Auditorium Then and Now

2110 First Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Dodge Citians have always needed a place to congregate. In the early 1870s, important meetings were often held in saloons, from which women were excluded. As the town became more civilized, facilities like Kelley’s Opera House, McCarty’s Skating Rink, and the Chalk Beeson Theater filled that role. But those were private businesses and our churches were initially too small. It became clear Dodge needed public spaces.

After George Hoover’s death in July of 1914, funds received from his estate were earmarked for a new municipal auditorium. Contracts were finally let for construction of the Hoover Pavilion in February of 1919. But that building was also small and the sides were open to the elements, making year-round use impractical.

We needed something bigger and the City Commission thought maybe the Works Progress Administration (later Works Projects Administration) could help as part of the New Deal. However, voters were asked to approve $40,000 in additional bonds for a new auditorium in September of 1936, with the bulk of a $125,000 auditorium being funded by the WPA. The Great Depression wasn’t the time for more debt.

Voters decided the time for more debt was during the post-World War II building boom. A $400,000 bond issue passed by a wide margin in June of 1945.

*Dodge City Daily Globe,* June 13, 1945, 1. Kansas Heritage Center.

It was really happening, until it wasn’t. Somehow, the City held this special election before selecting a site. Construction materials were in short supply due to the postwar euphoria. Prices rose pretty dramatically and auditorium plans were put on the shelf.

Another $385,000 bond issue passed in September of 1952 and this time, they meant it.

But once again, they had to argue over a location. A site was selected “at the end of First Avenue” and some people thought that was crazy. It was in the middle of nowhere! This aerial photo was taken in September of 1953. You can see the area just northwest of the water tower was pretty empty.

A. R. Mann and Company dusted off their original plans and made revisions to fit the current budget. The building measured 235 x 240 feet with a curved façade and would seat 2,764 for basketball games. Stage events could accommodate 3,272. The facility also included five meeting rooms.

In March of 1954, Hunter Construction Co. of Hays was finally awarded the general contract in the amount of $420,800. Construction began on April 19. That September, changes were approved to add an office facing the lobby and changes to the wiring for the stage, switchboard, and press box.

The back side of the building is shown here during construction looking north. The parking lot would have space for 1,000 cars.

Former Mayor Gordon Morgan, City Commissioner Dale McCook, and former Mayor Charles Clinton were photographed in front of the entrance on September 12, 1955.

The cost of construction was $763,630 but some extra funds were needed to purchase additional equipment. You can see the building originally had a row of windows just below the ceiling of the auditorium. That seems like a poor choice in a west-facing building. In addition to the horrible glare, those upper seats must have been toasty in the summer.

Photos: Ford County Historical Society Studio de Lari Collection

A two-day formal opening was held October 8-9, 1955. This program contains a glaring typo; The auditorium was not, in fact, completed in under three months.

Program: Kansas Heritage Center

Governor Fred Hall of Dodge City spoke at the dedication ceremony on October 9.

The Municipal Auditorium became known as the Civic Center in the early 1970s. You can see those upper windows had already been bricked in by the time this photo was taken.

I should note that the curtain has been swapped out and a large portion of the original resides at the Ford County Legacy Center.

For many years, the Civic Center hosted the Southwest Kansas Square Dance Festival.

I learned to hate circuses and love Russian Ballet at the Civic Center and I also sat in the student section on the stage at Demon basketball games. Here’s L. J. Goolsby doing his thing in the early 1990s.

High school graduation ceremonies were held at the Civic Center for ages. We’ve attended concerts, voted, and learned about upcoming changes to our community in that building.

Speaking of learning, the City Commission and USD 443 approved a plan to transfer ownership of the Civic Center property to the school district in January of 2013. The Board of Education discussed options for a new administration building in September of 2017. This new facility would be tacked on to the north end of the Civic Center and designed with an exterior aesthetic very similar to its mid-century neighbor. The administration building opened in July of 2020 but no grand opening was held at that time due to COVID-19. Public tours were finally given in December of 2021 with the return of the Cowboy Capital Classic at the Civic Center.

This is how the former Municipal Auditorium looks today:

Photo by Jan Shaw
Photo by Jan Shaw
Photo by Jan Shaw

Coincidentally, Josh Roesener recently broadcast live from the Civic Center welcoming kids back to school so you can check out changes to the interior.

This building has never been what one would consider posh. It’s definitely a product of its era and while I don’t love the style, I do appreciate how little the exterior has changed over the past 71 years.

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August 17, 2026 0

Montgomery Ward Then and Now

139 N Sierra Street – Reno, Nevada

In the 1870s, the west side of Sierra Street between Front and Second included a school and a couple churches with four frame dwellings in the middle of the block. One of those was owned by prominent rancher, James J Poor, and his wife, Mary.

Pictured here in front of the Poor home are Mrs. Novacovich, Mary (Poor) Bell, Mary “Grandma” (Waterman) Poor, and Clara (Poor) Powning along with a couple unidentified children, circa 1880.

As the neighborhood gradually shifted to more of a commercial district, the combined local Independent Order of Odd Fellows and Rebekah lodges purchased the former Poor family property and a neighboring lot. Construction plans were announced in the Spring of 1928 for a two-story Odd Fellows building designed by the firm of George A Ferris and Son.

However, plans changed when Montgomery Ward expressed interest in leasing space for their first Nevada store.

Plans were revised to add a third story so Montgomery Ward could use the main floor and mezzanine level plus the basement. This gave the store approximately 23,000 square feet.

A temporary location opened at 231 W Second Street on June 30, 1928 as they awaited completion of the IOOF Lodge. Brickwork began in August and then drillers encountered a big water problem. The hydraulic elevator went all the way to the basement and in those days, that meant a shaft had to be drilled into the ground below for the plunger. There just happened to be an underground stream right where they were drilling. Due to the high quality, this stream was initially used for all of the building’s water.

Montgomery Ward received keys to the building on November 19, 1928. A reception was held the evening of November 23 with music provided by Ray Hackett’s Dance Orchestra. Brand-new radio station KOH broadcast live from the store, which officially opened for business November 24.

The third floor IOOF hall opened with a New Year’s Eve ball on December 31. Unity Lodge No. 6 was the first to hold a meeting in the new building on January 1, 1929.

Other early building tenants included chiropractor R. A. Crider, Union Building and Loan Association, and Carter & Cameron Real Estate. Jean Rauzy opened a beauty shop on the second floor around 1932. Montgomery Ward expanded southward into the former Reno Furniture Co. building in the late 1930s. At that time, the street address for the store was listed as 127-139 N Sierra. Those numbers changed with the weather.

During World War II, President Franklin D Roosevelt tested the boundaries of his wartime production powers. Ward CEO Sewell L Avery resisted government intervention in union negotiations back in 1942. The situation escalated with the corporate headquarters in Chicago being seized and Avery forcibly removed from the building by soldiers in April of 1944.

Lawfare has a great summary of the events which continued into 1945 and were ultimately rendered irrelevant due to the end of the war.

When the Truckee River flooded in November of 1950, the main store and south annex were faced with a major cleanup right at the beginning of the holiday season.

The south portion of the building is shown here in June of 1951. Pictured on the second floor is the Law Office of Arthur F Lasher.

The Truckee flooded again in December of 1955.

This time, Renoites had to deal with snow in addition to the flood mud.

For several years, it seemed like the building endured one disaster after another. The building itself was spared damage from the gas explosions at First and Sierra on February 5, 1957 but it did lose quite a bit of glass. Due to its proximity to the blasts (shaded area below,) Montgomery Ward was in the restricted zone and operations were halted until the area was safe.

In September of 1964, Montgomery Ward announced plans to move to the new Silverada Shopping Center at Oddie and Silverada Boulevards, pending zoning approval. A groundbreaking ceremony for the shopping center was held in May of 1966. The Sierra store closed on February 4, 1967 in preparation for the new location’s opening a couple weeks later.

Aside from the occasional church rummage sale, the main floor retail space sat vacant for a few years. Upper floors continued to be occupied by IOOF Grand Lodge No. 6, Canton Nevada Lodge No. 1, and Reno Assembly No. 1 (Rainbow Girls). Commercial tenants included attorney John R Clarke and Retailers Credit Association.

Warren Nelson and Bill Thornton, partners in the Cal-Neva, acquired the building around 1974. Plans were announced that March for the Reno Youth Factory, a childcare and recreation center for people aged 2-20 years, which would occupy three levels.

Renoites got a sneak peek at what would become Sierra Square in December of 1974 with a Christmas Crafts Festival. The vision for this project was something like San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square with approximately 25 “boutique-type shopping stores.” A wine cellar and gambling museum were also floated as possibilities.

The Greater Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce moved to the third floor in August of 1975 with a hospitality room on the main floor. Their offices were decorated in a “semi-Victorian” style. Frank More Shoes opened in their new Sierra Square location in March of 1976.

They were joined by Serendipity Hair Shop.

Kinsey’s Camera Shack moved to Sierra Square in the Fall of 1976.

Ears were pierced by a Registered Nurse at the Jewel Case.

The Sierra Square School of Dealing, which was operated by Club Cal-Neva, began classes in January of 1978.

In November of 1979, plans were announced for a new Reno-Tahoe Visitors Center in the former Sierra Square. The four retail tenants on the main level would be allowed to remain, as would the Chamber. They would be temporarily joined by the Sierra Arts Foundation. A grand opening was held in June of 1980. At that time, it was mentioned that the building had been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Although the former IOOF building seemed to be well-utilized, plans to replace it with a parking garage were announced in May of 1991. A special use permit was granted for the Parking Gallery in January of 1992. This garage would have six levels of covered parking along with an uncovered deck on the seventh floor. It would occupy the lots from the former Montgomery Ward all the way south to First Street. The main level would include several retail spaces. Building owners held an auction of historic items on April 17, 1992.

The building was demolished later that spring and workers broke ground on the new garage in June of 1992. At one point, the entire main floor was intended to house a grocery store but it was quickly determined that a loading dock couldn’t be installed and the garage couldn’t accommodate large trucks. The Parking Gallery opened on May 10, 1993 with its first-floor spaces called Factory Stores at the Parking Gallery. Outlets included Mikasa, Anne Klein, Adolfo II, and Carole Little. It’s difficult to make out the details but each covered level at the front of the garage had a car on display from Reno’s National Automobile Museum for several years.

The downtown post office opened in the Parking Gallery on December 31, 2012 and still occupies the space. The other tenant in the portion of the building where Montgomery Ward once stood is Bumblebee Blooms.

This is how the former site of Montgomery Ward looks today:

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

People often mistakenly believe that being listed on a historic register will save a building from demolition. The existence of the Parking Gallery proves this is not the case. I parked in the garage when I visited to take photos. It was much cleaner than some of the casino garages I’ve used in Reno but it was definitely empty. I thought I would have difficulty finding a space due to Hot August Nights but there were floors with only a handful of filled spaces. When I exited, the scanner wouldn’t read my ticket and the attendant had to process my payment manually. I was told, “It’s always something with this garage.”

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August 10, 2026 0

Lariat Cafe Then and Now

619 Third Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

Among the properties Edwin and Annie Acker owned was a five-room house at the southwest corner of Third Avenue and Spruce Street. Edwin served with Ford County Attorney Mike Sutton during the Civil War. In March of 1900, Edwin’s mind “gave out” and he was shipped off to the asylum in Osawatomie after being adjudged insane. He died a few weeks later at the age of 78.

Annie received Edwin’s survivor pension and took in boarders for extra money. She suffered a paralytic stroke in 1917 and died at the home of a friend in May of 1918 at the age of 80. That October, the Square Deal Cleaning and Pressing Parlor opened in the former Acker home.

Brothers Rolland and Jesse Barker acquired the property in the Summer of 1919 and arranged for the home to be removed from the lot.

They constructed a new frame building with frontage on Third and Spruce for the Barker Brothers Cabinet Shop.

The cabinet shop was relocated a couple blocks north by 1930. By 1932, the building had been extended west along Spruce and may have been bricked at that time. It was occupied by a bakery, possibly the Sno-White, with a large oven in the rear.

Refrigeration Equipment Co. used the building for a short time in the 1940s followed by Schafer’s Cafe.

Schafer’s Cafe moved to 403 Second Avenue around 1946 and was replaced by Bill and Ruth Hill’s Lariat Cafe.

Bill was in poor health and was advised by his physician to sell the business in 1950 but the 73-seat cafe was profitable and he held onto it for several more years.

The Kline Dairy float is shown in front of Murphy Radio & Television and Lariat Cafe during the 1955 Boot Hill Fiesta parade.

This photo with the T. M. Deal lumber yard in the background was taken during the 1956 Boot Hill Fiesta.

Around 1959, Nolan Howard began operating the Lariat followed by Mrs. Floan Skinner. Victor Kisner had acquired the business by 1961, which was renamed Vic’s Lariat Cafe.

In February of 1961, word spread over the Associated Press wire that the City Commission had tentatively approved plans for a new parking lot along the west side of Third Avenue between what is now called Front Street and Spruce. By that time, the old Anawalt-Campbell Lumber Co. facility was vacant so only the buildings north of Walnut Street presented roadblocks. Kisner advertised the business for sale in the Summer of 1962.

In January of 1964, Boot Hill Museum announced an upcoming expansion of the Front Street Replica. This project was made possible by the closure of Fourth Avenue between Wyatt Earp and Spruce and demolition of the structures on the west side of Third Avenue. This is the view from First National Bank in 1965.

This is how the former site of Lariat Cafe looks today:

This parking lot has been steadily decaying for decades. Some of the parking stops have crumbled into pieces the size of snowballs. The metal railing going up the hill is rusted and falling apart. Those stairs have been closed off for ages. It’s an absolute hazard. Hopefully, this will be addressed during the streetscape project expansion to Spruce because the lot’s current condition is not what you want visitors to see adjacent to your flagship attraction.

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August 3, 2026 0

Grand Theatre Then and Now

130 N Virginia Street – Reno, Nevada

At the turn of the twentieth century, Reno was in need of a playhouse which could accommodate modern performances. The stage in the aging McKissick’s Opera House was too small and that facility was nearing the end of its utility. By September of 1903, rumors were spreading about a new theater in the works.

A group of men including John Wagner, Senator William J Westerfield, and Richard Kirman, all connected with the Farmers and Merchants Bank, selected a site on the east side of Virginia between First and Second Streets. Architect Morrill J Curtis designed a two-story theater with a stucco finish measuring approximately 50 x 120 feet with an entrance in the center, flanked by two 15 x 32′ retail spaces. A seven-foot wooden platform at the back of the building allowed for loading along Lincoln Alley. Although the Grand was primarily meant for vaudeville, an asbestos-lined room above the lobby housed an animatoscope for showing silent films.

A traditional hand-painted advertising curtain adorned the stage, which spanned the entire width of the building. Seating estimates varied quite a bit so I’ll just say the facility accommodated approximately 1,000 patrons. A coved ceiling helped to improve the acoustics and the sloped floor ensured visibility. The balcony was accessed by two sets of stairs on either side of the building. The interior was said to have been decorated in a “semi-Oriental” style with “elaborate frescoes.”

West Coast theater pioneer Tony Lubelski of the Novelty Theater Company and Lester B Funge of the Grand chain created a partnership to lease Reno’s Grand Theatre for seven years. Reno was a strategic location for the vaudeville circuit between Sacramento and Salt Lake City. Before construction of the Grand, that journey cost the company a week due to travel time. Having a place in between allowed the shows to earn money along the way. Funge was to handle operations and Lubelski booked the acts.

Small wood frame structures were removed from the lot at the beginning of November. Dirt removed during excavation of the basement was used to bring the lot for the new Carnegie Library up to grade. Foundation work was completed in December and the roof beams were installed in January of 1904. The Grand passed its inspection that March.

The Grand opened on April 11, 1904 to a house packed well beyond capacity.

In addition to the advertised bill, the Reno Wheelmen band also played for the enormous crowd.

Nick Carter and George Dum opened the Hudson Cyclery in the south storefront on July 23, 1904.

Funge sold his interest in the theater business to Lubelski the same month. Al Cliff became the local manager at that time. In August, the Grand Theatre Company was formed to operate the facility.

Miss Kate E Burns and Mrs. G. D. Fisher opened a millinery store in the north space on September 1, 1904.

Hudson Cyclery was purchased by the newly formed Hudson Electrical Company in December of 1906 and that business became Riverside Fixture Company in April of 1907.

William E Sharp bought controlling interest of the theater company from Lubelski in April of 1909 and Sharp then sold it to the Hurst Brothers. The building itself was sold to Moritz Scheeline in March of 1911.

When the Hurst Brothers bought the Majestic in January of 1913, they changed programming so the Majestic was used for live performances and the Grand was used mainly for moving pictures. New Simplex projectors were installed that February.

In 1915, the building was extended 25 feet toward the alley so the seating capacity could be increased to around 1,100. The stage was removed during the project and a new 20-stop pipe organ was installed at the back wall. A grand reopening event was held on October 1, 1915.

At that time, the millinery store of Kate Burns was still located in the north storefront and the south space was occupied by optometrist Charles O Gasho.

A new flashing electric sign depicting the tail of a peacock was installed in March of 1916.

Dale and Glenn Hurst sold the theater business to Turner and Dahnken, Jr. Enterprises in June of 1921.

The same month, T & D announced the Grand would be showing return engagements rather than first run films.

T & D also operated the Rialto and apparently wanted to consolidate operations. Moritz Scheeline’s son, Harry, owned the building at that time and he started making plans to demolish the theater in the Spring of 1926. Frederic DeLongchamps was hired to design what would become Reno’s tallest building with a mix of retail and professional spaces.

Things were done completely out of order with all of these plans being made public before the retail tenants were even served with notices to vacate. That finally occurred in May of 1926 and the Grand closed on July 6. The electric organ was moved to the Rialto, which was being remodeled into the Granada.

Demolition began immediately with excavation for the new Medico-Dental Arcade being completed in August. The neighboring building to the south which housed the J. D. Mariner Music House at 124-126 N Virginia was also demolished as part of this project. That bit was more complicated because the Mariner lot was owned by Louis and Ava Meiss. The new structure on that lot was only a single story. Scheeline signed a long-term lease with the Meiss family, which complicated things later. Most of the building was leased by September of 1926.

Contractors Hilton and Leatherman rushed construction of the Gothic beauty, which had six stories plus a penthouse apartment.

A wide, red-tiled arcade extended from the entrance to the alley with wide doors which could be closed during inclement weather. The west and south sides were finished with stucco. Compressed air and suction equipment was located in the basement and made available to the medico dental floors.

When the building opened in the Spring of 1927, eleven of the arcade stores were occupied. The three spaces with frontage on Virginia were leased to The Corset Shop, Radcliffe Jewelry Co., and the Buckingham Shoppes in the former Mariner spot.

The upper levels housed a combination of 27 doctors and dentists, the Arcade Pharmacy, a law office, and a financial services company. The building was managed by Barnard, Southard & Co. which had an office on the arcade level. Reno Radium X-Ray Association moved to the fourth floor toward the end of April.

Building caretaker John R Hamlet and his family moved into the penthouse apartment.

Although “throngs of people” had already gotten a look at the new building, a formal grand opening celebration was held the evening of May 7, 1927.

You may recall that the Scheeline Banking and Trust Company merged with George Wingfield’s United Nevada Bank in 1929. The Wingfield banks failed in November of 1932 with Harry Scheeline owing nearly $160,000 that was backed by the company which owned the Arcade. California Western States Life Insurance Co. also held a $140,000 mortgage on the building. Bank receiver Leo F Schmitt assumed control of the Arcade on July 1, 1935.

Schmitt conducted an auction in the Summer of 1938 and the building was purchased by Homer Williams, John Connolly, and Dr. R. R. Craig for approximately $185,000. The mortgage was satisfied first with the remaining amount distributed to United Nevada Bank depositors. As Schmitt continued wrapping up the banks’ affairs, he moved the receivership office to the former Nevada Finance Company space on the arcade level.

The Arcade’s exit to Lincoln Alley was closed off in 1950 when that level was reconfigured. As the 1960s came to a close, vacancies increased. By the early 1970s, the entire arcade level was vacant. In 1973, the building only had a handful of tenants and it sold for only $600,000 in 1979.

Plans for the new Virginian Hotel Casino were approved by the Reno City Council in March of 1983. George Karadanis and Robert Maloff, owners of the Sundowner Hotel Casino, sought to build a 16-story hotel tower connected to a three-story casino on the site of the Arcade. Building inspectors had agreed both the Arcade and neighboring Clay Peters building were unsafe and should be demolished. Once that was completed, the site was used as a parking lot.

A foundation permit was finally issued in the Fall of 1985 but ground wasn’t broken until September of 1986. The City didn’t receive final plans until December of that year. Architect Bill Morris designed the hotel with its main entrance along Lincoln Alley. The parking garage had an automobile elevator which could handle 60 cars per hour.

Two floors of the casino opened on November 17, 1988. The ad has an unfortunate typo.

Matt Karadanis (second from left) served as the general manager.

A business license for the 120-room hotel, restaurant, and gift shop was granted in December of 1988 but these didn’t open until the Spring of 1989.

The hotel opened just before Memorial Day weekend, followed by MK’s Steak House. In December of 1996, the hotel closed, leaving only parts of the casino and one snack bar open. The only guests using the hotel were for Sundowner overflow and special events until the property completely shut down in July of 1997.

Best Gaming Corp., a subsidiary of Compagnie Europeenne de Casinos, bought the Virginian in March of 1998 with plans to operate it themselves. However, they quickly learned the differences between US and European gaming laws and instead leased the hotel to Club Cal-Neva. After a quick refresh, the Virginian reopened on May 27, 1999.

After their lease expired in May of 2004, Club Cal-Neva was unable to negotiate a new agreement and the Virginian closed again in October of 2004.

After sitting vacant for several years, the Virginian was purchased by Siegel Group in December of 2013. The roof was upgraded in 2014 and the rooms were converted to studio apartments with kitchenettes.

The neon on the west side of the building was removed in the Summer of 2016 with the facility’s first occupants being foreign exchange students in Reno for the summer. Collector Will Durham bought the Virginian sign which had been located just above the ground level. The sign up high on the north side was left in place.

Initially, the new façade wasn’t really new. Siegel added new Virginian Apartments signage above the entrance but the outlines of the old Virginian signage were still in place for several years, making the property appear unfinished. That changed in the Fall of 2024 when Derek Douglass and Anthony Castillo painted an enormous mural on the west side of the tower.

This is how the former site of the Grand Theatre looks today:

Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King
Photo by Anna King

I have some thoughts about Siegel properties in general but I also understand economic realities. People need places to live and that mural makes the Virginian look nicer than it is. I hope the residents are living in clean and safe conditions.

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July 27, 2026 0

Kansas State Bank Then and Now

510 N Second Avenue – Dodge City, Kansas

The US Signal Service in Dodge City was originally located in the Dodge House, which maybe wasn’t the best arrangement. In June of 1876, the office moved to the second floor of a white pine house at the southeast corner of Second Avenue and what was then Walnut Street.

Martha Lake bought the building from City Treasurer Charles Schulz in December of 1881.

The Signal Service moved to the Hoover building on Front Street in January of 1883 and Lake used their former space for boarding. A storefront was added to the building in April of 1885 for Mrs. A. J. Coady’s new City of Paris millinery.

Mrs. E. Justin took possession of the City of Paris later that year.

In December of 1885, Mrs. Justin incurred a loss of $2,500, mostly due to looting, during the second devastating fire. $2,000 of that was covered by insurance. The fire was stopped at the Lake building by “the finest work we ever saw done by a bucket brigade.”

City of Paris was listed for sale with its full stock in May of 1886 and was replaced by a store called The Fair. A series of businesses operated in the Lake building including restaurants, shoe repair shops, and a bakery.

After Martha Lake died in February of 1892, the building was owned by her estate for some time before being acquired by Benjamin F Milton, who used the main floor for his law office. Milton relocated his office upstairs when S. Everett Sheldon moved his Globe Restaurant to the main level in November of 1907. That restaurant changed hands a few times and closed by the Spring of 1910.

After Walter Locke’s Bargain Store was destroyed by fire on November 1, 1909, the Milton building temporarily housed his clothing department.

Later that year, it was occupied by the Up-To-Date Tailoring and Cleaning Co.

By March of 1912, the business was operated by Julian M Hulpieu.

George Cochran bought the building in December of that year and then resold it to Kansas State Bank in February of 1913. Because the bank had a couple years left on their lease at Second and Chestnut, the old signal office was allowed to stay.

Frank and Arthur Skillington acquired the tailoring business from Julian Hulpieu in the Fall of 1914.

They moved about half a block north when their building was sold at auction for $100 in April of 1915. Sam Baggley moved the structure to West Santa Fe Trail Street, where it was placed next to the home of buyer M. R. Prather.

Kansas State Bank, chartered on October 2, 1907, was ready to build.

Articles of Incorp Download

Owen and Payson of Kansas City designed a two-story Classical Revival building for bank operations on the main level and three office suites, complete with private lavatories, on the second floor. It would be considered fireproof with its floors and roof constructed of reinforced concrete. The structure would have a temple front with ionic columns on either side of the main entrance and a wide marble base. Striking white enamel brick and glazed terra cotta would be used for exterior finishes. The interior was finished with marble and mahogany.

The building contract was awarded to William Foley in July of 1915 with hopes of completion by the end of the year. However, concrete for the second floor wasn’t even poured until that December. After a series of delays, the real estate and insurance firm of Henry F Millikan and Carl J Turner relocated to Rooms 3 and 4 in April of 1916.

Another real estate firm operated by William P Kliesen and J. E. Bennett occupied the other suite.

Bank employees moved to their new quarters on May 31, 1916 and opened for business on June 1, before the interior was completely finished. Police Judge Walter S Pagan was the first to arrive at the deposit counter. Finishing touches wrapped up in mid-July.

In September of 1916, a large iron drinking fountain was installed on the north sidewalk. The plaque on the fountain read, “Erected to the Memory of GEORGE M. HOOVER By the Citizens of this City 1841-1914.”

It should be noted that Kansas State Bank was the first institution in Southwest Kansas to add a Savings Department in December of 1915.

Dr. Walter F Pine established a solo practice over the bank in March of 1921 which continued into the 1930s.

Kansas State Bank merged with State Bank of Dodge City in January of 1933 to become Fidelity State Bank. Operations were then consolidated at Second and Walnut.

Merger Download

Fidelity was robbed by an indebted Finney County farmer in September of 1939. Carl Kirby got away with $2,071 but was caught about five minutes later by Chief E. M. Olson and Sheriff Claude Dowdy. Kirby received a sentence of 10 to 50 years. At that time, the second floor was occupied by the real estate firms of Walter A Layton and Marion R Zimmer.

Upstairs occupants in the 1940s included the Ford Co. National Farm Loan Association, Dr. H. R. Patrick, Clarence M Zimmer Agency, and M. R. Zimmer Real Estate.

In September of 1950, the neighboring Gwinner building was destroyed by arson.

Fidelity bought the lot directly south of the bank where Sweetbriar had operated. A new two-story addition was constructed there which housed architect Stanley Petro, the Zimmer Agency, and the law firm of Claude W Gould and Ronald R Mitchell. A new glass entrance was constructed just inside the columns at the front door, leaving the original entrance intact.

In January of 1977, the institution’s name was changed to The Fidelity State Bank and Trust Company, Dodge City, Kansas.

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Around that time, the south addition underwent a dramatic change. The 1950s windows were replaced by a marble front with a single oriel window on the second floor. To unify the appearance, the glass outside the main entrance was replaced by a combination of tinted glass and marble. While I don’t love it, I have no doubt this change granted quite a bit of relief from the afternoon sun.

Speaking of which, I called the time and temperature line for the first time in ages and am happy to report it is still active.

The bank’s interior has undergone a series of transformations. The building is still quite grand and has been very well maintained with new windows installed a couple years ago. One major feature which has not changed is the original entrance. If you go through the modern vestibule, you will see the original ornate terra cotta over the lobby entrance. It’s such a wonderful surprise to see those details protected from the weather.

This is how the former Kansas State Bank building looks today:

I’ve always thought of Fidelity as Dodge City’s grown-up bank, which I suppose is the whole point. They have somehow stayed local and stayed committed to the same building downtown, through a long series of inconveniences, for 110 years. That’s really something!

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July 20, 2026 0