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.

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.

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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