Silver Tailings: Downtown Reno Library

The Washoe County Library, on South Center Street in Reno, is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP.)  Completed in 1966, the library is significant to the history of Reno and represents the city’s interest in and appreciation for art and architecture.

The library’s construction came as Reno was moving  from a strictly gambling and divorce town to a family oriented community. The 1960s saw construction the library as well as the Pioneer Theater, which made the list in 2004 and the Fleischmann Planetarium, which received its listing ten-years earlier.

All three buildings show modern architecture constructed for public benefit.

The Washoe County Library, which is commonly known as the Downtown Reno Library, is a design created by architect Hewitt Campau Wells.  An expert in earthquake-proof design, Wells was a consultant to the Nevada State Public Works Board and a member of the Nevada Wildlife Commission and the boards of the Salvation Army, Trout Unlimited, and other conservation groups.

Wells received his master’s from Princeton in architecture in 1940. During WWII, he served on the destroyer U.S.S. Bailey in the Pacific, earning three battle stars.

He gradually retired from practicing architecture and was busily pursuing watercolor painting, an avocation at which he excelled. He also taught and judged art shows.

Wells, born in 1915, died October 2nd, 1989 after a lengthy illness.

The Downtown Reno Library is an unexpected contrast between the building’s interior and exterior, with its landscaping inside. Angled glass and copper panels surround the front doors,  leading to a bridge spanning the center of an atrium of the library.

Meanwhile the ground floor of the atrium features a pond complete with a fountain and inlaid stone paths. Mature trees and extensive foliage extend toward the skylights with spiraling stairs and circular reading pods completing the dramatic interior.

The National Register is the nation’s official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation.