RENO, Nev. (AP) - Residents and visitors to Reno have a new tool to discover dozens of historical treasures in the city.
From the federal courthouse to the Twentieth Century Club, the new “Reno Historical” app allows the curious to use their cellphone to find locations all over town.
City officials launched the app over the weekend as part of the “Biggest Little Birthday” party.
The event celebrated the city’s founding in 1868 and its incorporation 111 years ago, along with Nevada’s 150th anniversary.
The app is a free download. It shows a Google map with green pinpoints, marking more than 60 historical locations. Most of the sites have accompanying photos and many have audio clips.
It was developed by the Special Collections Department at the University of Nevada-Reno Library.
“Reno has such a rich history like the Twentieth Century Club,” which was one of the first women’s clubs in Reno, said Sharon Spangler, organizer of the city’s birthday event.
“It is all about pride in Reno and the value of our rich history for our economic development and tourism,” she told the Reno Gazette-Journal (https://tinyurl.com/l5sm2kw).
“I’ve been here for more than 30 years, and I’m amazed at how much history is here. I’m learning something new,” she said Saturday.
Sharon Honig-Bear, former president of the Historic Reno Preservation Society, helped organize some of the information with Alicia Barber, one of the creators of the tour app.
“Education is so important and this app makes it easy to learn,” Honig-Bear said.
Honig-Bear was one of several participants to dress up in old-fashioned clothing that included long dresses, bowler hats and fur coats. The point was to have a person at each site to explain its history.
Creators are adding themed tours to the app, including one that focuses on Reno’s historically high divorce rate.
“It took a lot of people to make Reno what is today,” Honig-Bear said. “Why not recognize those people and those events? And that’s what the app does.”
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Information from: Reno Gazette-Journal, https://www.rgj.com
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