“ Virginia Street has
been the main
thoroughfare in the
City of Reno. If the
Virginia Street Bridge
goes, we will truly be
burning the last bridge
to our past."
Judge Peter Breen”
For more information contact
Mella Harmon
Curator of History
Nevada Historical Society
1650 N. Virginia Street
Reno, NV 89503
(775) 688-1191, Ext. 223
mrharmon@clan.lib.nv.us
Alicia Barber, Ph.D.
Department of History
University of Nevada
Reno, NV 89557
(775) 784-6855
alicia_barber@yahoo.com
Photos by
Alica Barber
Historic postcards:
The Mella Harmon Collection
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Virginia Street Bridge — Reno, Washoe County
Summary
The historic Virginia Street Bridge provides more than just passage across the beloved Truckee River for locals and visitors. It is an elegant reminder of the past and a tangible marker of Renos birthplace.
Upon completion in 1905, the bridge was seen as an important link to the new modern era. Known for its graceful arches, the bridge merged the latest engineering techniques with concrete etched to look like traditional masonry.
Today, the 101-year-old bridge is in need of rehabilitation, but there is ongoing controversy over its fate.
The Structure
Renowned architect John B. Leonard of San Francisco was the designer of the bridge. It stands along Virginia Street, Reno's main thoroughfare, at the site of the original river crossing used by settlers and travelers before the town was founded in 1868.
Now surrounded by downtown, it is nestled among other historic properties, including the 1927 Riverside Hotel and the 1934 U.S. Post Office, both designed by noted Nevada architect Frederick DeLongchamps.
Throughout the first half of the 20th century, the bridge was known nationally for its role in Renos migratory divorce trade.
Legend held that new divorcees, after having received their divorce decrees, kissed a pillar of the Washoe County Courthouse and then flung their wedding rings off the Virginia Street Bridge and
into the river.
The bridge was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and appeared on Preserve Nevadas list of the 11 Most Endangered Places in 2002 and again in 2006.
The Threat
The bridge is at risk of being torn down and replaced as part of a regional Flood control project. Some city leaders think it exacerbates flooding and is too deteriorated to save. Others think these claims are exaggerated and that the bridge is worth saving. It is thought by still others that the Army
Corps of Engineers is not pursuing all potential solutions - as well as all potential funding sources - to rehabilitate the bridge and work on diverting Floodwater.
Slated for rehabilitation by the Nevada Department of Transportation in 1996, work has yet to begin on the bridge because the City of Reno has yet to initiate the required requests for available funding.
As a result of this delay, the bridge continues to deteriorate. On the west side of the bridge, numerous floods have caused cracks and a hole in the low concrete pedestrian wall, exposing iron rods that now are rusted.
The Solution
Preservation efforts need to be made in collaboration with all parties. Local, state and federal agencies should work together to save the bridge. Coordinated efforts should combine bridge rehabilitation with the construction of flood walls in the downtown Reno section of the Truckee River to increase the river corridor's capacity to handle floodwater.
Once these solutions - rehabilitation and flood wall construction - are accomplished, the bridge will continue to fulfill its dual mission of providing safe passage and reminding the community of its historic past.
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