Shiny Reno and its old-world glamour

For a while we had been thinking of making a trip to Las Vegas. But something inside me kept saying it is not quite right to go see Vegas...

Reno - The Biggest Little City In The World

For a while we had been thinking of making a trip to Las Vegas. But something inside me kept saying it is not quite right to go see Vegas before we saw mini-Vegas — Reno, another casino city that lies way north of it. Something kept telling me that if I saw Vegas first, Reno would be lacklusture in comparision and that’s not fair to ‘The biggest little city in the world.’

Moreover, Reno came first; it was the first city in the state of Nevada to glitter and shine and attract people with its promise of entertainment, games and neon lights. So it was only proper to make Vegas wait a bit, at least until Reno got me tipsy from its sights.

With Reno pushed further up that long travel wishlist, we decided to put a check on it over spring break. With Reno being just around a three hour drive, we decided to drive — our most preferred way of travel.

To get to Reno, we had to cross California’s central valley, go over the snowy Sierra Nevada Mountain Range and cross over to the neighbouring state. On our way there, we made a pit stop to let the kids get their little hands wet and cold from some Sierra snow. So after a detour to Squaw Valley Ski resort, we were back on the cross country interstate highway (I-80) that took us across the state line and into Nevada. And there at the eastern foothills of the range was the ‘little city’ with tall buildings with bold signs on them.

Reno, Nevada

City of Reno, Nevada

We were too tired after the drive and our time in Squaw Valley that we thought of taking it easy that evening and starting afresh the next morning. On the way to our resort, we got a sneak peek at some of the street art, the neon lights and the famous Reno Arch and I couldn’t wait to walk around and get a feel of the city.

We started exploring from what I thought was the right place — Virginia Street. This street seemed to have several attractions lined up beside it — murals, Circus Circus – our home for the next few days, Silver Legacy and Eldorado, some of the popular casino-resorts in town. And also several others like Harrah’s and Whitney Peak. Further down the road, we stopped to look at and take a few pictures at Reno’s Arch.

Virginia Street, Reno

Circus Circus, Reno

Reno

Eldorado, Reno, Nevada.

The Nugget, Reno, Nevada.

Cal Neva, Reno, Nevada.

From a walking tour around Reno, Nevada.

Reno’s arch – the story

Looking into Reno’s history, I learned that Reno’s official arch has a history of its own. The arch is said to have first come into being during the Nevada Transcontinental Highways Exposition in 1927. After the event wound up, the city decided to keep the arch. What the arch needed was something to take the place of the dates of the exposition that was mentioned on it. So there was a contest to find a slogan for the city. And the winning entry was “The biggest little city in the world.” And the person behind that line was a gentleman called G. A. Burns.Β Β There seem to be many stories about why Reno came to be known as ‘Biggest Little City in the World.’ One of the most popular theories was that although Reno was a comparatively small city, it had it all, to put it on par with the big cities of the time.

Apparently, the Reno Arch, which has been acting as the signboard for the city, has been replaced a few times, each time getting better and flashier and reflecting the times.

That morning as we strolled through the city, we came across one of the older signs, this one on Lake Avenue just beside the bridge over Truckee River.

Β Old Reno sign, Reno, Nevada.

Reno’s story

Talking of Truckee River, let me digress a bit and tell you that this is not just a river that flows through the city of Reno. In fact, Reno owes its very existence to this river that flows down from Lake Tahoe, high up in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada Range. I hear that present day Reno was born out of the first bridge across this river. And then it grew and developed and became the city in the desert where people came to play and gamble and have a nightlife.

Truckee River passing through Reno, Nevada.

From the old sign, we crossed the road and went to see another place that Reno is extremely proud of – the National Auto Museum which ranks among the top of the country’e automobile museums. It was a quiet place with a very few visitors looking around and marvelling at America’s auto history. It was a Thursday morning and I guess most of the people who were visiting were already gaming indoors.

Our walk to the sign and the auto museum showed us several murals and also seemed to set the scene for the neon light attraction that it would turn into at night. Now I couldn’t wait to see what Reno looked like when the sun went down. And to see that I had to wait till the next night as that evening was set aside for what the city is most known for — gaming and gambling.

Now the latter is only for adults. But the kids got to play at Midway a part of Circus Circus that has been created for kids to get a taste of Reno. Midway is where the whole family can get a taste of Reno’s culture, with games you can play with a few quarters to a dollar and win some toys or tickets to buy some prizes. Midway is an arcade if you will, with a circus tag. Every hour the stage in the area light up, putting up short circus acts like dog tricks, parasol shows, slack wire and the trapeze, to name a few performances.

Circus Circus, Reno, NV.

Circus Circus, Reno, NV.

Fast forward to the following night and we drove around to see Virginia street in all its neon glitter. This is something I highly recommend you do, if you are in Reno. Here are some sights from that Neon-light drive:

“Now that Vegas has also been checked off that list, I have to say that Reno is alluring in its own way. It has an old-world-charm that isΒ special to it and gives the city so muchΒ character. “

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Street Art from Reno

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Dee (Divya) Blogger, Freelance Content Writer & Content Strategist. πŸ“Έ Loves tripping.πŸ›£ Tipsy from every TRIP!😬🫣 🏞Follow > for intoxicating virtual trips!πŸ₯‚πŸ˜‰
25 Comments on this post.
  • Kate Mura
    5 February 2018 at 6:27 pm
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    You opened my eyes to the “biggest little city in the world.” I now know more about casinos and Nevada cities.

    • dNambiar
      6 February 2018 at 12:19 pm
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      Will show you some Vegas, soon. πŸ™‚
      Welcome here, Kate.

  • Lady Fi
    5 February 2018 at 9:34 pm
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    Cool lights and shots. (But not really my kind of city.)

    • dNambiar
      6 February 2018 at 12:23 pm
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      The lights were quite an attraction. The city has a lot of character. It’s always nice to see very unique places like this, when we travel. πŸ™‚
      Thank you for coming this way, Lady Fi.

  • Photo Cache
    6 February 2018 at 7:49 am
    Leave a Reply

    Reno used to the default destination whenever we want to get away on the weekend. Now, we have not been there in years, maybe at least 5 years.

    Worth a Thousand Words

    • dNambiar
      6 February 2018 at 12:24 pm
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      It’s so easy to get there; not too long a drive from the Bay Area.
      Looks like it’s time to pay Reno another visit. πŸ˜‰

  • Saru Singhal
    8 February 2018 at 2:54 am
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    It has character for sure. Now I feel sorry that we missed it. Maybe in future. It’s looks a bit like Atlantic City, though.

    • dNambiar
      8 February 2018 at 3:56 pm
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      It does? That’s nice to know. Thank you, Saru. πŸ™‚
      You can visit next time. Come, spend some time with us, also. πŸ™‚

  • joshi daniel
    8 February 2018 at 9:35 pm
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    Looks so lively πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      9 February 2018 at 9:33 am
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      It’s an interesting place. It looked quite quiet during the day, perhaps because it was a working day and those who were there, were busy gambling indoors. But those streets just seemed to burst into life when the lights came on the evenings.

  • Shrinidhi Hande
    30 April 2018 at 7:55 pm
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    Good to know about this place- those visiting Vegas but not keen on casino can visit here I guess

    • dNambiar
      1 May 2018 at 9:09 am
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      Reno has several casinos too,Shrinidhi. It’s the original casino city of the state.
      It was the old-world shiny buildings and the neon lights of Reno that stood out to me. Vegas is more modern in comparison.

      A walk around Reno is sure to be interesting. πŸ™‚

  • S.V.SAI BABA
    1 May 2018 at 4:44 am
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    Very nice article with beautiful pictures of Reno

    • dNambiar
      1 May 2018 at 9:10 am
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      Thank you very much. πŸ™‚

  • Sachin Baikar
    1 May 2018 at 9:13 am
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    Nice and detailed Reno city journey write-up ? Dee. All photos are nicely captured ?

    Thanks for sharing ?

    • dNambiar
      1 May 2018 at 12:34 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Thank you so much, Sachin.
      πŸ™‚

  • Purba Chakraborty
    1 May 2018 at 9:38 am
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    It was great knowing about this colourful city πŸ™‚
    Beautiful pictures πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      1 May 2018 at 1:22 pm
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      It is very colourful, is it not?
      And glittery, too? πŸ˜‰

      Thank you dear Purba. πŸ™‚

  • magiceye
    1 May 2018 at 6:08 pm
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    Interesting history. Midway does seem wonderful to spend a few hours to get into the groove. πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      6 May 2018 at 5:43 pm
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      Midway is full of colour and energy and activity. πŸ™‚ My kids wanted to go there every day of our stay there and just never wanted to leave Midway. The area is very attractive to kids.

      Thank you, Magiceye. πŸ™‚

  • Anita
    3 May 2018 at 6:58 am
    Leave a Reply

    Reno looks awesome! Great pics πŸ™‚

    • dNambiar
      6 May 2018 at 5:43 pm
      Leave a Reply

      Thank you, Anita. πŸ™‚

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