Historic Reno Preservation Society is happy to celebrate the unique neighborhood known as the Powning's Addition, designated as Reno's first Conservation District, on Thursday June 6th with two events:
Dinner will begin with a barley broth and the main course will include roast pork with apple and cabbage and roasted potatoes. An apple tart and a glass of claret will top off the meal.
Reno was a growing young railroad town in 1886, when Christopher Columbus Powning purchased 122 acres for $7,500.00. In 1887, he laid out the Powning's Addition, and in 1888, he began advertising "250 Beautiful Lots for Sale."
The Powning's Addition boasted fire safety, sewerage, good soil for home gardens, and a prime location along the beautiful Truckee River. As the lots filled, churches, a school, and commercial buildings were built to serve the populace. Because of its large Italian population, Powning's was later known as "Little Italy."
As President, it's expected that I'll write four messages each year for FoorPrints. Because I like to write and because I care deeply about historic preservation, writing these columns has been a pleasure. I collect ideas for the messages as they occur to me and then rework one or more into the final column. Here goes, following a period full of ideas!
The death of Ada Louise Huxtable — One of the pivotal moments for me as a young woman was when I discovered Ms. Huxtable and her voice for architecture in the New York Times. Raised in the suburbs, I headed to Buffalo, New York to attend the university and discovered a world of beautiful buildings struggling to stay relevant and repurposed. My Buffalo days and my introduction to Ms. Huxtable coincided. As one of the earliest and most consistent champions of preservation, she gave me a blueprint for understanding the urban landscape—and my world changed.