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The Lake Addition Walk is, of all the HRPS walks, the poster child for adaptive reuse. Nearly all of the historic properties in the district are now businesses, or used for purposes other than their original intent. It may also be the most the most transitional area, as more businesses occupy the area, desiring more modern and commercial styles of architecture. Those taking this tour today may find it very changed in a few short years.
This move to adaptive reuse of "white elephants," or large older homes that no longer suit the more streamlined American families and are too close to the downtown core to be desirable as residential properties, has been an ongoing practice in these neighborhoods for many years. By the time Reno acquired its reputation as the divorce Mecca, entrepreneurial developers had begun construction of multi-dwelling structures and were engaged in converting large residences to apartment and boarding houses in the addition. The location was ideal for this, with its easy accessibility to the court house and to the amenities offered by the downtown area.
The Lake Mansion at 250 Court Street. Photo courtesy: www.lakemansion.com
The "crown jewel" of the Lake Addition is the Lake Mansion, which was relocated for the second time in July of 2004. This was a homecoming of sorts; it now sits a very short distance south of its original location and is possibly the oldest structure in the district, having been built in 1877. It sits facing its lovely old neighbor, the Frisch House, from which son Roy mysteriously disappeared in 1934 and was never seen again.
The Frisch Home at 247 Court Street. Photo courtesy: Kim Henrick
Amid rooming houses, some new construction and parking lots nestles one of the most intact streets of the area, the 300 block of Flint Street. These lovely homes, all but one built before 1910, are adorned with immense shade trees and beautiful lawns. One can stand on the sidewalk and look down the block and believe oneself to be back in the Reno of the early twentieth century, with very little stretch of the imagination.
The Lake Addition Walk is a real contrast in architectural styles and one on which you can move from one century to another in a few steps.
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