Reno is located in western Nevada just at the base of the eastern side of the Sierras, right on I-80, about a 4 hour drive from the Bay area. The airport has direct service from most major western cities. The city has plenty of accommodation in all price ranges and hotel types from luxury to economy. Although it was once a major mining hub and mining is still a major industry in Nevada (gold especially), Reno was also a smaller version of Las Vegas (gambling and entertainment). In recent years it has become more of a technical hub with very a large lithium battery manufacturing facility.
The main interest is located at the University of Nevada, just north of downtown. At the Mackay School of Mines, the Borglum sculpture of John is out front, pick at his side looking south towards Mt Davidson and Virginia City. Inside is the W. M. Keck Earth Science and Mineral Engineering Museum and in the basement much of the original Tiffany fabricated, Mackay 1300 piece silver collection is on display. Better still, it is all free! The football stadium where the Wolfpack play is also named Mackay but for John’s son Clarence.
A one hour drive south, up Mt Davidson at 6400 feet elevation is Virginia City. The whole city is a museum, with most of the structures that survive not much changed from 1880 when it was in its heyday. It is much smaller today with barely a thousand permanent residents, versus over 15,000 back then. C Street still has wooden sidewalks and many of its original bars and businesses. The Gould and Curry (later Mackay) Office, 4th Street School, St Mary’s Church and the Sisters of Charity Hospital are all there in their original state. The Church is one of the best example of gothic architecture in the west and the exhibit in the basement of the Sisters of Charity is wonderful. There is an extensive cemetery on the northeast side of town which requires a bit of a hike to access with separate Jewish, Catholic and Methodist sections.
When departing Virginia City, it is best to go south through what used to be Gold Hill, past the Sutro Tunnel entrance, down the old railroad and wagon trail to Dayton and the Carson Valley. Except for the Bonanza firm, most Comstock ore was hauled down to the Valley for processing adjacent to the river. Twenty minutes east is Carson City, the state capital. In the drive back north to Reno from there, the route follows the old railroad and halfway is about where the Bonanza firm sited a slew to float timber down from the Sierras on the west. The railroad then took it the rest of the way to Virginia City.
Mackay School of Mines
Mackay Silver
The Gould and Curry Office
St Mary’s Church
James Fair’s Pilot Stamp Mill
Virginia City Cemetery
The Old Sisters of Charity Hospital Building, Virginia City
