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Like no city in the world

A love letter to my college town

When I moved to Reno in the mid(ish) 90s, I’d only ever spent a single day in the city — flying up for a campus visit through the Nevada Bound program.

The first time a car stopped for me on Virginia Street at the crosswalk, I was so confused. As a kid from Las Vegas, I couldn’t remember that happening before. (To be fair, I didn’t travel many places in Vegas on foot.)

At the time, there weren’t many student-friendly places near campus. We studied in the stacks of Getchell Library (RIP) or the “fishbowl” at the White Pine (RIP). If we were tired of the dining hall — located inside The Overlook, of course — our options were Blimpie (sub sandwiches) or the Little Nugget Diner (Awful Awful and a pound of fries). And of course, The Wal’ was there, directly across from North campus.

Recently, I attended trivia night in West Reno at the Brewer’s Cabinet and had the joy of meeting trivia oracle Glenn Goza ’72 (prelegal). I’ve since learned that Glenn is a pretty quiet guy, but talking about his college days, he positively lit up. (I’m still laughing about the “Ugly Man competition” that Glenn is thrilled to have won in 1969.)

While Glenn was sharing his place-based memories of the city, I had a realization: He had experienced a completely different Reno than me. The city evolves for each class that follows. We are each given our own version of reno.

Same city. Same walking routes. Different eras layered on top of each other.

Generations of Reno

Back in Glenn’s day, there was a dinner house downtown called the Waldorf Club. It was fancy — red-leather-boots fancy. Glenn and his friends called it “the Big Waldorf,” mostly to distinguish it from the original Little Waldorf which was located about a half mile away and barely more than a sliver of space, maybe 20 feet wide.

Downtown was changing then. Places shifted, and some disappeared. Over time, the Little Waldorf moved — first to 5th Street into the building that now houses JJ’s Pie Company, another place generations of students would know in their time. In the early ‘80s, the Wal’ moved across from campus, where I eventually found it. The restaurant is still a favorite on game days and graduation days. In fact, my youngest made a pit-stop there just months ago on the way to receive their diploma at Lawlor.

I really didn’t have any of that in mind when I moved to Reno or when I decided to stay. For me, it’s always been about the people — they’re No. 1, without question.

The current Reno Arch received a facelift in 2018, from red and gold to silver and blue. Cover your left eye, and the right side of the Arch reads “NO CITY IN THE WORLD.” I imagine that felt true when the University relocated from Elko.

I know it still feels true today.

The original Reno Arch was built 100 years ago, an anniversary that will be marked later this year. Around the same time, my husband and I will celebrate our own milestone wedding anniversary.

I wrote my phone number on a napkin for him at the Beer Barrel. The same property later became a Jimmy John’s.

It’s now the site of the John Tulloch Business Building.