HRPS is excited to join a community-wide coalition to present RenoMoMo (Reno Modern Movement)! This is a new initiative to draw attention to an often overlooked aspect of the built environment: midcentury architecture and the "near past."
The project started with informal talks with a few local historians and architects and then took flight. The City of Reno is acting as convener for a broad group of interested organizations, with HRPS stepping forward as the lead (and fiscal agent) for the coalition: American Institute of Architects, Northern Nevada, City of Reno Arts and Culture, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, University of Nevada Reno, Nevada Historical Society, City of Sparks, Nevada Museum of Art, Washoe County Library System, Nevada Humanities and others.
The project has many activities planned for the next year, included an October presentation by Alan Hess, noted architect, author and advocate for 20th century architectural preservation. Details will follow in future FootPrints. RenoMoMo ties Northern Nevada to a national trend to recognize modern architecture, landscape and design. The Reno area is rapidly losing its historic buildings and context; this project intends to raise community awareness of the “near past.”
What kind of outcomes are expected? They include:
- Engage the community to identify architectural examples in Reno-Sparks
- Celebrate and discuss these examples through public events and social media
- Use examples towards creating a comprehensive survey to influence future development
- Use data towards submissions to National, State and City historic registers
- Use survey results for placement of historic markers in the community
The Uncommon Modern Reno crowdsourced photo survey and contest is in full swing, and we need your photos of the fabulous modern buildings that are hiding in plain sight in your neighborhood. Help us find all the modern architecture around the Truckee Meadows by submitting your photos to the contest! From high-style Googie, Populuxe, International, Art Deco, and Brutalist edifices to modest representations of modernist principles in laundromats, car washes, and other everyday structures, we want to see them all!
For more information on the photo contest and upcoming events, visit our website at www.renomomo.org, like us on Facebook at facebook.com/renomodern, and follow our Instagram account @reno_momo.
