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The International House, 821 North Center Street. The house was donated to the University of Nevada, Reno by Joanne De Longchamps, daughter-in-law of Frederic DeLongchamps.
A simple ca. 1895 late Victorian Queen Anne style house was the 2003 Historic Reno Preservation Society (HRPS) preservation winner. Located at 821 North Center Street, the house is currently home to the Northern Nevada International Center. The property is owned by the University of Nevada Reno.
The house was built on land once owned by Alvaro Evans. Evans sold a portion of his extensive land holdings to Reno financier A.G. Fletcher in 1889, and Fletcher subdivided the block into 14 lots.
Galen and Joanne De Longchamps purchased 821 North Center Street in the 1950s. Poet and writer Joanne changed the spelling of the name from De Longchamps to de Longchamps. Upon her death de Longchamps willed the property to the University of Nevada. Today the house has a scattering of her furnishings and boasts an embedded post office box as a doorknocker. The box came from the original University of Nevada Post Office designed by her father-in-law Frederick De Longchamps.
HRPS chose the house because of its historical significance. It is a fine example of adaptive reuse. The house has also been well maintained by the International Center and the University.
Carina Black, Director of the Northern Nevada International Center, said that the house and location gives international visitors a chance to experience what the city was like in the early 1900s. Black noted that Joanne de Longchamps’ gift to the University stipulated that the house be used for visiting international scholars. The International Center fills that requirement by having the back bedroom reserved for visiting scholars on a temporary basis.
The Northern Nevada International Center fosters international exchange between local citizens and international visitors, most of which are sponsored through federal agencies. The staff hosts hundreds of international visitors each year for 3, 8, or 30 day programs that focus on local resources such as judicial education and business training. They operate the Northern Nevada Language Bank, a translation and interpretation service in over 45 languages.
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