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Powning: the Family, the Park, and the Addition |
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The Family
Powning is a surname frequently heard by those who regularly attend the HRPS monthly meetings. Back in 2003, two HRPS members, Felvia Belaustegui and Cindy Ainsworth, undertook the overwhelming task of performing a survey of that sector of the city known as Powning's Addition. The Winter 2004 issue of FootPrints introduced readers to Christopher Columbus (C.C.) Powning and that same year, HRPS published the booklet, A Walk Through Time, a project conceived of by President Patty Cafferata, to introduce local residents to one of the earliest subdivisions in the city, Powning's Addition. Since that time, more information has come to light about the Powning family, members of which are still locally prominent today, and the survey, completed in 2008, is fulfilling a new purpose.
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Carpenter Gothic Country Houses of Northern Nevada |
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Note: This article appeared in the Volume 9, Number 2 FootPrints issue.
Entering the Bartley Ranch Park Western Heritage Interpretive Center, your eye is immediately drawn to the striking mural of ranch life painted by Loren Jahn in 2000. The lovely little ranch house nestled amid the towering trees is a prime example of Carpenter Gothic architectural style.
Carpenter Gothic houses are perhaps the most representative of pure Americana of all architectural styles. We're fortunate here in northern Nevada to have several fine specimens to admire. The Winters' Ranch house near Washoe Lake on Highway 395 near the turnoff to Bowers Mansion is perhaps the grandest and best-known example of Carpenter Gothic in Nevada. Built in the early 1860s, this house features the large main gable plus central side gables framing the large signature gothic lancet windows.
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The American Dream, Reno's Little Italy In Powning's Addition |
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Note: This article appeared in the Volume 6, Number 3 FootPrints issue.
In 1900, according to the United States Census, the reported population of the State of Nevada was 42,335; Washoe County, 9,141; and the City of Reno, 4,500. By the 1910 census, the figures had ballooned to: State of Nevada 81,875; Washoe County 17,434; and City of Reno 10,867.
Greater detail revealed 280 individuals in Washoe County who identified Italy as their birthplace in the 1900 census. Ten years later, 912 reported Italy as their birthplace, an increase of over three-fold.
The development of an ethnic enclave in the western section of Reno's Powning's Addition, which became known as "Little Italy," was the result of this sizeable and steady increase. The population in Powning's almost doubled from 137 in 1900 to 270 in 1910.
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Note: This article appeared in the Volume 7, Number 3 FootPrints issue.
From the mid-to-late 1930's until the late 1940's the El Reno Apartments, located at 1307 South Virginia Street, were the premier rental property in all of Reno. Not only were the apartments new, innovative, attractive and comfortable, they were truly unique, constructed of prefabricated porcelain-coated steel designed to look like board-and-batten siding.
The El Reno's were really more like individual homes in a common setting than apartments. They were roomy by apartment standards, at approximately 900 square feet, with a living room, kitchen, one and one-half baths and two bedrooms. They were heated by hot water circulated by a central plant according to a Yellow Pages advertisement in 1942. A row of metal garages lined the west side of the property. The units sported small, individual yards that blended into a common yard, facing South Virginia Street.
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