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The University of Nevada, Reno (usually referred to as the University of Nevada or Nevada) is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA. It is the sole land grant institution for the state of Nevada. The campus is home to the large-scale structures laboratory in the College of Engineering, which has put Nevada researchers at the forefront nationally in a wide range of civil engineering, earthquake and large-scale structures testing and modeling. The Nevada Terawatt Facility, located on a satellite campus of the university, includes a terawatt-level Z-pinch machine and terawatt-class high-intensity laser system – one of the most powerful such lasers on any college campus in the country. It is home to the University of Nevada School of Medicine, with campuses in both of Nevada's major urban centers, Las Vegas and Reno, and a health network that extends to much of rural Nevada. The faculty are considered worldwide and national leaders in diverse areas such as environmental literature, journalism, Basque studies, and social sciences such as psychology. It is also home to the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, which has produced six Pulitzer Prize winners. The school includes 16 clinical departments and five nationally recognized basic science departments. University of Nevada, Reno is ranked 181st amongst national universities nationwide as a Tier 1 University by U.S. News & World Report. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Nevada,_Reno en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...
The University of Nevada, Reno (usually referred to as the University of Nevada or Nevada) is a teaching and research university established in 1874 and located in Reno, Nevada, USA. It is the sole land grant institution for the state of Nevada. The campus is home to the large-scale structures laboratory in the College of Engineering, which has put Nevada researchers at the forefront nationally in a wide range of civil engineering, earthquake and large-scale structures testing and modeling. The Nevada Terawatt Facility, located on a satellite campus of the university, includes a terawatt-level Z-pinch machine and terawatt-class high-intensity laser system – one of the most powerful such lasers on any college campus in the country. It is home to the University of Nevada School of Medicine, with campuses in both of Nevada's major urban centers, Las Vegas and Reno, and a health network that extends to much of rural Nevada. The faculty are considered worldwide and national leaders in diverse areas such as environmental literature, journalism, Basque studies, and social sciences such as psychology. It is also home to the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism, which has produced six Pulitzer Prize winners. The school includes 16 clinical departments and five nationally recognized basic science departments. University of Nevada, Reno is ranked 181st amongst national universities nationwide as a Tier 1 University by U.S. News & World Report. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Nevada,_Reno en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Text_of_Creative_Commons_...

Reno: The Biggest Little City Where Divorce Was Once the Draw

nevadarenocitycasinostech
5 min read

Reno was the original Nevada gambling town, the casinos operating here decades before Las Vegas existed. The city's early fame came from divorce - Nevada's liberal residency requirements made Reno the destination for those escaping unhappy marriages in states where divorce was difficult. The 'Biggest Little City in the World' arch that spans Virginia Street dates to 1929, the slogan marketing Reno as metropolitan experience in manageable size. The city of 270,000 sits in a high desert valley, the Sierra Nevada rising immediately to the west, Lake Tahoe 30 minutes away. Reno has reinvented itself again as tech companies and remote workers flee California taxes, Tesla's Gigafactory visible on the outskirts, the California migration transforming what gambling built.

The Divorce

Reno became America's divorce capital in the early 1900s when Nevada reduced residency requirements to six weeks. Women seeking to escape marriages they couldn't end in their home states came to Reno, established residency at 'dude ranches,' and obtained divorces that were legal nationwide. The industry created hotels, services, and the romantic mythology of Reno freedom. 'The Misfits,' Marilyn Monroe's last film, was set during a Reno divorce. The divorce trade declined as other states liberalized laws; the mythology persists in the arch and the reputation for permissiveness.

The Casinos

Reno's casinos preceded Las Vegas - gambling was legal in Nevada from 1931, but Las Vegas was barely a town. Reno's downtown casinos (Harrah's, the Eldorado, Circus Circus) provided the gambling that Californians sought before Vegas became dominant. The casinos still operate, though Vegas's scale made Reno secondary. The downtown gambling district is compact, walkable, somewhat faded - the gaming revenue that once drove the economy is now supplemented by warehouse jobs and tech. Reno's casinos are legacy operation, the industry that defined the city now just one piece of the economy.

The Tech

Tesla's Gigafactory outside Reno produces batteries for electric vehicles at enormous scale - the building one of the largest in the world by footprint. Apple, Google, and other tech companies have followed, the data centers and distribution facilities spreading across the desert. The tech migration from California provides jobs and transforms the population - younger, more educated, expecting amenities that gambling town Reno didn't provide. The growth has pushed housing prices toward California levels, the affordability advantage eroding as demand increases. Reno is becoming what California was before it became unaffordable.

The Mountains

The Sierra Nevada rise west of Reno, Lake Tahoe 30 minutes away, ski resorts (Squaw Valley, Northstar, Mt. Rose) within an hour. The mountain access is Reno's advantage over Vegas - the outdoor recreation that attracts those who don't gamble, the winter skiing, the Tahoe summers. The proximity to California makes Reno accessible for weekend trips; the lower taxes make it attractive for relocation. The mountains moderate the high desert climate and provide the outdoor amenity that tech workers want. Reno without the Sierra would be just another desert city; with them, it's destination.

Visiting Reno

Reno is served by Reno-Tahoe International Airport (RNO). The downtown casinos offer the gambling experience, though Vegas does it bigger. The National Automobile Museum holds a strong car collection. The Truckee River runs through downtown; the riverwalk provides pleasant walking. Lake Tahoe is 45 minutes west - the drive on I-80 or Mount Rose Highway offers stunning views. Squaw Valley (now Palisades Tahoe) hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics. For food, the casino buffets are traditional; the restaurant scene has improved with the tech influx. The weather is high desert: cold winters, warm summers. Visit in fall for the best of both.

From the Air

Located at 39.53°N, 119.81°W in a high desert valley between the Sierra Nevada to the west and the Virginia Range to the east. From altitude, Reno appears as urban development in the valley - the Sierra rising dramatically, Lake Tahoe visible over the pass, the Tesla Gigafactory visible to the east as a massive white building. What appears from altitude as a Nevada valley city is the Biggest Little City - where divorce once brought visitors, where casinos preceded Vegas, and where California refugees are transforming what gambling built.

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