Nevada's Historic Buildings

A Cultural Legacy

The history of any place is conveyed through a range of documents and artifacts, including the buildings that over time have sheltered people and their activities. This is especially true in Nevada, a place where the harshness of the landscape and the isolation and mobility of the population challenged residents to erect structures and institutions that would strengthen their sense of community and permanence. The remnants of Nevada’s architectural heritage that lie scattered across the state’s map bear silent but indispensable witness to its brief, eventful history. In 1991, Nevada’s Commission for Cultural Affairs was created to oversee the preservation of the state’s historic buildings and the conversion of the best of them for use as cultural centers. Working closely with local groups and drawing on both public and private resources, this program has rehabilitated dozens of historic structures treasured by their communities for the ways they represent the development of the state and its culture.Nevada’s Historic Buildings highlights 90 of these buildings, describing them in the context of the state’s history and the character of the people who created and used them. The selections reflect the resourcefulness and innovation of early settlers struggling to inhabit an austere environment, as well as the diversification over time of Nevada’s economy and population. Here are reminders of mining boomtowns, historic ranches, transportation, the divorce and gaming industries, the New Deal, and the revolutionary innovation of Las Vegas’s postmodern aesthetic. These edifices are precious resources that provide a cross-section of Nevada’s rich historic and cultural heritage. Their stories reflect the people and events that shaped Nevada, and their survival offers everyone the enthralling experience of touching the past.