Southside School--Three Historic Nevada Cities: Carson City, Reno and Virginia City--A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

[graphic] Three Historic Nevada Cities Carson City, Reno, Virginia City A National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary

Southside School, built in 1936, incorporated Art Deco elements into its design
Photo by Charles Miller, Courtesy of Nevada State Historic Preservation Office

The Southside School annex was built in 1936 to provide additional classrooms for the Southside School, which was built in 1903 and demolished in 1960 to make way for Reno's City Hall. The school annex was built with Works Progress Administration (WPA) funds and labor, and housed the kindergarten, and the fifth and sixth grades. The WPA programs were initiated under President Franklin Roosevelt and the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935. The program employed nearly nine million people over an eight-year period; in Reno, both unemployed professionals and laymen contributed to the construction of the new Southside School Annex. The architect of the annex is unknown.

[photo] Side view of Southside School
Photo by Michelle McFadden, National Register of Historic Places collection

The two-story red brick school is a striking example of regional interpretation of the Art Deco style. Only a few buildings were constructed in this style throughout Nevada. The school is particularly noted for its stepped, recessed, Art Deco entrance frontispiece. Three second-story front and rear windows are ornamented with floral and owl motifs. The vertical orientation of the door surround, the massing of the building with a central block and additions, the metal casement windows and the elaborate detailing are all characteristic of the Art Deco style, popular in the 1930s and 1940s. The building is the last public school building to remain in Reno's downtown core. It is currently owned by the City of Reno and leased as office space.

The Southside School Annex is located at 190 East Liberty St. in Reno. The school is open to the public during office hours.

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