Reno’s “”Wedding Ring Bridge”” Makes List

A legendary bridge in Reno heads the first list of endangered places targeted for protection by a new historic preservation group in Nevada.

The new non-profit group called “Preserve Nevada” is led by former U-S Senator Richard Bryan.

Other entries on the inaugural list of Nevada´s “Eleven Most Endangered Historic Places” include Goldfield High School, the Mineral County Courthouse in Hawthorne, Tonopah´s entire Main Street, and the Nevada Northern Railway complex in Ely.

Bryan and other board members unveiled the list today during a news conference along side the top entry, Reno´s Virginia Street Bridge.

The bridge was made famous in Hollywood movies as the “Wedding Ring Bridge” where new divorcees went to toss their rings into the Truckee River.

Built in 1905, the double-arched bridge only a dozen feet above the water, and is threatened by a flood control project proposing replacement of three downtown bridges.

Bryan says the group will help work to try to address the problem of flood control while at the same time preserve the essence of what was once the epicenter of the city.

Other places on the list include the Stewart Indian School in Carson City and Las Vegas´ Moulin Rouge built in 1955 to serve black entertainers.

Also the railroad cottage historic district in Las Vegas, petroglyphs at rock art sites throughout the state, the “Million Dollar Courthouse” in Pioche and the Silver State Lodge serving Reno´s divorce trade in the late 1920s.