Nevada's Historic Buildings: A Cultural Legacy

Wilbur S. Shepperson Series in Nevada History

by Ronald M. James, Elizabeth Safford Harvey, Elizabeth Harvey

In 1991, Nevada’s Commission for Cultural Affairs was formed to oversee the preservation of the state’s historic buildings and the conversion of the best of them for use as cultural centers. This program has rehabilitated dozens of historic structures valued by their communities for the ways they represent the development of the state and its culture.



Nevada’s Historic Buildings highlights ninety of these buildings, describing them in the context of the state’s history and the character of the people who created and used them. Here are reminders of mining boomtowns, historic ranches, transportation, the divorce and gaming industries, the New Deal, and the innovation of Las Vegas’s post-modern aesthetic. These buildings provide a cross-section of Nevada’s rich historic and cultural heritage and their survival offers everyone the experience of touching the past. 

 

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Ronald M. James is the author or co-author of ten books, and he received the Wilbur S. Shepperson Humanities Book Award in 1998. His articles on history, folklore, and archaeology have appeared in six countries, and he has lectured on western history throughout the nation. James also lectures occasionally at the University of Nevada, Reno in history and folklore. He is the chairman of the National Historic Landmarks Committee for the National Park Service, and he served as Nevada’s State Historic Preservation Officer for three decades.