25 years ago on this day, on January 30th, 2000, on Super Bowl Sunday that year, crowds gathered in downtown Reno, tension was in the air, firefighters and police were nervous, birds went crazy, and then in an instant, the 12-story 1947 Mapes Hotel was turned into a pile of dust.
What was once the tallest building in Nevada, a hotel frequented by the likes of President Harry Truman, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable, was gone in a flash.
There was an ice rink where it used to stand at first and now there's a skatepark with Burning Man art, which has become a communal space for skateboarders, protests and community meals.
Many people complain, but we think it’s nice to have what is most of the time a truly public space there.
Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum, January 30, 2025
