Old Reno

The Mapes

Up until the 70's there were only two casino-hotels serving gamblers in downtown Reno: The Riverside Hotel-Casino, and The Mapes Hotel Casino.

The Mapes was a 12-story, 300 room hotel located at the corner of Virginia Street and East First Street, right next to the river.

The Mapes was one of the first to have a nightclub featuring big-name entertainment inside a hotel in Reno, and was the first hi-rise hotel to be built after WWII in the U.S.

When the Mapes was built, it was by far the most exciting event in Reno's history as we know it today. The Mapes ushered in the post-war boom in entertainment and high-rolling fun that was to become the hallmark of Reno.

A unique feature of the Mapes, unrivaled until decades later by the restaurant at the top of the Flamingo, was the Sky Room. The Sky Room was a beautifully appointed top-floor dining, dancing, drinking, and gambling room surrounded by large windows providing a gorgeous view of the Washoe Valley.

Because of the Mapes, the Golden Hotel and the Riverside Hotel-Casino competed to become hosts of the entertainers that began coming to Reno. The result was that from the late 40's and well into the 50's Reno was considered the entertainment capital of the world. Liberace got his start at the Mapes, and others such as Sammy Davis Jr., Mae West, Judy Garland, Milton Berle, Gypsy Rose Lee, Lili St. Cyr, Ann Margaret, and many others performed there as well.

Though the Mapes was always run by Charles Mapes, the casino operation was managed by several men, and was not always a picture of accountability. The focus of the operation was always the hotel. In 1969 Charles Mapes along with his sister Gloria Mapes Walker opened a small casino further up the block called The Money Tree. This venture proved successful, such that expansion was planned and executed so that a two-story addition containing over 43,000 square feet of casino space opened in 1978.

Unfortunately for the Mapes', 1978 saw the opening of Circus Circus, the Sahara Reno, the MGM Grand, and the Comstock as well. Reno was being over-built for the room capacity, and the economy would soon be slumping, such that the Money Tree became the Money Drain for the Mapes' and closed in 1980. This closure led to foreclosure on loan colateral of over $9 million, and severe financial stress for the group and filing of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1980. The bleeding continued until December of 1982 The Mapes ran out of cash, and closed its doors exactly 35 years after opening.

From the 1982 closure until 1996, The Mapes was offered and sold and rejected for sale many times until ending up the property of the City of Reno. Plans were made for the conversion of the old girl into timeshare condos. However, this plan fell through in 1999.

Despite several efforts to save the historic building, and being listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and listed by the National Trust as an Endangered Building, The Mapes was destroyed on the morning of January 20th, 2000. Today in 2006 the site of The Mapes is a paved plaza.

Back to Old Reno Home.

Much of the information here is from "The Rise of the Biggest Little City: An Encyclopedic History of Reno Gaming 1931 - 1981" by Dwayne Kling. ISBN 087417340X, published by University of Nevada Press, 2000.