The original Reno Arch, built in 1926, didn’t say “The Biggest Little City in the World.” It wasn’t erected to add glitz to a downtown casino district (casino gambling didn’t become legal in Nevada until 1931), or even as a sign intended to symbolize Reno’s city pride. So what’s with this famous symbol?

It was inspired by the automobile and, more specifically, the completion of America’s first coast-to-coast motor routes, The Lincoln Highway and The Victory Highway*. The first iteration of the arch, planted at Virginia Street and Commercial Row, and dedicated by a cadre of Nevada and California politicians on October 23, 1926, promoted the Nevada Transcontinental Highways Exposition (held in Reno from June 25 to August 1, 1927).┬á Read More – Reno Arch History Downtown

Wikipedia Information

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Thanks to Teri for the link!