Pioneer Theater-Auditorium
National Register of Historic Places

Pioneer Theater-Auditorium

Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
Listed
January 19, 2005
Type
Building
Period
Pre Contact
Ref No.
04001528

About this property

The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts (originally known as Pioneer Theater Auditorium) is a theater located in Reno, Nevada. It was designed by the Oklahoma City architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson and Roloff as a concrete structure with a distinctive gold geodesic dome roof. The facility was completed in 1967 with 987 seats on the main level and 513 seats in a balcony, totaling to 1,500. The co-founder of Temcor, the project's contractor, was Don Richter, a student of Buckminster Fuller, developer of the geodesic dome concept. Temcor had built several gold-anodized aluminum domes before the Pioneer, and was responsible for more than 5000 dome projects. Originally to be called the Apollo Theater, the Pioneer took its name from a 1939 statue of a pioneer family by Byron S. Johnson, salvaged from the Old State Building, which was demolished to make way for the new facility. Unofficially, the dome was called the "Golden Turtle." It consists of a 500-panel aluminum shell on an inner steel frame, which is in turn supported by reinforced concrete arches. The orchestra level of the theater is depressed below ground level, allowing the roof to nearly touch the ground at the corners. The Washoe County Fair and Recreation Board, which was responsible for the project, was particularly taken with Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, Texas, resulting in the selection of the domed concept. The Pioneer Center was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

Location

100 S. Virginia St.
Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
39.52426, -119.81136

Categories

PERFORMING ARTSARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Washoe County Library
Modern
0 mi
US Post Office-Reno Main
Industrial
0 mi
Riverside Hotel
Early Republic
0.1 mi
Virginia Street Bridge
Civil War
0.1 mi
Southside School
Civil War
0.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Verdi Train Robbery — Central Pacific Express NV
1870Frontier
9.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Pioneer Theater-Auditorium listed on the National Register?

Pioneer Theater-Auditorium was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 19, 2005.

What type of historic resource is Pioneer Theater-Auditorium?

Pioneer Theater-Auditorium is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Pioneer Theater-Auditorium?

The period of significance for Pioneer Theater-Auditorium is recorded as the pre_contact era, specifically around 987.

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