North Virginia Street and East 1st Street Reno, NV 89501
The Mapes Hotel and casino was built by the Mapes family in 1947. When this hotel opened, it was the first skyscraper built in the western United States after WWII. Most importantly, the Mapes was a model for all large scale hotel casinos to follow.
For decades, the Mapes was the place to stay in Reno. Its celebrity guest list included Marilyn Monroe, Clark Gable, Joseph McCarthy, Harry Truman, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante and Milton Berle.
In the 1980s, the Mapes family encountered financial difficulties due to their investment in another casino, The Money Tree. With the competition of other high rise casinos popping up all over Reno, the hotel closed on December 17, 1982. The Mapes was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, however it was razed on January 30, 2000. The site is now a park and permanent ice skating rink.
Posted by:LINDAFROELICH on Monday, March 31, 2014 at 10:28:43 PM
pLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME VIA EMAIL. i COULD BE RELATED TO CHARLES MAPES. MY FATHER WORKED FOR HIM RUNNING ALL HIS BARS AND ASSISTING IN THE OPENING OF THE MAPES HOTEL. HE WORKED DIRECTLY CHARLIE MAPES AND HIS SISTER GLORIA WALKER MAPES, CHARLIE HAD A CHILD PRIOR TO BEING MARRIED BUT HIS MOTHER THREATENED TO TAKE THE MAPES AWAY FROM HIM COMPLETELY IF HE EVER MARRIED AS LONG AS SHE WAS ALIVE. HE PAID THE YOUNG LADY TO GO TO PLACERVILLE HAVE THE BABY AND THEN PUT IT UP TO ADOPTION HANDLED BY GORDON RICE OF RENO NEVADA . THE WOMANS NAME WAS DOROTHY LEVAN A COCKTAIL WAITRESS AT THE TIME AND IAM THE PRODUCT OF THAT RELATIONSHIP
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