Washoe County Library


The Washoe County Library, at 301 S. Center St. in Reno, Nevada, is a public library and is a historic Modern-style building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is known also as the Downtown Library or as the Downtown Reno Library. It was designed by Hewitt Campau Wells in Modern style and was built in 1965.
The building received the national Industrial Landscape Award in 1968 for its interior use of plants, shrubs, and trees as an integral part of its design. The award, presented by Lady Bird Johnson in Washington, D.C., was given specifically to architect Hewitt Wells, to landscape architect Mitchell Serven, and to Purdy and Fitzpatrick Nursery.
Although the building was less than 50 years old, the usual requirement, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.