National Historic Trust Puts Mapes Hotel On Endangered List

RENO, Nev. - The National Trust for Historic Preservation today listed the Mapes Hotel as one of the most endangered historic places in the country, breathing new life into efforts to save the former luxury hotel and casino that was a favorite of Hollywood 40 years ago.

The hotel built in 1947 sits vacant on the banks of the Truckee River in downtown Reno today. But the window-walled "Sky Room" atop the building still looks out to mountain views and local preservationists are trying to save the brick structure from the wrecking ball.

"The Mapes Hotel has incredible reuse potential and if restored, would bring new vitality to downtown Reno," said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

"With this listing, we challenge the city of Reno to work with concerned citizens to identify a new role for this building," he said.

The trust scheduled news conferences today in Washington D.C. and various locations around the country, including Reno, to announce its list of the "11 Most Endangered Historic Places."

The Mapes, with its Art Deco architecture, was the first hotel in the country to feature gambling, dining, entertainment and luxury accommodations under one roof. It attracted musicians, politicians, high rollers and movie stars like Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe, Tony Bennett and Clark Gable.

The city of Reno has scratched previous demolition deadlines and given developers 90 days to determine the feasibility of a plan to convert the old hotel into condominiums and retail space.

However, past estimates have found the costs prohibitive and if no deal is struck in three months, the hotel is to be demolished in January 1999.

In addition to a spot on the trust's 10th annual list, the Mapes also will be featured in a one-hour documentary on the History Channel, "America's Most Endangered," at 11 p.m. (PDT), June 22, trust officials said.

The trust is a non-profit group with more than 270,000 members nationwide. Leaders said their listings don't ensure protection of a site or guarantee funding, but that they have proven to be a powerful tool for rallying resources to save threatened sites.

They count as key victories in the past the Antietam Battlefield in Maryland, Congressional Cemetery in Washington D.C. and the last remaining original McDonald's in Downey, Calif.

"This list is a wake-up call to all Americans," Moe said. "Ensuring that our past stays alive is the best gift we could give to Americans of the new millennium."

Others on this year's list and the threats they face, according to the trust:

-- Governors Island, N.Y., centuries old military structures on New York Harbor island face uncertain future

-- Chancellorsville Battlefield, Spotsylvania County, Va., Civil War battlefield where Stonewall Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own troops threatened by development

-- Mesa Verde National Park, Colo., lack of National Park Service funds threaten collection of pre-Columbian cliff dwellings

-- Cannery Row, Monterey, Calif., bayside industrial neighborhood immortalized by John Steinbeck threatened by development

-- Historically black colleges and universities nationwide, institutions that shaped the lives of generations of African Americans in need of funding and rehabilitation.

-- Great Bowdoin Mill, Topsham, Maine, 120-year-old paper mill sits vacant

-- Monocacy Aqueduct, Md., a link in the C&O canal seriously damaged by floods

-- Michigan's Historic Lighthouses, DeTour Reef Light, Chippewa County, Mich., maritime landmarks being disposed of by the Coast Guard

-- Historic Courthouse of Texas, the state's 225 historic county courthouses are deteriorating

-- Black Hawk and Central City, Colo., overscaled gambling-related development threatens to destroy historic character

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