HistoricSiteMarkers
Progressive & Modern Era

Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps, Nevada Architect

Reno, Washoe County, Nevada

Marker Inscription

Frederic Joseph De Longchamps. Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps was Nevada’s foremost architect of his time.  Statewide, he was prolific in the number of buildings he designed.  From this point, one can see a group of structures that stand, collectively, as a monument to DeLongchamps:  the United State Post Office, the Riverside Hotel, the Washoe County Courthouse and the Reno National Bank Building.  The Northern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, dedicated to excellence in architecture, honors the memory of Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps.

Erected by Division Of Historic Preservation & Archeologynorthern Chapter: American Institute Of Architects

The Story

Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps was the most prolific and celebrated Nevada architect of the early twentieth century, shaping the civic face of Reno and towns across the state. From this vantage stand several of his works — the U.S. Post Office, the Riverside Hotel, the Washoe County Courthouse, and the Reno National Bank Building — that together form a monument to his career. The American Institute of Architects placed this marker to honor his legacy.

Why it matters

DeLongchamps gave Nevada's growing cities their dignified institutional architecture, and his surviving buildings still define the historic core of Reno.

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Related people

  • · Frederic Joseph DeLongchamps

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