Moana Springs
Reno, Washoe County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Moana Springs. Opened as a resort on October 29, 1905, Moana Springs took its name from a famous Hawaiian spa. In addition to a large bath house with a pool fed by hot springs, Moana had a stately hotel, a clubhouse, baseball diamond and picnic grounds. Constructed and initially operated by Charles T. Short, (who gave the resort its name), Al North and John N. Evans, Moana was acquired by Louis W. Berrum in 1913 and remained in his family for the next four decades. Served by Berrum’s Nevada interurban trolley line from 1907 to 1920, Moana hosted dances, rodeos, boxing matches, trapshoots, circuses and aviation exhibitions. The City of Reno purchased Moana in 1956 and the remaining buildings were demolished the next year to make way for a new recreational complex.
Erected by Division Of Historic Preservation And Archeologywashoe County Historical Society
The Story
Opened in 1905 and named for a famous Hawaiian spa, Moana Springs was a Reno resort built around a bathhouse and pool fed by natural hot springs, complete with a hotel, clubhouse, and picnic grounds. Reached by Berrum's Nevada interurban trolley line, it drew crowds for dances, rodeos, boxing matches, circuses, and even aviation exhibitions through the early decades of the century. The City of Reno bought the property in 1956 and cleared its remaining buildings for a new recreational complex.
Why it matters
Moana Springs captures the age of the trolley-served pleasure resort, when interurban railways carried city dwellers to hot-springs spas for a taste of leisure at the century's turn.
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Related people
- · Louis W. Berrum
- · Charles T. Short
Themes & tags
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