Washoe County Courthouse

Nevada, United States

Open to visitors

The interior is normally open, possibly ticketed.

Strollie cannot guarantee access — always check before you travel.

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Built in 1910–11 at 117 South Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada, the Washoe County Courthouse is a Classical Revival structure designed by architect Frederic J. DeLongchamps as his first solo commission. Constructed for $250,000 as a replacement for an earlier courthouse, the building became historically significant during Nevada's divorce boom of the early twentieth century, when the state's liberal residency requirements and legal divorce made it a destination for those seeking dissolution elsewhere restricted. By 1931, the courthouse processed more than 4,800 divorces annually, with the divorce industry generating approximately $5,000,000 yearly in Reno. Beyond its role in the divorce trade, the building served as a long-standing anchor of municipal government in the city. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.