Reno's 4th Street is a bit ratty around the edges these days. Redevelopment is just beginning to make some inroads, but the flavor of a more illustrious past still lines the route in the form of vintage motels, hotels, and other structures. There are still hints of past events, like the historic marker at the spot where the "Fight of the Century" took place in 1910. This heavyweight championship bout attracted 30,000 fans to Reno and world-wide attention. It was between Jack Johnson, the black title holder, and Jim Jeffries, a former title holder billed as "The Great White Hope." Johnson won.
On current maps, 4th Street is Business I80, a rather boring transition from its days as part of a major highway. It was Reno's stretch of The Victory Highway, designated U.S. 40 in 1926, a road crossing the country from San Francisco to New Jersey. The 410 mile Nevada section roughly followed the old Emigrant Trail, and what is today I80.
In the early days, The Victory Highway competed with the more famous Lincoln Highway for transcontinental travelers. Everyone was trying to attract more traffic as America took to automobiles, for the same reason it still goes on today - tourists mean more money for the local economy pretty much in the same way that more car buyers mean more money for car insurance companies. The Victory Highway followed what is now U.S. 50, but eventually lost the traffic volume competition. Success for the Victory Highway lasted until the interstate system pushed I80 across northern Nevada. When the last section of I80 bypassed Lovelock in 1983, U.S. 40 was officially decommissioned in Nevada. Its terminus today is just northeast of Park City, Utah, at Silver Creek Junction.
(We thank RockyMountainRoads.com for the historic information in this article. The pictures are by NewToReno.com.)
