Virginia Street Bridge, Road bridge across Truckee River in Reno, Nevada, US.
The Virginia Street Bridge is a concrete double-arch bridge carrying Virginia Street across the Truckee River in downtown Reno. The 1905 span was designed by San Francisco architect John B. Leonard and built by Cotton Brothers and Company of Oakland, California. It was the fifth bridge at this crossing and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It was replaced in 2016.
The 1905 bridge was the fifth crossing at this site, designed by San Francisco architect John B. Leonard and built by Cotton Brothers and Company of Oakland. Earlier crossings included Charles W. Fuller's 1860 wooden bridge, a toll bridge sold to Myron Lake in 1861, and an 1877 iron tied-arch bridge. The 1905 concrete double-arch structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and replaced in 2016.
After leaving the Washoe County Courthouse nearby, newly divorced women were said to throw their wedding rings from the bridge into the Truckee River. Reno was called the "Divorce Capital of the World" from 1906, and the bridge became the city's symbol. Archivist Guy Rocha reports that salvage divers have recovered actual rings.
The 1905 bridge was replaced in 2016 after being listed among Nevada's most endangered historic places in 2002 and 2006. The new crossing carries Virginia Street over the Truckee River between the Washoe County Courthouse and the downtown riverfront, so pedestrians and drivers share the same alignment as before.
In The Misfits (1961), Marilyn Monroe's character considers throwing her wedding ring from the bridge but decides against it; the 1939 film Reno staged the same gesture. Archivist Guy Rocha notes that salvage divers have recovered actual rings from the Truckee River below.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,437 contributors worldwide.