As Reno has changed over the decades, so have the small businesses that set up shop here. No one knows this better than local historian Alicia Barber.
She describes a downtown Reno of the '40s and '50s where locals and tourists alike would come to shop, catch a show and patronize the small businesses. But in the '70s that began to change. The forces of suburbanization coupled with the rise of large casinos pushed out smaller businesses from the downtown core. Now, as neighborhoods like MidTown, the Riverwalk and 4th Street are being revitalized, Barber says we should use history as a guide and encourage small businesses to move back into the center of town.
Listen to Reno Public Radio's Will Stone interview historian Alicia Barber. She wrote the book "Reno's Big Gamble" and authored the Reno mobile historical app. She's also part of anew projectlooking at the history of 4th Street and Prater Way.
