Reno

A humorous look at the ‘Divorce Capital of the World’ during the 1930s.

In the early 20th century, Reno, Nevada, had made itself somewhat of a divorce destination by offering favorable legislation and comfortable amenities to those fleeing states with more stringent requirements for marital separation. In 1931, the state legislature introduced wide-open gambling and lowered the residency requirement to a mere six weeks. This option was generally only available to those well-off, and thus was enormously helpful to the local hospitality industry, even spawning a whole offering of ‘divorce ranches’ (note the man and woman on a horse – Only Three More Weeks!).

This c. 1936 map was published to promote Reno’s Town House, a popular saloon and restaurant with a small casino. The building is faintly outlined in yellow in the center of the image, identifiable by the crowd at the door – “Where Smart People Meet.” The available opportunities for newly (or soon to be) single women are reflected in the popular Town House logo/cartoon in the center of the sheet, featuring the double-entendre caption “The Riding Lesson.”

The map is filled with other amusing (and often) risque cartoons that highlight the local ‘culture’ and various places of interest. The Courthouse is prominently featured (with an inebriated proceedings participant), along with other public buildings, restaurants, bars, and theaters. Of notable interest are the Country Club, Chinatown, and the Southern Pacific rail depot. A heat lamp on the left symbolizes the ever-present desert sun, though water trucks are shown spraying down the dusty streets. The Town House prize-winning bottled cocktail is promoted in the lower right, while the lower left captures Nero, Faust, Mephistopheles, and Omar (probably Omar al-Mukhtar, the Lion of the Desert) in Hades, bored with their self-inflicted tortures and ready to head to Reno.

The piece was illustrated by Robert Caples, obviously a man with a good sense of humor, and published locally, probably in 1936. The 1935 Grand Prize Award for the Town House Cock Tail (lower right) is the most-often cited point of reference, but the presence of the Country Club indicates a most likely date of 1936 or 1937. According to a fun blog post on the property, owner Charles Rennie’s expansion to Plumas Avenue around that time resulted in discontentment with the local mob, and “within a year Charles Rennie owned neither the Country Club nor the Town House.”

The map is rare, with only a handful of market records and known institutional holdings. Two listings in WorldCat as of July 2025, at the University of Southern Maine and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Another copy has been located at the University of Nevada, Reno. This example features a scarce surviving original envelope (also illustrated by Caples and postmarked 1938) and a handwritten letter on the verso, transcribed in full: “This is Reno for you – How do you like it? Bummed around last nite & hit the hi spots. Met Mary Barry & her husband & had a swell time. Be seeing you in the future. Love, Reno Julia [sp?] “

Sources: https://renodivorcehistory.org/library/town-house-map/ OCLC# 248779338 https://nevadagaminghistory.com/2019/01/07/renos-town-house-casino/ https://time.com/5783893/reno-divorce-history/