The Pioneer Theater-Auditorium, now called the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, opened in January of 1968 and has been an anchor of Northern Nevada’s vibrant artistic and cultural scene ever since.

At the time of its construction in the 1960s, Reno was a rapidly growing city with a thriving tourist trade and flourishing arts scene.  The Washoe County Fair and Recreation Board planned the downtown facility to serve as both a performing arts venue and a convention hall, with a large auditorium and a collection of meeting rooms on its lower level.

From the moment its doors opened, the Pioneer has been a core component of Reno’s artistic and cultural community, nourishing the growth of local and regional organizations including the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and Nevada Opera Association. Its stage has welcomed performers ranging from international recording artists to local children making their public debuts. Eventually, as larger facilities embraced the convention business, its convention space was converted to other uses, including a small performance venue known as the Pioneer Underground.

In 1988, the building was renamed the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts and incorporated as a private nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. In 2012, Washoe County deeded the land, and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority (the successor to the Fair and Convention Board) deeded the building to the nonprofit Pioneer Center, which remains its sole owner.

The Architecture

From its dazzling gold dome to its gleaming midcentury modern interior, the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts is an unforgettable architectural and cultural landmark.

The building’s bold design was intended to express an unbounded optimism in Reno’s future. Its crowning feature is its iconic gold-anodized aluminum geodesic dome, comprised of 500 interlocking panels. Geodesic domes were patented and popularized by the architect, designer, inventor, and futurist Richard Buckminster Fuller.

After viewing the domed Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, Texas, William Gravelle, the chairman of the Washoe County Fair and Recreation Board, brought the idea for an aluminum dome before the board in 1964, calling it “revolutionary and beautiful in appearance.” The board agreed and hired the Oklahoma City architectural firm of Bozalis, Dickinson, and Roloff, which had designed several other domed buildings across the country. The dome itself was erected by Temcor, a Torrance, California, company that later built the dome at the Silver Legacy Hotel Casino.

The building is often referred to as “the Golden Turtle,” but its actual name derives from the statue of a pioneer family that stands on the front plaza. Entitled “Humanity,” the statue of a couple and their daughter looking westward to the Sierra Nevada range was created by the sculptor Byron S. Johnson in 1939 and previously stood in front of the State Building, which was demolished in 1966 to make way for the theater.

In recognition of its historical and architectural significance, the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts is listed in the National, State, and City Registers of Historic Places.

The Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts is a historic theater located in the heart of downtown Reno and the Riverwalk District. With the theater temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they face significant financial consequences. To date, the Pioneer Center has cancelled over 50 performances, resulting in substantial revenue losses for the theater. As a nonprofit arts organization, these unexpected losses have a tremendous financial impact on the organization, staff, and community.

After more than 50 years of operating, they are now turning to the community for help. The organization asks community supporters, and past attendees to consider donating to the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts to support the hometown theater. Donations are more critical now than ever and will help raise the curtain when they return. Until then, it will provide essential resources to maintain the iconic facility, stay engaged with the community, support key Pioneer Center staff, and prepare for the moment when they can bring everyone together once again.

While they eagerly await the time when they can share in the joy of live performance again, Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts remains steadfast in their commitment to their nonprofit mission and the community. The organization states that they are committed to the belief that the arts are an essential part of our community’s quality of life and well-being. By donating to the organization, individuals support the continuation of the mission to facilitate and present the highest quality performing arts programming in northern Nevada.