Filed Under Residences

Gosse House

The house at 465 Court Street was originally the home of Harry “Pop” Gosse, a Nevada resident for more than 80 years who was perhaps best known as the owner of one version of the famous Riverside Hotel, located on the south bank of the Truckee River at Virginia Street.

Gosse was born in 1857 in the Sacramento Valley, and later relocated with his family to Silver City, just down the canyon from Virginia City, where his father operated a boarding house. There, Gosse served as captain of Company A of the Nevada National Guard, leading to his lifelong moniker of “Captain Gosse.” In 1896, he acquired the old Riverside Hotel (see separate entry) from Senator William Thompson. Formerly known as the Lake House, it had been Reno’s first hotel, established by Myron Lake. A few years later, Gosse replaced the wooden structure with an elegant brick building, and when it opened in 1906, the four-story Chateau-style hotel quickly became one of the leading hotels in the West. Tragically, the building was destroyed by fire in 1922, dealing Gosse a financial blow that led him to sell the property to George Wingfield, who in turn built the existing Riverside Hotel. Gosse remained active in the Reno Rotary and Elks Lodge and was a strong advocate for enhancing Reno’s infrastructure, from roads to streetcars.

Gosse married the former Josephine Mudd of Virginia City in 1880. After she and her husband relocated to Reno, she became very active in community affairs, serving as President of the Twentieth Century Club; she was also a member of the Order of Eastern Star, the American Legion auxiliary, Trinity Guild Auxiliary, and patroness for the University of Nevada chapter of Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Harry Gosse died in 1944 and Josephine moved out soon after. The house operated as the Parkview Guest House from the late 1940s through 1971, long advertising “Divorcees welcome” and offering home-cooked meals and “lovely rooms.”

Built ca. 1927, the Gosse House consists of 4,364 square feet plus a 2,182 sq. ft. basement, and was described as containing 13 bedrooms and three bathrooms. Interesting architectural features include the brick exterior with the impressive lions in front, notable front door, windows and sidelights, and the random rubble foundation. Today it houses a number of professional offices.

Images

Front facade
Front facade The Gosse House is a symmetrical brick structure with a pair of impressive lions in front. Creator: Donna and Paul Erickson
Front door, pilasters, sidelights
Front door, pilasters, sidelights The front door has a window with 20 panes of glass and the sidelights each have eight panes of glass. The sidelights are separated from the front door by pilasters. Creator: Donna and Paul Erickson
Lion detail
Lion detail Two lions flank the front door, adding an aura of majesty and strength to the house's entrance. Creator: Donna and Paul Erickson
New proprietor, Riverside Hotel
New proprietor, Riverside Hotel H.J. Gosse became the new proprietor of the wooden Riverside Hotel in 1896, and replaced it with a brick structure a few years later. Source: Reno Evening Gazette Date: February 6, 1896
Riverside Hotel
Riverside Hotel The Riverside Hotel building constructed and operated by H.J. Gosse stood at the southwest corner of the Virginia Street Bridge from 1906 to 1922, when it burned down. Source: Special Collections, University of Nevada, Reno Libraries
Harry J. Gosse
Harry J. Gosse A sketch of Harry J. Gosse appeared in the Nevada Newsletter and Advertiser in December 1915. Source: Nevada Historical Society Date: 1915

Location

465 Court Street, Reno, NV

Metadata

Donna and Paul Erickson, “Gosse House,” Reno Historical, accessed February 10, 2025, http://www.renohistorical.org/items/show/187.