Eccles House
Forrest W. Eccles commissioned prominent Nevada architect Frederic DeLongchamps to design his new residence at 245 Lee Avenue in 1930. He and his family had previously lived a stone’s throw away, at 571 Ridge Street, in a house identified here as the Day-Creveling House. Forrest Eccles was born in Salt Lake City in 1895 and came to Reno in 1909 with his stepfather and mother, Mr. & Mrs. William H. Simmons, who lived for a time next door at 235 Lee Avenue.
Eccles grew up in Reno and graduated from Reno High School and the University of Nevada. In 1916, he married the former Bessie Kelly, a native of the Isle of Man in the United Kingdom, who upon their marriage was working for the Reno Power, Light & Water Company. Forrest associated with the Reno Grocer Company (owned by his stepfather) and served as its President after Simmons’ death.
Eccles was also founder of the Reno Furniture Company. In 1954 he turned over his interests in both the grocer and furniture businesses to his sons and retired from active business. He was an active member of the Republican Party and served as State Chairman in 1948. He was also a director of the Sierra Pacific Power Company for 15 years.
The Eccles family had this residence built immediately following an armed robbery at their previous home on Ridge Street. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this house seems a bit fortress-like, built in the Mediterranean Revival style and consisting of 3,408 square feet plus a 1,584-square-foot basement, four bedrooms and four-and-a-half bathrooms. Interesting architectural features include the two-story stucco clad brick structure with terracotta tile, hipped roof, and an articulated, round-arched entrance. The interior features an unusual semi-circular seven-bay living room window at the south end of the main floor of the house.
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