Reno, Nevada has historically been home to a strong Basque community. It stands out from other Basque communities in Nevada, Idaho and California because of the important Basque studies program that developed at the University of Nevada Reno. In 1989, the Basque Sheepherder Monument, created by a well-known Basque Country sculptor, was erected in the city. The 22-foot tribute to the early Basque immigrants who came to work as sheepherders is among several stops that make Reno —- “the biggest little city in the world” — worth a visit.
In honor of the city’s historical connection with the Basques, a sister-city relationship with the Basque city of San Sebastián (Donosti) was created. Numerous student exchanges between the two cities have taken place over the years.
Gardnerville/Carson City Area
If you head north to Reno via Highway 395, you will pass through the Gardnerville and Carson City area. There are several restaurants well worth visiting, including JT’s and the Country Club in Gardnerville and Pete’s Chorizo restaurant in Carson City. See more articles about Gardnerville, Nev.
Restaurants
The successful Basque restaurant Louis’ Basque Corner in downtown Reno, which first opened in 1967, continues to thrive in part because it still carries on the tradition of serving Basque-American food family style. It is the only longtime Basque restaurant in Reno that has remained open through the years. The Santa Fe, another historic Basque establishment, is still standing, but the latest restaurant to operate there announced it was closing in December 2024.
Reno’s Early Hotels
The Basque restaurants were part of a thriving Basque community that had its start in the early 1900s.
Reno had at least 10 Basque boardinghouses in the first half of the 1900s, located mostly around Lake and East 2nd streets, which happened to be next to Reno’s former red-light district. More importantly, they were located a block away from the city’s train station. It was here where the Basque men coming to work as sheepherders for surrounding ranches arrived. In addition, Reno served as a major transportation hub in the West and as a result, Basques traveling to and from California and Nevada often spent nights in the city’s Basque hotels.
Several of the hotels were built by the owners themselves. The list of Reno’s Basque hotels included the Santa Fe, the Indart, the Toscano, the Martin, the Hotel Español, the French Hotel, the Star, the Alturas, the Altona and the Commercial. The Indart and the Hotel Español had handball courts. Joe Elcano Sr. was the longtime owner of the Toscano and even went to jail for three months for bootlegging, according to this article.
Read more about Reno’s Basque hotels and who owned them in Jeri Echeverria’s book, Home Away from Home, for sale on Amazon.
Eventually most of the hotels were razed to make way for the big casinos or their parking lots. In fact, at least five of them were on the block bounded by Lake, Center and Commercial streets that were torn down to build Harrah’s Casino.
Today Only Two Remain
A big fire swept down Lake Street on August 15, 1948, killing five people including three firefighters. The Santa Fe Hotel burned down. But owner Martin Esain rebuilt it the following year. When he died, Esain passed the building down to his nieces and nephews, Joseph, Aurelie and Anita Zubillaga. The Zubillagas refused to give in to numerous offers from Harrah’s, and the gambling giant was obligated to build the casino around the two-story brick building. Today, Harrah’s next door has closed but the brick building with its Santa Fe Hotel sign is still there. In 2023, it was reincarnated as a sports bar called The Fe. The restaurant was selling small bite-sized pintxo dishes at the bar and customers could eat dinner in the old dining room decorated with lots of Basque memorabilia. Things were looking good as a new minor league baseball stadium nearby brought more visitors to the area and then the luxury Ballpark Apartments were built across the street. But in December 2024, the Fe announced it was closing. Read more about the Santa Fe.
The Santa Fe Hotel
235 Lake St., Reno
Louis and Lorraine Erreguible opened Louis’ Basque Corner, at the corner of Lake and East Fourth Street in 1967. Louis was from Mauleon, in the Basque province of Zuberoa, a region that sent few immigrants to the American West. They took over the Hotel Richelieu, which had been built in 1907, added a second dining room and quickly gained a following for their Basque food. They also operated a Basque hotel on the second floor.
After 44 years, the Erreguibles retired and sold the business. Current owner Chris Shanks has remodeled the building, but kept the same successful Basque cuisine, served family style. A Lincoln Highway sign, recognizing the restaurant’s location on the historic highway, hangs on the wall, along with a lot of Basque memorabilia.
The second story, The Upstairs, where Basque sheepherders once stayed, has been remodeled into a stylish bar with a pool table lounge, and private dining rooms that maintain the building’s original charming architecture. https://renohistorical.org/items/show/95
Louis’ Basque Corner,
301 E 4th Street, Reno
Basque Studies Program
If you visit Reno, you must visit the Center for Basque Studies at the University of Nevada Reno, the first and strongest Basque studies program in the U.S. In 2015, it was named after Prof. William Douglass, who led the center for 33 years. Under Douglass’ leadership, Basque studies at UNR bloomed, transitioning from an undergraduate program to a PhD program. Read our article about Douglass.
The center’s library, named for bibliographer Jon Bilbao, started with 3,000 volumes and eventually included over 50,000. A Basque Book Series was published, later joined by the Center for Basque Studies Press The large center is full of historical, journalistic and literary materials pertaining to the Basques that are available for review.
A statue of a Basque sheepherder, which was originally built for Basque businessman John Ascuaga and stood outside his casino, Ascuaga’s Nugget, was moved to the UNR campus in 2021. It was originally created in 1998 by artist Douglas Van Hoyd and stands outside the Knowledge Center.
Center for Basque Studies
Third Floor (North Entrance)
Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center
University of Nevada Reno
1664 N. Virginia St, Reno
Public Art
The Basque Sheepherder Monument
The Basque Sheepherder Monument is located in Rancho San Rafael Park, at the foot of Peavine Mountain, where Basque sheepherders once grazed sheep. It was constructed with donations from individuals across the country, who requested that the names of their loved ones be commemorated on plaques near the monument. In 2011, the bronze plaques with the names of many honorees were stolen. Eventually, the plaques were replaced.
The park is huge and the best way to reach the monument is via the entrance to the Reno Softball Complex on N. Virginia Street, not via the main entrance to the Rancho San Rafael Regional Park.
Read more articles about the Basque Sheepherder Monument
Mural
A new mural (2023) in the city of Reno honors the Basque presence in Northern Nevada. It was created by artists Leire Urbeltz and Jaione Inda, two women from the Basque Country who received a grant for the project from the government of the Basque province of Nafarroa.
The mural is located at Barbara Bennett Park, in the downtown park area along the Truckee River. It includes significant Basque symbols like dancers, a jai alai court and a sheepherder.
See our article to read more about the mural and how it developed.
400 Island Ave, Reno
Sculpture
Well known Basque sculptor Miguel Angel Lertxundi used oak, local granite and iron to create the abstract piece The Road of Equilibrium (Okaren Bidea in Basque) which is on display in Reno. It’s located in front of the former Southside School. The sculptor is from Reno’s sister city of San Sebastian, Spain.
190 E. Liberty St., Reno
Annual Festival
The annual Reno Basque Festival is held annually on the third Saturday of July. It was held at Wingfield Park in downtown Reno for several years. But most recently (2024), it was held at the McKinley Arts and Culture Center. It is sponsored by Reno’s Basque Club, Zazpiak Bat.
First Big Festival in the West
The very first big Basque festival in the U.S. was organized in the Reno area. The Western Basque Festival took place in 1959 and it was a turning point for Basques in the U.S. A small group of Basques that included writer Robert Laxalt, state senator Peter Echeverria and casino businessmen Dick Graves and John Ascuaga spearheaded the idea, which grew with the help of numerous Basques. At that time, there was no existing network among the small Basque communities in the West. Mailing lists were created and several dance groups from different Basque communities were invited. The festival, held in nearby Sparks, attracted 5,000 to 6,000 people.
It inspired several other Basque communities in Nevada to start organizing their own festivals, starting with Ely, then Elko, and then Reno, which started its own club in 1967. The Nevada festivals were the only ones who sponsored competitions from the Old Country, like wood chopping and weight-lifting, attracting Basques from further distances.
Read more about this festival and more early history of Reno’s Basque community in Travel Guide to Basque America.
