Lunsford Park
A Powning Addition park named for the attorney who secured the land for the City of Reno
The Lunsford Triangle first appears in an 1891 amended map of the C.C. Powning District after Riverside Drive was constructed. S.O. Hatfield occupied the property as a squatter until 1900, when he transferred the property to Ralph W. Shearer.
In 1912, the City of Reno disputed Shearer’s claim to the triangle, which had also been claimed by the Southern Pacific company, and the litigation resulted in a 1913 Supreme Court decision awarding the triangular piece of land bordered by Riverside Drive, Washington Avenue, and Jones Street to the City of Reno. In 1914, the city officially decided to turn the property into a park and to name it for the City Attorney who was responsible for recovering the land for the City, E.F. Lunsford (since inexplicably misspelled as Lundsford on the official city sign).
The park is planted with mature trees and features a grassy lawn bisected by a concrete path that runs east to west. At present, Lunsford Triangle Park is classified by the city as a pocket park. It is located in one of Reno’s most historic neighborhoods and is bounded by Victorian-era residences. The park features a stone masonry monument recognizing the surrounding Powning Conservation District, dedicated in 2012, as well as a monument to the California Trail.
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