Pincolini Building

Guido Pincolini opened his namesake commercial building on the corner of South Virginia and Mary Streets in 1954.

The Pincolini Building in 1956 Guido Pincolini had his namesake building constructed on the corner of South Virginia and Mary Streets in 1954. Source: Pincolini Family Date: 1956

In 1953, Guido Pincolini hired architect Howard Brandis to design a commercial building for the southwest corner of South Virginia and Mary Streets. Guido and his wife, Elma, had purchased the lot in 1943 and leased the space as a used car lot for many years. The new mid-century modern Pincolini Building opened in 1954.

The Pincolini family was well-established in Nevada. Guido’s father, Aldelvaldo, was born in the town of Fidenza in northern Italy near the Po River. He arrived in the United States in 1896 at the age of twelve, joining two of his three brothers in Winnemucca. All four brothers moved to a ranch south of Reno shortly before 1900 and soon brought their parents over to join them. Guido was born on the ranch in 1915.

The family began to purchase and build properties in town in the early 1920s, beginning with the Mizpah Hotel on Lake Street, which they opened in 1924. Guido entered the grocery business right out of high school, running the Reno Public Market with his brother, Bruno, from 1934 through World War II. The two opened Pinky’s Market on East 4th Street after the war, and it remained in operation through 1964. The family also owned and ran the El Cortez Hotel on West 2nd Street for many years.

The Pincolini Building was the largest commercial building on South Virginia Street when it opened in 1954, with six commercial spaces on the ground floor and fifteen offices upstairs. Original tenants included the California Western States Life Insurance Company, the Federal Housing Administration, and Wilson’s Drug Store, which anchored the corner space.