Take a good look to your right at that wild golden dome perched almost like a spaceship landed in the heart of Reno. Pretty hard to miss, right? This is the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts, though locals have a special nickname for it: the Golden Turtle. Can you see why?
The building emerged in 1967, back when peace, love, and bold architecture were all the rage. The designers wanted a roof with real flair, so they went with a geodesic dome-think Buckminster Fuller, the mad scientist of domes. Don Richter, one of Fuller’s students, was behind the project too, so you know it’s legit. That roof? It’s made of 500 golden panels, and the theater itself dips underground-so the dome nearly grazes the ground at the corners. If you see folks squinting, they’re probably just trying to figure out how the heck it’s standing up.
And here’s a curious twist: they salvaged a 1939 pioneer family statue from a demolished state building and named the theater after it. Not Apollo, but Pioneer-it fits, don’t you think?
When you’re ready, head southwest for about 2 minutes to find the Riverside Hotel.
