The Nevada City That Turned Getting a Divorce Into a Tourist Attraction

Mary Pickford, Tallulah Bankhead, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner. This isn’t just a list of some of the most famous Hollywood starlets in history. It’s also a very short list of the famous names who high-tailed it to the “biggest little city in the world” not to strike it rich at the casinos, but to get a divorce.

Before the era of no-fault divorce and community property, divorcing your spouse could be a painful, lengthy process with many legal hurdles. As the nation expanded and the Nevada Territory was established in 1861, the “divorce industry” of the western states picked up. Virginia City required only six months of residency to get “unhitched” and developed a reputation as a haven for divorcees.

The 1906 divorce between Laura and William Ellis Corey, then one of the world’s richest men, brought national attention to nearby Reno, where their union ended at the Washoe County Courthouse after her compulsory year-long residency stay. The New York Times covered the trial, and from there, the floodgates opened, especially with the residency reduced to three months in 1927. At its peak in 1945, over 10,000 divorces were performed, most due to alleged “mental cruelty.”

The city saw wild characters enter its boundaries over the next forty-odd years. Mary Pickford’s lawyers found a loophole that got her out of the residency requirement for her 1920 divorce from Owen Moore. She married Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. shortly after. Despite being connected to several people, Tallulah Bankhead ran to Reno to end her only marriage in 1937, even giving the judge a signed photo as a memento of her time there. Rita Hayworth fled her third marriage with Prince Aly Khan in 1951, renting a home on Lake Tahoe with her children and later returning to end her fourth marriage.

In 1956, writer Arthur Miller lived at Pyramid Lake Guest Ranch outside Reno with fellow writer Saul Bellow while both awaited divorces to marry their mistresses. During his tenure, he jetted off to Los Angeles to spend time with Marilyn Monroe and wrote about his Nevada experience. Cornelius Vanderbilt IV split here so many times he opened a divorce ranch, the Lazy A Guest Ranch. These divorces even inspired movies like Merry Wives of Reno and The Gay Divorcee.

Trailer from The Gay Divorcee (Uploaded to YouTube by Rotten Tomatoes Classic Trailers)

But it wasn’t just a pit stop for unhappy couples. These travelers seeking divorce rippled through the desert town’s economy. Locals looking to earn some cash rented out their homes and even barns to travelers. Auto camps, bed and breakfasts, and boarding houses opened, as did extended stay hotels and apartments, especially around the courthouse. Speakeasies popped up to entertain these out-of-towners while they waited for their paperwork to go through, Prohibition be damned. Restaurants also gained accolades, like Thomas’ Cafe, called “Delmonico’s of Reno,” hosting the likes of Jack London. The divorce set became involved in the community, signing up for classes at the local university and some even taking up employment.

Reno’s divorce industry mostly ended in the 1960s when no-fault divorce became common nationwide. But several of these landmarks are still in Reno, with historic markers showing their significance. The Colonial Apartments were built in 1907 with 48 furnished units and are still standing. The El Cortez Hotel was built in 1931 with a gaming license and now operates as a residential hotel.

The Riverside Hotel operated as a sought-after lodging site for over 150 years, hosting a residency by Frank Sinatra and known for its grand suites with all the modern amenities. Its owner was among those lobbying for a shorter residency period, knowing it would mean more heads in beds for him. The current version, built in 1927, was saved from demolition and now operates as a multi-use space with a restaurant and offices for a local arts organization. The Royal Hotel, also a divorce hotel, still operates, now under the name The Jesse.

The Washoe County Courthouse, which was built in 1911, was where couples came both to get marriage licenses and divorces. The columns of the Classical Revival building were called “kissing columns” when an image of a woman leaving lipstick on the marble appeared in a 1937 edition of Life magazine. The courthouse is still actively used, not processing all the uncouplings or with kiss marks on the columns, but as the Second Judicial District Court.

These days, different types of tourists come to Reno. Most people associate the city with its casinos and as a gateway to the ski resorts of Lake Tahoe and the Black Rock Desert, setting of the annual Burning Man festival. Many of the large-scale festival sculptures come to reside downtown once they leave the dusty landscape.

But it wouldn’t have been possible without the men and women who came here to change their futures. Perhaps the best way to remember the Reno divorce era is a stroll on the Virginia Street Bridge. It was here that the recently single could toss their wedding rings into the Truckee River, giving it the nickname the “Bridge of Sighs.”