The Hart House stands as a grand tribute to the eclectic wave of architecture that swept through Reno in the 1930’s. The house is a pagoda in the desert that beckons with intrigue.

Tucked away on a side street in Old Southwest Reno, the Hart House is complete with landscaped grounds that incorporate ornamental koi ponds and a teahouse that mirrors the design of the main residence. You wonder if it might have belonged to an oriental diplomat. And you wonder who has kept it up all these years. The seemingly bamboo siding, the full-size moongate on the front porch and the upward curve to the corners of the roof usher you in to a place that is a world apart from the Reno of the 30’s most people experienced.

The Hart House is a Japanese pagoda-style bungalow that combines the ideas of an emerging architect and a Reno piano player of note, in the 1930’s. Marcia Ferrell Keresey came to Reno, a divorcee and an heiress. She purchased the original 11-acre parcel where the home would be built and then fell in love with a well-known local piano player.

George Hart was a local celebrity who had an international following. He had specific ideas for the home, including a motorized bed in the master bedroom that rotated like a turntable. Some say it was designed to keep the late night performer rotating away from the rising sun.

Brass fittings and switchplates remain where they were originally installed and oriental wallpaper hung in panels still adorns the walls. Many of the original light fixtures remain. And a process called ‘ graining’ used on the interior woodwork carries the oriental motif throughout the house. The interior boasts bungalow style built-ins including bars and cabinets around a hexagonal living room. The bedrooms follow through on the oriental theme. Large round windows look out on the grounds below.

No one knows if the design from the house came from the Harts or from the architect, Russell Mills, who had worked for Frederic Delongchamps before venturing out on his own. Most believe the Hart House was built on a combination of ideas. It still stands as a tribute to its time and as a celebration of Oriental revival style.

The quality of the craftsmanship and the detail of it’s design give it architectural significance for its time and so it is listed on Reno’s Registry of Historic Places. The personalities of those who lived there are a bonus.