Reno's 1877 Italianate landmark has been moved twice and reportedly remains occupied by Jane Bryant, who won the property in court only to die before she could enjoy it
250 Court St, Reno, NV 89501
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$
Exterior viewing is free. Included on Reno Ghost Tours (US Ghost Adventures); check website for current ticket pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Grounds at Reno Convention Center campus; paved paths around the building.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1877 · National Register of Historic Places (1972) · Associated with Myron Lake, Reno's Founding-Era Entrepreneur · One of Reno's Oldest Surviving Residential Structures
The house at what is now 250 Court Street was built in 1877 by W.J. Marsh in the Late Victorian Italianate style. It features a hipped roof with a widow's walk and originally included a veranda that was lost during one of its moves. Its original footprint measures 36 by 36 feet.
Myron Lake acquired the property in 1879. Lake had arrived in the Truckee Meadows in the late 1850s and established a toll bridge crossing the Truckee River — the infrastructure that made permanent settlement of the area commercially viable. He is consistently described as one of Reno's founders, though the city was formally platted by the Central Pacific Railroad in 1868. Lake himself, the records indicate, never actually lived in the mansion despite being its most famous owner.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on June 29, 1972 (NRHP reference no. 72000890), making it one of the earlier Nevada listings on the register. It had been moved from its original Virginia and California Streets location to the Reno Convention Center grounds in 1971 — notably, the NRHP listing was added after this first relocation. A second move placed it at 250 Court Street in 2004.
The building currently serves as an event and meeting space managed by Arts for All Nevada.
Sources
The Lake Mansion's ghost lore centers on a figure named Jane Bryant, whose connection to the property involves a documented legal dispute rather than a violent event. According to ghost tour accounts, Bryant waged a lengthy court battle for possession of the mansion and succeeded — only to die not long after the judgment was entered in her favor, before she could move in or occupy the home.
Her reported apparition is consistently described as appearing at windows, looking out. Ghost tour guides characterize her as someone who still feels unfinished business with the property — having fought for it and won, she is described as unable to leave even in death. Accounts also note that Myron Lake, despite being the mansion's most historically significant owner, is reported as a second presence — described as 'never allowed to live in it' during his lifetime, with the same ironic attachment applied to him posthumously.
Neither account involves violence or tragedy beyond the ordinary kind — loss and missed possession. The lore is drawn from Reno's ghost tour circuit, which has featured the mansion as a regular stop for several years. No primary source documentation establishing Jane Bryant's legal case or death date was located during research; these details should be treated as oral tradition pending archival confirmation.
Notable Entities
The Lake Mansion sits on the Convention Center grounds at 250 Court Street — its current address since a second relocation in 2004. The 1877 Italianate structure with its distinctive hipped roof and widow's walk is viewable from the surrounding grounds. A Nevada SHPO historical marker at the site details the property's history.
The Lake Mansion is a featured stop on US Ghost Adventures' Reno Ghost Tour, a walking tour of downtown Reno's historically notable and reportedly haunted addresses. Tickets available through US Ghost Adventures.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Macon, GA
Built between 1855 and 1859 for businessman William Butler Johnston at a cost of approximately $100,000, the Italian Renaissance Revival mansion at 934 Georgia Avenue has been called the 'Palace of the South' and is a National Historic Landmark. The Felton family held it through the Civil War period; Confederate general Henry Gray Felton occupied it during the war. The Hay family acquired the house in 1926 and donated it to The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation in 1977.
Indianapolis, IN
Hannah House is an 1858 Italianate mansion at 3801 Madison Avenue on the south side of Indianapolis, built by Alexander Hannah, an Indiana businessman who returned wealthy from the California Gold Rush. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Charles City, VA
Benjamin Harrison IV built the current mansion at Berkeley Plantation in 1726, making it the oldest three-story brick structure in Virginia. The plantation became the birthplace of President William Henry Harrison in 1773 and the ancestral seat of a family that produced a signer of the Declaration of Independence and two U.S. Presidents. During the Civil War, General McClellan used the mansion as his headquarters and the cellar held Confederate prisoners.