Edward S. Parsons Papers

Edward Shier Parsons was born in Tonopah, Nevada in 1907 and attended schools in Salt Lake City and Reno. Parsons became interested in architecture at a very early age. He pursued that interest at the University of Southern California and continued his education in architecture, graduating with a degree in Architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. Upon graduation, he returned to Nevada where he established a firm and engaged in a wide variety of activities related to his profession. A brief stint in the army provided the only interruption in his career.

Parsons worked on numerous projects throughout his career including private homes, Incline High School, and several buildings for the University of Nevada, Reno. University buildings include Fleischmann Agriculture and Home Economics, the Orvis School of Nursing, and the first three phases of the Medical School complex.

In his oral history, completed by the University of Nevada, Reno Oral History Project, he describes serving his community and the state of Nevada as a citizen member of numerous boards and committees. Parsons was a leader in Nevada in historic preservation, restoring numerous buildings and in his service to the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He also served as state preservation coordinator for Nevada for the American Institute of Architects, and was an active member of the Comstock Historic District Commission, the Nevada Historic Preservation Review Committee, and Washoe Landmark Preservation, Inc. He was professionally involved in the restoration of the State Capitol Building, Morrill Hall on the University of Nevada, Reno campus, Bowers Mansion, the Lake Mansion, the Berlin Mill, the Virginia City, Belmont and Genoa courthouses, Fort Churchill, and numerous other projects.

[Much of the biographical note is from Edward S. Parsons: Charrette! The Life of an Architect. University of Nevada, Reno Oral History Project, 1983]