Building Nevada - December 2002

Bringing the Past to Life:

Reyman Bros. Specializes in Historic Renovation

by Jennifer Rachel Baumer

Construction companies that specialize in historic renovation generally must pre-qualify to bid jobs. For the major restoration project on Sacramento’s Leland Stanford Mansion, it was a Nevada company, Reno’s Reyman Bros. Construction, which won the bid. "We love doing historic work," said Lee Johnson, Reyman Bros. pre-construction manager. "Everybody loves doing it. It’s challenging, and every project is different. It gives [carpenters] a chance to put their skills to work doing something that really showcases those skills, rather than working on a new building, where the new styles are not as elaborate and don’t show off the craftsmanship that a lot of the older buildings do."

Historic renovation is one of Reyman Bros’ specialties. The hometown Reno company was formed by brothers Mike and Steve Reyman as a carpentry contracting firm. In 1977 they became general contractors and while the company’s specialty is historic preservation, it also focuses on remodeling retail stores for different uses. Reyman Bros. is licensed in all the Western states and employees 35 people. The company principals are Mike Reyman, Jace Callender and Kenneth Reyman.

The Stanford Mansion was built in 1850, and in 1872 major renovations tied it to three other buildings to create one huge mansion. Over the years, it has been used as an orphanage and later as a home for unwed mothers. California, one of the few states that doesn’t have an official governor’s mansion, will use the renovated Stanford Mansion for official entertaining in a residential atmosphere and it will operated as a museum when not in use by the governor.

In addition to the Stanford mansion, current projects include a structural and architectural restoration and renovation of the front of Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City and restoration of the tower restrooms in the Fourth Ward School. Reyman Brothers originally worked on the school in 1984, doing an exterior rehabilitation but not a complete restoration. At that time, they were able to replace missing structural elements, including the corbels holding up the roof cornice and missing moldings and window casings. "It was all very elaborate work," Johnson said, and also the firm’s first historic preservation job. "We’d done a lot of fancy woodwork before – in fact, at the time our major specialty was high-end residential work, which is one reason we were interested in the exterior rehabilitation. It was a woodworking job for the most part and we found that very, very interesting. We started watching for jobs involving historic renovation work, and since then we’ve done more of [it] in Northern Nevada than any other contractor. Many years ago, we did all the exterior woodwork on Bowers Mansion – all of the turn posts, balconies and porches were replaced. We’ve done structural work on the Washoe County courthouse, a major renovation on the Eureka County Courthouse and work on Reno’s McKinley Park School, which now serves as the City of Reno Arts & Culture center."

Historic renovation work goes by different names – "restoration" involves returning a building to the condition it was in at its most historically important period. "Renovation" often denotes adaptive reuse of an existing building. "Preservation" encompasses most everything else done to restore, renovate or preserve historic buildings. Reyman Bros. takes jobs across the country, and its remodel work for national accounts includes such non-glamorous jobs as remodels of restrooms in restaurants and truck stops for Flying J. But according to Johnson, but it is in renovating and reanimating the past that this company shines.