Nevada
Nevada Motel at York Beach makeover almost complete: Landmark hotel reopens in June
YORK, Maine — The finishing touches are being put on the Nevada Motel as owner Joe Lipton prepares for its June reopening.
The motel, built in the 1950s, has been closed since the family that opened it put it up for sale in 2021. Lipton, who bought it with his wife Michelle Friar, has since been resurrecting the classic motel shaped like a World War II-style battleship.
Lipton has been working on projects at several hotels he owns over the last few years. This year, he hopes to build a new bridal suite and spa at the ViewPoint Hotel overlooking the Nubble Lighthouse.
Lipton has said he has been motivated in his hospitality ventures to preserve the historic features of the buildings while bringing updated amenities. He said the Nevada would have been torn down for a residential development if he had not bought it.
“Somebody else was going to buy it, making it into housing,” Lipton said. “To keep that motel building there, I think, was fun for us.”
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Nevada set for June opening
Lipton has said he bought the motel because it was a landmark he wanted to preserve at Long Sands Beach. The motel at 141 Long Beach Ave. first opened in 1951.
The original owner, Henry de la Pena, named the motel after the U.S. Navy ship he served on in World War II. He left the Navy in 1947 and was inspired on a visit to Florida, where his sister-in-law’s husband opened a motel in Pompano Beach.
De la Pena returned to Maine with the idea of opening a motel and found the empty lot at York Beach in 1951. He purchased the property and named the motel after his wartime ship and designed the motel to resemble the flying bridge of a battleship.
The Nevada was put up for sale in 2021 for $2.75 million after de la Pena’s son said staffing shortages were causing the business to struggle. Lipton’s Crane Group purchased the motel for $1.6 million to revitalize it.
The motel originally had two stories, and Lipton is now building a third. He is also reducing the number of units, making each room more spacious. The work also includes a new elevator shaft.
Even with updates, Lipton has said the final product opening in June will maintain the feel of a 1950s motel. He said they are bringing back the “art deco beach scene” with mid-century artwork and wallpaper. An image showing the future Nevada Motel has been posted by Lipton on Facebook to give people a glimpse of what is coming.
“We kept the integral parts, the overhangs, the decks, the color,” Lipton said. “I think a lot of people are appreciative of how we’ve done it.”
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ViewPoint Hotel seeks to add new spa, bridal suite
Lipton is also looking to make more improvements to the ViewPoint Hotel, which he and Friar purchased along with partner Chris Crane in 2017.
Since buying the hotel, Lipton has added seven new rooms to the side of the hill overlooking the Nubble with grass roofs to appear hidden in the environment. He has also opened a restaurant, A Little Auk, that was first available to the public last fall.
Lipton is now going to reopen A Little Auk this summer to the public and is looking to add a new spa, as well as a second-floor bridal suite above the bathhouse. He also plans to add a new building to make it easier for guests to check in and get to their rooms quicker.
Whether Lipton can start construction in time for this summer depends on its approval with the Planning Board, he said. He was scheduled to go before the board on March 14 and said he would be able to finish the work in time for the 2024 summer season if the project gains approval.
“Cutting it very close, but yes,” Lipton said.
Lipton said there is a chance he eventually builds an indoor restaurant space with outdoor seating, as well as a wedding venue across the street from the ViewPoint.
He said after the ViewPoint and Nevada are complete, he expects to take a break from major projects. He and Friar grew up in town and have previously owned other businesses like the Inn on the Blues.
Lipton said it’s been fun to update some of York’s classic structures, like the Nevada. He has described it as an homage to the town where he’s lived since he was 8.
“To renovate and bring back a part of history,” Lipton said. “It is a really exciting, fun thing to be able to do in your hometown.”
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There’s a debate over on Reddit right now about how dogs should be kept on leashes around town, on trails, or anywhere in public that’s not a dog park.
I should clarify: When I say “debate,” I mean that several users have created posts about how dogs should be kept on leashes, and almost every response is 100% in agreement.
Go ahead and look at the posts; nobody’s putting together a spirited defense of letting their pets run around licking strangers and pooping on nature. With that kind of general consensus, I’d want to say that leashing our dogs is one of Reno-Sparks’ “unwritten rules.”
Except for two things: One, this rule is very much written (see Chapter 95.220 of the Washoe County Code: “Owners must have animals leashed no more than 6 feet in length and under immediate control at all times.”)
And also: The phrase “unwritten rules” implies that everyone goes along with it without even thinking. But we’ve all interacted with dog owners on local trails, letting their giant furballs knock over toddlers or chase goslings through the wetlands.
“Aw, he’s just a big puppy!” they’ll say, followed up with a halfhearted, “Down, Barnaby.”
Clearly, leashing dogs is not an unwritten rule because it’s constantly being broken. A true unwritten rule for hiking trails would be something that rarely ever gets broken, like “wear pants at all times.” Really, the leash thing is more like a wish list for society, alongside such things as:
- Don’t mow before 8 a.m.
- Signal your turns and lane changes.
- Merge when you see a lane closure ahead, not at the last minute. (Yes, make all your arguments about how last-minute merging saves space. It all amounts to “I’m going to cut ahead of everyone else and pretend that it’s for the greater good.”)
- If you’re driving a large vehicle, park at the far end of the lot.
- Several more things about driving, actually.
But let’s move on. I’ve been wracking my brain to think of actual “unwritten rules” for Northern Nevada that outsiders might not grasp right away, and I didn’t come up with many. But here goes:
It’s not rude to keep your favorite spots a secret, even from friends and family: Got a favorite local park or Lake Tahoe beach? You’re not even required to tell your own mother about it, because word will get out and everything will be ruined. We value our personal space, and the community is too small to keep anything under wraps.
Side note: You can’t do this with businesses, because you need your burrito spot to stay crowded and busy. If nobody goes to your secret hot springs, it’s not going to suddenly go out of business and turn into a vape shop.
On Tahoe beaches, you can claim one beach towel’s worth of space per person, and that’s it: If word gets out about your favorite beach, you’ll have to start your day battling for a parking spot (bonus unwritten rule: You can’t reserve a parking spot by standing in it.)
The slightly less annoying ― but still difficult ― territory battle will be on the beach itself. Everyone but you will have a pop-up tent, several coolers and some sort of sound system. But societal convention dictates that any group can only claim the square footage of one beach towel per person, and leave ample space to walk between their beach site and the next one over.
Twenty minutes is a long drive in Reno-Sparks, but four hours is completely reasonable if you’re heading out of town: Recent transplants from more urban places like the Bay Area or Las Vegas will drive for 45 minutes to get to the one Target they like best. Around here, that sounds like hell.
On the other hand, driving for several hours to go see ichthyosaur skeletons or attend a Basque festival or go to a Giants game is completely reasonable. I can’t explain why this is. It might have something to do with hatred of stoplights.
Settle in a bit before complaining about outsiders: Yes, we know you just got here, and you want to prove your worthiness by complaining about Californians or Southern Nevadans, because that’s our local sport.
On average, we’re not nearly as closed off as people say; only about one-quarter of Nevadans were actually born here, so most of us know what it’s like to be the new kid. But at least wait until you’ve unloaded the last box from your U-Haul before you start griping about how new arrivals are pricing everyone out.
You, on the other hand ― you, the person reading this article right now! ― know a lot more unwritten rules for Northern Nevada. Either that, or you have ideas on what should be unwritten rules. Send them my way at bmcginness@rgj.com, and we’ll debate all of them next week.
Guys, we’re bringing back Shopko
What lost places in Reno-Sparks should we bring back? That’s the question I posed last week; here’s what you said:
Let’s start with department store ShopKo, which had the highly underrated slogan, “Say hello to a good buy.” We had three ― on South Virginia, Mae Anne and Oddie Boulevard. Lauri Ferguson wrote in to compliment the selection, and noted “their products lasted too.” Sadly, the entire chain disappeared nearly a decade ago, so bringing them back might be the heaviest lift ever.
“Bring back Famous Murphy’s,” wrote E. Pollard. “Can’t believe it ever closed and was then bulldozed and has been an empty dirt lot for more than 25 years.”
For the record, it’s actually been 18 years since it closed and 11 years since it was bulldozed, but the point stands.
“The purpose of the demolition is to make way for a new development being planned at this site,” developers told the RGJ in 2015. Anyway, it’s still an empty lot.
And finally, I had lamented over the lost Century Theaters dome on South Virginia, but Kurt Kinder mentioned one even more venerable, but equally lost: the Granada Theater, which originally opened in 1916, burned down in 1953 and reopened in 1954. It was torn down in 1997 and is now the site of the Palladio.
Brett McGinness is the engagement editor for the Reno Gazette Journal. He’s also the writer of The Reno Memo — a free newsletter about news in the Biggest Little City.
Subscribe to the newsletter right here. Consider supporting the Reno Gazette Journal, too.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada veterans who say they were exposed to radiation and toxic chemicals at the Nevada Test and Training Range are one step closer to getting recognized and help.
Senator Jacky Rosen and Congresswoman Susie Lee are introducing an updated “Forgotten Veterans Act,” now renamed the Sergeant Dave Crete Forgotten Veterans Act, to force the Defense Department to document contamination on the range and identify every service member who served there.
Veterans say years of classified work have kept them from proving their exposure and getting VA benefits, even as they deal with cancer and other serious illnesses.
Under the bill, the Pentagon would have to formally list the range as contaminated, unmask where veterans served the VA, and clear up a path for them and their families to qualify for care and compensation.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
The City of Reno and the Reno Police Department are mourning the loss of Detective Thomas Lopey, who served the department for nearly 13 years and was known for his dedication, leadership, and mentorship.
Lopey also served four years in the U.S. Army as an infantry mortarman, deploying in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and later continued his service in the National Guard as a combat engineer.
He began his law enforcement career with the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office before joining RPD, where he worked in patrol, the Regional Gang Unit, SWAT, and later became a detective. He also served as president of the Reno Police Protective Association for three years.
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City and police leaders praised Lopey as a committed public servant whose work strengthened both the department and the community. He is survived by his wife and daughter.
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