Years ago, there used to be very large letters on the foothills east of town. My wife believes a V was painted white and was visible from the Strip hotels. Also, she thought there were large letters outside Reno and Virginia City. Do you have any information as to why they were there and what happened to them?
Also known as “mountain monograms,” letters on hillsides are quite common in Nevada and other western states.
The letters are made out of stones and/or concrete pieces that are usually whitewashed, though they’re sometimes painted in other colors. Their placement is almost always on an accessible, though sometimes steep, undeveloped, and treeless slope, which is why they’re largely restricted to the U.S. west.
Likewise, they’re almost always started and maintained by high-school or college students in a tradition that began in the early part of the 20th century and their upkeep is often an important annual ritual that occurs before important sporting or homecoming events.
Raids by opposing teams were once popular, so the letters were zealously guarded through a pre-game night or two — with the assistance of bonfires and, of course, beer.
The first letters were constructed in 1905, a C for the University of California Berkeley and a U for the University of Utah. The idea caught on quickly, replicating the national fashion for jackets displaying varsity letters.
According to Wikipedia, Nevada boasts 47 mountain monograms, representing every letter of the alphabet except J, K, Q, U, X, and Z.
We don’t know of a V painted above Las Vegas, though it would make sense, but there is one visible from Mesquite, which stands for Virgin Valley High School. There's also one above Virginia City.
And yes, Reno and Carson City claim six letters between them: C for Carson, D for Damonte Ranch High School (Reno), G for Galena High School (Reno), N for University of Nevada (Reno), R (for Reno High School), and S for Stewart (the old Indian school in Carson).
