This Georgian style building was commissioned by Prince A. Hawkins in 1911 from Elmer Grey, a prominent Los Angeles architect whose major projects included the Huntington's San Marino Estate, the Beverly Hills Hotel and the Pasadena Community Playhouse.

The house is in the Newlands Heights district, situated on the bluffs overlooking the Truckee River, adjacent to the home of Senator Francis G. Newlands. The Newlands Heights district was developed in an era of rapid growth in Reno, fueled by the wealth of the Tonopah and Goldfield mining areas. It was the most fashionable district of Reno where many prominent families built homes.

The Hawkins family is one of the first families of Nevada, prominent in Nevada's business and banking circles for over a century. Following the death of Prince Hawkins, his son Robert lived in the Court Street mansion. The Hawkins family owned the home until it was purchased by the Nevada Museum of Art in 1978.

From 1978 until 1988, the building housed the Sierra Nevada Museum of Art.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP nomination form submitted in 1979.

When we photographed the building in March 2016, it housed the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association.