The main structure was originally built as a Gray, Reid & Wright department store which, at the time, was the only department store in the state of Nevada. Originally opened on November 7, 1957, the structure replaced a prior store location which was destroyed by a gas explosion on February 5, 1957, and is now the site of the Palladio condominiums. The new store contained of retail space and of storage space in a basement and 2 retail floors accessible by escalators, and had 45 departments including an electronics shop selling televisions and radios, a bookstore, record store, and wine shop, as well as a restaurant, beauty salon, and cobbler. 1977 brought about plans to enlarge the store, adding 2 additional floors, 102 hotel rooms and a casino. The casino would have been known as Camp 14 and would have had a logging theme. The south portion of the first floor would have remained under the name Grey Reid's, but would sell only woman's clothing and would contain an expanded beauty salon. The plan never materialized and Grey Reid's moved to a new location in the Old Town Mall in July of that year. Instead, the owners were approached by Circus Circus Enterprises, the operating company of Circus Circus Las Vegas. After about a year of renovations, the casino opened on July 1, 1978, about a decade after its Las Vegas counterpart, and on the same day as the opening of the Sahara Reno and the expanded Money Tree Casino. Circus Circus Reno was inspired by the gaming boom spurred by the new MGM Grand Reno, casino companies wanted to gain some of that momentum. The Reno Circus opened with a small hotel and very similar attractions to its Las Vegas counterpart. It has one hotel tower: The North Tower. The North Tower, with 625 rooms, was opened in 1981 and has a height of 225 ft and 22 floors. The Sky Tower, with 905 rooms, was opened in 1985 and has a height of 278 ft and 27 floors which is now leased to the University of Nevada, Reno since 2019 by Eldorado Resorts. In 1995, extensive renovations were completed, including the remodel of the mezzanine level where the restaurants are located, the midway and a sky bridge connecting to the Silver Legacy. The towers were connected by a custom made monorail. In 2008, it had planned on adding an indoor swimming pool. Until the opening of the Silver Legacy in 1995, hotel guests at Circus Circus did not have access to swimming facilities. According to a rendering on the Circus Circus website, the pool would have been under a glass canopy, placed atop the sky bridge tram station. As of July 2010, construction had yet to begin, and all references to the project on the resort's website have been removed which discontinued the project. The Topsy The Clown sign was designed by Gordon Tietjen and manufactured by Young Electric Sign Company. On July 7, 2015, MGM Resorts International agreed to sell its properties in Reno to Eldorado Resorts for $72.5 million. The sale was approved and completed in November later that year. On September 5, 2016, Eldorado Resorts permanently shut down the Courtyard Buffet. It was replaced with a contemporary fast casualfood court which is similar to Station Casinos and other places. The Courtyard Buffet name was used from 1999 to 2016. On August 1, 2019, Eldorado Resorts reached an agreement with the University of Nevada, Reno to lease the Sky Tower to students. It reduced the rooms for hotel guests to 625.
