RENO, Nev. (AP) — Planning consultants advising Reno officials on the revitalization of East Fourth Street see a charm in the district's nitty-gritty character.

More than 25 planners toured the area last week as part of the annual meeting for the Nevada chapter of the American Planning Association.

It's a hodgepodge commercial area, with bars, machine shops, a topless cabaret and antiques, thrift, hobby and furniture stores.

But touting the area's character, and it's history, could be its salvation, planners said.

Chad Crutcher, a Reno planning consultant, wonders if Martin Iron Works, for instance, could be coaxed into having some of its welders work in its front construction yard so people could watch the sparks fly.

Another proposal would create an open-air farmers market along a railroad spur near the Forever Yours furniture store at the historic Flanigan building.

"It's Reno's south of Market Street," Crutcher said, in a comparison with the seedier side of San Francisco. "People are looking for a little adventure."

The planners toured East Fourth Street with local bar owners Michael Steedman and Justin Owens and then returned to the Silver Legacy for some brainstorming.

Every so often, people get a glimpse of Reno's past, such as the Flanigan Building, a meat-packing warehouse built in 1902 or the Richelieu Hotel built in 1922 and known as Louis' Basque Corner since 1967.

Every year, Steedman, owner of Studio on Fourth Street, said several new businesses open, giving the street a little more momentum. Dr. John Iliescu, a local land investor, recently purchased the former Salvation Army building and has repainted it.

"You know if he wants to buy land, this is a corridor that's coming back," said John Hester, Reno community development director.

Several planners proposed a zoning change that would allow for the return of light industrial businesses to provide a solid base of workers. Several years ago, the corridor was rezoned for mixed-uses such as housing and retailing but industrial uses were removed.

While the city has little money for new projects now, the planning report could be used to update the city's plan for East Fourth Street and be followed when funds become available, Hester said.