The McKinley Arts & Culture Center is housed in the former McKinley Park School and is owned and operated by the City of Reno and its Arts & Culture Commission. The school was built in 1909 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was renovated and opened as an arts center in 1999.

McKinley Park School was one of four elementary schools built in the Mission Revival Style in Reno at about the same time. The other surviving building of the quartet, Mount Rose Elementary, is still used as a school. The building was designed by architect George Ferris and was constructed at a cost of $40,000. The building is a one-story U-shaped structure built of brick and surfaced with stucco. There is a two-story tower in the center of the U with a wing out to the rear, and an open courtyard between the main wings. When it ceased being used as a school, the building reverted to the city in 1975 and was used as a recreation center until being renovated as an arts and culture center.

The building was rehabilitated with funding from the City of Reno, the Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs, and the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund. It now houses the offices of the Reno Arts & Culture Commission, and provides rental office space for the Reno Philharmonic, Reno Chamber Orchestra, MasterWorks Chorale, Reno Film Festival, the Note-Ables, TheatreWorks of Northern Nevada, Wing and a Prayer Dance Company, and Youth ArtWorks. There is also gallery space, a classroom/studio, a board room for meetings, a kitchen, and an auditorium. The auditorium was damaged by a fire in 2005, but was repaired and ready for use again within three months.

The McKinley Center is located at Riverside Drive and Keystone Avenue, with a large tree-shaded lawn adjacent: it is part of the west end of the Truckee River Arts and Culture District.