Las Vegas History You Don't Know - December's "Untold Stories"

Think you know Las Vegas History?

Well, if you have been attending "Untold Stories" you do know a lot of Las Vegas History.  However, there is a great deal of arcane and little-known history that should be better known.

So, we are putting the focus on that type of history with December's "Untold Stories".  Here's your chance to learn more about street names around the Valley, the more colorful side of shall we say, Block 16 type businesses as well as the social history of Las Vegas from the 1930s to the 1950s.  From living with no air-conditioning to stories about Helen J. Stewart, Queho and more, "Las Vegas History You Don't Know" will be a fun and entertaining way to learn more about the place we all call home.

Also, there will be  "Stump the Panel" where you can ask them questions about arcane Las Vegas history that you know.  Will they be able to add to your knowledge or will you have the stories they don't know.

Join us on Thursday, December 3rd to find out!

Panelists include:

Dr. Michael Green, Professor of History at the College of Southern Nevada.  Dr. Mike is one of the premiere Southern Nevadan historians.

Mark Hall-Patton, director of Clark County Museums and a local author.

Donna and Gail Andress, they have lived in Las Vegas since 1932 when both arrived as children.  They have helped Las Vegas grow from a dusty railroad town into the Entertainment Capital of the World.  In addition, they are both local historians.

Thursday, December 3rd

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Desert Learning Center

6:30 pm

Admission $9.00 (buy a three-class series pass and get a discount!)

See you there!

A Busy Week in Las Vegas

We hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday, survived the shopping madness (for the record, we did not go near a shopping mall) and are ready for a fun-filled week of events.

I'll be posting more about them in the next day or two but circle your calendars for these important dates:

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd:  I am giving a lecture on the History of Neon in Las Vegas at the Sun City Anthem Learning Center at 1:00 pm.

Thursday, Dec. 3rd: Untold Stories at the Springs Preserve:  "The Las Vegas You Don't Know" with Dr. Michael Green, Mark Hall-Patton and Donna and Gail Andress.  6:30 pm.

Friday, Dec. 4th: The final historic discussion for the Clark County Centennial.  The topic will be "Marketing Las Vegas" with former News Bureau manager, Don Payne; Robert Stoldal; John Ullom and Frank Mitrani.  County Government Center, 6:00 pm.

Sunday, Dec. 6th:  The Friends of Classic Las Vegas will have their annual Holiday Party!  Lots of food and drink to share along with special guest, Don Payne talking about the history of Las Vegas.  The fun begins at 2:00 pm.  It's a pot-luck style gathering so email me for details about what to bring and where!

RTC Transit finds its future in Las Vegas' past

The RTC is going neon.  Well along the new bus routes anyways.  Seems they are teaming with the Neon Museum and others to restore neon signs from our collective past and use as transit markers on their new routes.

From the Review-Journal:

Downtown Las Vegas has developed into a hip place to hang out and now the Regional Transportation Commission is hoping to play off the newly chic neighborhoods.

Like downtown, the transit agency aims to reinvent itself; it's working to shake the stigma attached to hopping on a public bus. The latest effort comes in the form of neon signs -- some dug out from the old neon boneyard and others newly built. They adorn three stops along the agency's trendy new ACE transit line.

 

In the Arts District, a massive sign reading "18b" shadows the transit stop. For those of us who aren't as cool as we think we are, 18b means 1800 block, which is how the artsy crowd refers to that area. Down the street is the retro sign from the 5th Street Liquor store and, across from the Las Vegas Convention Center, stands the original Landmark casino sign -- reborn on the same spot of the old establishment.

"It's an interpretive, artistic way to illuminate the route for the ACE," said Jacob Snow, general manager of the commission. "We want to make it cool looking and make it a positive experience."

Downtown once had a reputation for prostitution, cheap shrimp cocktails, homeless people and cheesy casino giveaways. It has re-emerged as a gathering spot for the younger crowd with trendy bars that offer no gambling.

The redevelopment has even surprised Las Vegas natives such as Snow. Now, Snow is doing the same with the bus system.

Over the years, the agency has gradually faded out its purple and green, exhaust-billowing Citizens Area Transit buses, replacing them with the gold single and double-deck RTC vehicles. In March, the transportation agency will unveil the new ACE system.

Passengers purchase their tickets at the stops, which, combined with the bus-level curbs, will allow a more convenient and quicker boarding process. The new vehicles are the closest Las Vegas will have to light-rail.

And the vehicles themselves?

"This is not your grandfather's bus; this is not a toaster on wheels," Snow said.

So in introducing this new line that will primarily serve downtown and the Strip, why not draw more attention to it with the old-school signs?

"They add native history," Snow said. "We don't have a lot in terms of keeping our history."

In addition to the neon bus stop demarcations, the agency has chosen a handful of artists to create pieces that will be installed on each bus shelter's eight panels.

The idea to install cool signs was actually born years before downtown became popular again.

Snow credits former Clark County Parks and Recreation Director Pat Marchese, who suggested raiding the boneyard for signs that could be erected in the rights of way of a planned light-rail system. The light-rail fell to the wayside, but that didn't mean the RTC should do the same with the signs, Snow said.

The ACE project is still under its $60 million budget, which means Snow and his associates may head back down to the boneyard, a Las Vegas Boulevard property where the signs are stored. He figures he might be able to afford three more signs that would be installed on the Grand Central Parkway stretch of the ACE route.

"This is going to be a lot of fun," Snow said.

And if his strategy works, Las Vegans might think the same about riding the bus.

Mark Hall-Patton on the role of Museums in Las Vegas

Mark Hall-Patton, or HP as we like to call him, is the director of Clark County Museums (yes, museums as in more than one).  He oversees the Clark County Museum on Boulder Highway, the Howard Cannon Aviation Museum at McCarran Airport and the Searchlight Museum.

In addition, he is a local historian, author and the moderator of the monthly County Centennial panel discussions that are held on First Friday at 6:00 pm in the Commission Chambers (and broadcast throughout the month on Channel 4).

Our pal, Kristen Peterson, sat down with HP for an interview:

With budgets pared to bare essentials, museums are feeling the pressure.

Mark Hall-Patton, administrator of the Clark County Museum and the Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum, and president of the Nevada Museums Association, discussed the museums’ purpose.

How did museums originate?

Museums came out of what were called cabinets of curiosities in the Renaissance. People would collect odd little items — metals, sea shells, relics from the saints. These showed how erudite you were. In the 18th century, collections of kings and queens became open to the public. Eventually there was the idea that materials of value could be held on behalf of someone.

Why a museum?

The role of the museums is to tell the story you’re empowered to tell. It’s not a museum unless it’s held in the public trust for the public. The collection here is held by the county for the people. There is a requirement to care for it to the best of your ability. There are a lot of laws that affect museum collections and how you deal with them. My job is to keep up with those laws.

What about when people say museums are a waste of public money?

I’ve never heard that. I’ve had people ask what we do with the money and if we need that much money. I don’t know that anybody has ever said, “You’re wasting money on your institution.”

We’re taking care of things. We’re an informational repository. We understand the value of the artifact in teaching.

What’s your role here?

We make a mistake if we think that people come to Southern Nevada to go to museums. What bothers me is when I hear someone who has been here 20 or 30 years say, “We have a county museum?”

What drives museum workers?

Folks who get into museum work do it because they are called to it. For many, at some point in their young lives, they made a connection with a thing that helped them understand the world around them. When I was 8 I used to build museums on my patio. I would set up everything old that was in the house and give tours to my friends.

Will museums in Nevada survive this economy?

We’ll get through it. I’ve been through this before.