Dr. Michael Green and Las Vegas History!

One of my favorite people is Dr. Michael Green.  He teaches history at the College of Southern Nevada, he's a familiar face to my Untold Stories class, is one of my go-to guys when I need a historic question answered and is just a terrific guy.

He is also our inaugural guest for a new feature here at Classic Las Vegas.  I will be interviewing various history and cultural gurus in Las Vegas right here.

Dr. Mike was kind enough to help me kick this new feature off.

So, without further ado here's Dr. Mike:

1)  Why do you enjoy teaching Las Vegas history?

Besides teaching Las Vegas history—and general surveys—I specialize in the Civil War era.  I would love to interview Lincoln or someone who knew him fairly well, but that doesn’t seem possible.  But in Las Vegas, the people who made the history are here or one generation removed, and that adds an excitement and interest level for me and, I think, for others. 

Also, to refer to my example, while there remains a great deal we do not know about the Civil War era, we know a lot.  I always find it more interesting to study something not very well known to try to learn more about it, and so much of Las Vegas’s history is uncharted territory.  Also, it is right here, waiting for us.  I like to think of myself as being a public servant, and I think we serve the public when we do research on our community’s history.

2)  Which part of Las Vegas history do you think needs more of the spotlight?

Ha!  Just about all of it!  Even the Strip, which gets so much attention—how much do we know about the business operations and the entertainment history?  We need to know a lot more about what went on here in the community at all times, and especially before the dam.  There have been some good studies of the broader Las Vegas community, but we need a lot more specialized work on everything from women to religion.

3)  Which is your favorite era of Las Vegas history and why?

If you asked me another day, my answer would be different.  To turn it around, I would find it fascinating to have been here when the Stewarts and Kiels were about the only ones around in the late nineteenth century and see just what was really going on.  But I incline toward the 1950s:  interesting people with interesting backgrounds, the Strip and downtown expanding, growth fast but reasonable, political change, incredible entertainment, and a civil rights movement really ramping up.

4)  What is the significance of Las Vegas before WWII and in the post-war era?

Do you have a year for me to answer?  Before World War II, Las Vegas wasn’t terribly significant.  It was a pit stop and a small tourist town between Los Angeles and Salt Lake, dependent on the railroad first for jobs in its repair shops and then, when the railroad moved the shops, on tourists coming through on the train or via the old highway.  Not that that era isn’t worthy and in need of further study, but Las Vegas didn’t matter yet on a regional and national—even international—scale in the way that it would and does.  I think the era is incredibly valuable for us to examine for harbingers of what was to come, locally and nationally.

As for the postwar era, in 1994, Time proclaimed Las Vegas “the all-American city.”  At about the same time, Marc Cooper did a great piece in The Village Voice about how Las Vegas operated, and it was far less, shall we say, glamorous than Time’s version. 

I think that Las Vegas is in some ways symbolic of postwar America:  a greater movement toward leisure and instant gratification, thanks partly to social changes (suburbanization, different mores and morals) and partly to inventions that make them possible (computers and jet airplanes).  Las Vegas also is a fascinating way to look at the evolution of entertainment:  showrooms used to resemble the Ed Sullivan show, which resembled vaudeville. 

Now, with shorter attention spans, we have one-person shows with lots of bells and whistles or Cirque shows that are not in themselves star vehicles but sometimes are related to stars and/or use those bells and whistles.

5)  What are your thoughts on the "Casino" the movie and myth vs. reality?

Let’s start with the point that “Casino” is a marvelous film, as film.  It also does a very good job of conveying its time or milieu.  Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi captured the aura of the time.  The problem is that it’s terrible history. 

For storytelling purposes, they combined several politicians into one, made Ace Rothstein look far abler than Lefty Rosenthal actually was (understandable when you have Robert DeNiro in the lead role), and attached far more significance to the affair between Joe Pesci’s and Sharon Stone’s characters than it actually had. 

The reality is that the mob’s fall here had a lot more to do with federal and state investigations, which don’t transfer well to the screen, and Rosenthal’s incredible arrogance, best displayed in his confrontation with then-Gaming Commission chairman Harry Reid and his abominable television show.

6)  Is the "Green Felt Jungle" a good book on the mob if so, why or why not?

My answer is yes and no.  As with most books in that genre, Ed Reid and Ovid DeMaris have a lot of good information but are more interested in heat than in light.  Also, a significant amount of the book is stuff that Reid reported in the Las Vegas Sun nearly a decade before—the Thunderbird case.  But it has a lot of useful, interesting information, and it’s certainly a good read.

Thank you Dr. Mike!

City of Las Vegas and Cultural Arts

Our good friend and fellow Friend of Classic Las Vegas, Brian "Paco" Alvarez wants to get out the word about the City of Las Vegas and the Cultural Arts.  Like Paco, we believe that Cultural Arts are essential to residents and without them, the educational programming that we do would be seriously hindered.

Read on to see how you can help, note the dates and do your part to help save Cultural Arts in the City of Las Vegas:

Over the next couple of months the City of Las Vegas will be holding a series of Town Hall meetings to discuss the economic impact of the downturn on the cities budget. It is extremely important that the citizens of Las Vegas participate in these meetings and express concerns over potential cutbacks to city services.

As someone who cares about the Cultural Arts in Las Vegas and understands the positive economic impact the arts has on a community I encourage you to engage your civic leaders about protecting this important asset. We are very fortunate to live in a community in which we can pick up the phone and talk to the very people we elected. We must remind our elected officials that the only way we can diversify our economy and bring creative businesses to Las Vegas is by our long-term sustained investment in the cultural arts.

Investments in museums, cultural centers, theater, public art and all the things that enrich the citizenry; these quality of life issues encourage economic diversification in a community. Creative businesses such as knowledge based companies, innovators, information technology and scores of others will not come to Las Vegas if we cannot demonstrate that we have the infrastructure that creative businesses demand for their workforce. Yes Nevada has a favorable tax environment for businesses to relocate here but have you noticed that they are not exactly flocking to the state nor Las Vegas for that matter? The reason is simple, we have a grossly underfunded educational system and the investment in our cultural infrastructure is minimal.

Whether you agree with me or not the truth of the matter is we cannot continue depending on one industry to sustain our economy. In addition it is not fair to that industry that we continue using them alone to sustain our budgets. These issues run far and deep in Nevada and will not be solved easily nor quickly but we can make a difference if we get involved.

Below is information related to the City of Las Vegas Town Hall meetings and how you can participate.

Town Hall meetings will be held in various locations throughout the city at various times with city council representatives from respective wards attending.

As part of the “Your City, Your Way” Initiative, Las Vegas residents weighed-in on city services and resources, and on what works and what doesn't through several forums including focus groups, a phone survey and on-line survey. The resident input is being used by city management and the City Council to help make informed, strategic decisions based on resident priorities. During the town hall meetings, city staff will present information on the city’s budget shortfall and potential reductions. Staff will also present information on Census 2010, followed by a question and answer period.

City of Las Vegas residents are encouraged to attend one of the Town Hall meetings scheduled at various locations throughout the city. Other Town Hall meetings will take place:

•Jan. 19, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 5: City Council Chambers, 400 Stewart Ave.

•Jan. 25, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 4: YMCA Durango Hills, 3521 N. Durango Drive

•Jan. 27, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 3: East Las Vegas Community Center / Ballroom, 250 N. Eastern Ave.

•Feb. 9, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 6: Centennial Hills YMCA, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive

•Feb. 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 2: Veterans Memorial Leisure Services Center, 101 S. Pavilion Center Drive

•Feb. 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 6: Northwest Career and Technical Academy / Training Room, 8200 W. Tropical Parkway

•Feb. 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 3: Las Vegas Chuck Minker Sports Complex, 275 N. Mojave Road

•Feb. 24, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 5: Southern Nevada Health District / Clemens Room, 625 Shadow Lane

•Feb. 27, 10 a.m. to Noon - Ward 1: YMCA Meadows Lane, 4141 Meadows Lane

•March 1, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 4: Starbright Theater, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd.

•March 4, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 1: Charleston Heights Arts Center / Theater, 800 S. Brush St.

For more information and to view the results of the recent phone survey and the focus groups, visit http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/yourcity or call 229-6501.

To learn about the many services, events and facilities available to residents visit the city Web site at http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/

Liberace Museum moving to the Strip

For years the Liberace Museum has been near UNLV and Tivoli Gardens, the restaurant that Lee owned.  But, in these struggling times, the museum is moving on up to the Strip in an effort to get more foot traffic through the door.

Liberace and his brother, George at the Museum in 1979

From our pal, Johnny Kats:

The Liberace Museum's days on the corner of East Tropicana Avenue at Spencer are numbered.

We'll put that number at over/under 400 1/2. As always, for entertainment purposes only.

New Liberace Foundation & Museum President Jack Rappaport, a member of the Liberace Foundation Board of Directors since 2006, said today the Foundation is in discussions with an entity on the Strip to relocate the Liberace Museum (and my man Ubiquitous Robin Leach tweeted this earlier today, so right on).

The Liberace Museum has stored and displayed Liberace's costumes, footwear, jewelry, photos, vehicles, pianos, photos, and even bedroom sets in two buildings at 1775 East Tropicana since April 15, 1979. Rappaport says it could be as soon as Thanksgiving or as long as the latter half of 2011 that the museum is fully relocated to a high-density area on the Strip.

"This is not the best spot for us. This is not where we should be," Rappaport, who has taken over the position vacated by Darin Hollingsworth soon after the museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in April, said during a phone conversation this afternoon. The reason the museum is in a bad location — even if that location was decided on by Liberace himself — is because tourists are not interested in moving so far off the Strip to visit the museum. At its peak, the Liberace museum attracted a quarter of a million visitors annually; that number dropped to about 50,000 by the time the 30th anniversary rolled around.

"Liberace wanted to appeal to locals because he was so heavily involved in the community, and here was a time when we had 10, 12 tour busses stop here, but that's no longer the case," Rappaport said. "We're not getting the tourist traffic we used to from the Strip. It used to be tourists would gamble and lie in the sun on the Strip and not do much else, so they would see the museum. But then the Strip, over years, became an attraction unto itself, and we stopped getting so many visitors."

Interns from the UNLV School of Architecture are in the process of drafting plans for the 20,000-square-foot project, which is about what the two museum buildings occupy now. Rappaport says there will be a more intelligent use of space in the new ... space. There will be a plan for an expanded showroom, larger than the cabaret theater at the current museum.

"It is a work in progress, keep that in mind," Rappaport said. "But it will be located in an area where a lot of tourists will already be visiting, and locals will still have a chance to visit the museum … this is long overdue, actually."

What would further inflate visitor numbers is a feature film about Liberace starring Michael Douglas in the lead role, and Matt Damon portraying the pianist's longtime lover Scott Thorsen. I say this because People magazine's Web site reported back in September that Douglas and Damon would star in a film about Liberace, with director Stephen Soderbergh confirming their involvement in the film. Since, Rappaport has sent letters to Soderbergh and United Artists CEO Jerry Weintraub offering to assist with wardrobe, memorabilia, those types of contributions, when the film reportedly starts shooting this spring. He hasn't heard back. No worries, though.

"We've been looking at museums across the country for design ideas, but we're so different," Rappaport said. "We're labeled a museum, but we're more than that. We're an experience." And one that more past and future fans of Liberace should, in fact, experience.

Random Thoughts and Things That Irritate Me

Just some things that irritate me,  make me wonder and really make me mad.  Hey, it's my birthday.  I should get to blog about personal stuff every now and then.

1.  The NBC Late-Night Fiasco.  I know there are folks on Team Conan and folks on Team Leno.  But guess what?   There are no people on Team Zucker and that’s the way it should be. 

 Jeff Zucker, the one-time boy genius who was going to make NBC #1 forever and ever, instead, made one of the worst decisions in network history.  Now Zucker is blaming Conan for not delivering a higher audience for the Tonight Show and blaming Jay for not delivering a higher audience for the Jay Leno show.  

Despite the fact, that he, Jeff Zucker, was the architect of this entire fiasco. 

In the old days of corporate America when you screwed up on a scale this grand, you did the right thing by taking the blame and stepping down immediately.  Not Jeff Zucker, he really wants to be the poster boy for everything that we hate about Corporate America today.  That is, instead of admitting your mistakes and taking your punishment, you instead blame the victims and ask all of America to ignore your hand in designing this fiasco and ask that we all just pretend you’re not to blame.  Sorry, Jeff Zucker, there’s a reason the only person on Team Zucker is you.

2.  Post-Apocalyptic Movies.   They come around every few years.  Anyone remember “The Postman” with Kevin Costner?  Earlier this winter we had “The Road” with the wonderful Viggo Mortensen and based on the acclaimed novel by Cormac McCarthy.  Didn’t do well at the box office.  I’m thinking when it comes to post-apocalyptic movies, movie goers want someone forceful, charming and who offers hope.  Kevin Costner in “Postman” not so much, Denzel Washington in “The Book of Eli”, hell yeah!

3.  Mel Gibson in “Edge of Darkness”.    With all the problems Mel has had with his fans and his personal life the last few years, is this really the time in his career to start channeling Jack Nicholson?  Doesn’t he realize that Jack is still alive and can probably kick his ass for stealing his act?

4.  Smokey Robinson.  Who knew that Smokey was Wayne Newton’s half-brother?  I didn’t .   Did you?  Well, have you seen Smokey lately?  I saw him the other night on an American Masters documentary on Sam Cooke and my jaw dropped to the floor.  There was Smokey, our Smokey, looking like he had gone to Wayne Newton’s plastic surgeon and was proud of it!

 All I could do was hang my head in despair.  Has looking youthful in America sunk so low that someone like Smokey has to chase the fountain of youth to be taken seriously?  For God’s sake, he’s Smokey Robinson!!!!  That should be enough to let him grow old gracefully and still love him!

5.  The Las Vegas Sun.  I read the paper every day on-line.  When I click on News it takes me to a new page where it previews the big Las Vegas news story of the day and has one or two other line items for other news stories.  Underneath it says, More Las Vegas News.  I click on that thinking it will take me to more news stories about what is happening around Las Vegas. 

Instead, it takes me to the weather articles.  Rain in the forecast, not so much.  In the winter, reports of a cooling or cold trend, in the summer, reports of the heat.  I don’t really want to know the weather.  I want to know the More Las Vegas News stories.  Why doesn’t the Sun have a separate weather page?  Or do they really think the weather in Las Vegas changes enough to warrant being the end page for More Las Vegas News?

6. Sheldon Adelson.  He built a new casino in Bethlehem, PA on the grounds of the old US Steel plant.  As part of the deal with the city, he also funded a museum detailing the history of Bethlehem and the importance of US Steel to the community. 

Years before, Shel Adelson built a casino/hotel in Las Vegas called “The Venetian”.  It was built on the site of the famed and beloved Sands Hotel.  We didn’t get a museum detailing the history of Las Vegas or the importance of the Sands Hotel.  The Sands was home to the Rat Pack.  The Sands was one of the first hotels to break the color barrier.  The Sands was the hotel we think of when we think of Classic Las Vegas.  We got squat for all that history.  Thanks, Shel.

7. Cell Phones.  If you are shopping in Trader Joe’s, do you really need to be talking on your cell phone?  Do you really think the rest of us care about your conversation, that we care about who is picking up the kids, what’s for dinner, what your plans of the evening are?  News Flash!  We don’t. Trader Joe’s are not large stores.   If your call is that freakin’ important take it outside and let the rest of us shop in peace.  Because you standing in the middle of the aisle talking away while you and your cart block the rest of us from shopping is only making us hate you more.

8. Trying to park your car while talking on your cell-phone?  Please get off the phone!  Now!

9. The El Cortez.  With all the focus on rehabilitating Downtown, will someone, besides us, please acknowledge that the crew behind the El Cortez ROCKS!  Jackie passed his legacy to a group that understands his legacy.  Thank-You!!!!

10, Endangered Buildings.  As the economy starts to rebound more and more buildings and homes will become endangered:

•  Flora Dungan Humanities Building designed by Zick and Sharp.  One of the last original campus buildings yet, UNLV higher ups want it gone.

• Valley High School- an impeding update will destroy much of the original Zick and Sharp original architecture.

• City Hall, another Zick and Sharp late mid-century modern architecture.  Mayor Goodman wants a new City Hall closer to the Smith Center.  If the that happens, the current building will be torn down to make room for a new casino/hotel.

• East Fremont Motel Auto Courts.  One of the largest and last standing groups of motor auto courts still in existence.  Not to mention the wonderful neon signage still standing.  All are endangered.

• The Las Vegas High School Historical Neighborhood.  Despite being on the Historical Registry of Historical Places, this neighborhood still does not have City Preservation Protection.  Thus, many of the homes that date back to the 1920s-1930s are being torn down and in there place are rising McMansions.  This is our best example of a Historic District and we are letting it go to waste.