Details on our upcoming Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas weekend.

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE!!!!!!!!

http://www.adas-lv.com/

Thank you for being so patient!  We've got the preliminary details (with more to follow) but we figured it was best to get rolling on this so that our readers could start making plans!

The Friends of Classic Las Vegas and the Architectural and Decorative Arts Society present:

Mid-Mod Marvels:  A Celebration of Mid-Century Modern Architecture and Design

The Events:

Living the Mid-Mod Lifestyle Party:

The fun begins on Friday evening, Oct. 22nd with a reception at the famed Morelli House.  The Junior League of Las Vegas has graciously agreed to open their doors for a cocktail party to kick off our weekend of Mid-Century Modern madness.

Alan Hess will be there to say a few words about not only the era of Mid-Century Modern but also provide a bit of history about the Morelli House.

The reception starts at 5:30 pm and goes until 7:30 pm.  Tickets are $25.

Mid-Century Modern History and Las Vegas

We kick-off Saturday afternoon, Oct. 23rd at the National Golf Course's (originally the Stardust Golf Course) Clubhouse with two panels on the era and Las Vegas.

 

The first one:  Mid-Century Modern Architecture, Design and Las Vegas  begins at 1:00 pm:

Panelists include Alan Hess, architect William Krisel, Chris Nichols and Dr. Robert Tracy talking about the influence of architects such as Welton Beckett, Wayne McAllister and Paul Revere Williams on local architects such as Walter Zick, Harris Sharp, Hugh Taylor and the influence of Mid-Century design on Las Vegas.

The second one:  A Look Back at the Las Vegas News Bureau begins at 3:00 pm:

The Las Vegas News Bureau helped put Las Vegas on the map in the Mid-Century Modern era.  The photographers captured not only the stars of the era but also the buildings and hotels of the era, most of which are gone or altered way beyond their original design.  Panelists will include:  former News Bureau manager, Don Payne.

In the evening of Oct. 23rd, we will present the Las Vegas premiere of the documentary, "William Krisel, Architect" at 6:30 pm.

The documentary, produced by Design OnScreen and directed by Jake Gorst, looks at the life and the influence of William Krisel.  Known mainly for his Mid-Century Modern architecture in California, Mr. Krisel's influence on the residential architecture of Las Vegas can be seen in the Paradise Palms neighborhood.  Working with developer Irwin Molasky, Mr. Krisel designed the homes in that subdivison.

Following the screening, the will be a Q&A session with Alan Hess and William Krisel.

Tickets for Saturday's events are $20.00

Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas Bus Tour:

On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 24th, we will offer a double-decker bus tour highlighting the Mid-Century Modern neighborhoods of Las Vegas.  This will be a different tour route than the one we did last year with new open houses at two Mid-Century modern homes.  Neighborhoods we will glide through include Marycrest, Paradise Palms and the Scotch Eighties.

The tour leaves from the Reed Whipple Cultural Center at noon, include a stop at the Morelli House and will last three hours.  The bus will return to Reed Whipple at the end of the tour.

Please be aware, like last year, seating for the tour is limited.

Tickets are $20.

Now, if you want to save a few dollars, you can buy a three-day pass for $50.  Passes and individual tickets will be available on the ADAS website.  As soon as they have the page up, we will post a link here.

So, start planning your wardrobe and your itinerary, because this is going to be one great weekend you won't want to miss!

Support for this great weekend provided by:

City of Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission

Sponsors for this great weekend are:

The El Cortez

The Junior League of Las Vegas

Metro Arts Council

Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Retro Vegas

Terry Wilsey

VeryVintageVegas

Last of the Las Vegas Memories

This series has been very popular so I thought we would end the series on an up note:

The pineapple fountain that once graced the front of the Tropicana

Snow day, December 2008

The El Rancho Vegas with its famous pool

Downtown 1955

A slogan that brought thousands for a visit

The original House of Lords rendering, Sahara Hotel

The El Morocco (formerly the Bank of Las Vegas) and Jack Dennison's Copper Cart

The Union Plaza: A Look Back to the Beginning, Part 2

This has been such a popular series (thank you to everyone who has emailed me about how much they love the pictures).

To all of you, here are some more:

The Union Plaza site with Von Tobel Lumber in the foreground.  Looking north,  you can see the Train Depot and tracks and Cashman Auto Dealership in the background.  That is Main Street with cars on it.

What used to be Union Park and all the trees are gone, the Train Depot still sits in the back of the property.  The Golden Gate and the Las Vegas Club sit in the foreground.

The Union Plaza begins to be built.

1969, the Train Depot has been torn down.  Three different depots have sat on this property, the first one built in 1905.  But, in 1969, that was all history.  Train service to Las Vegas continued until the late 1980s via Amtrack's Desert Wind.  The far south end of the Union Plaza handled trains, Greyhound buses and in the 1970s was the main hub for local buses as well.  I spent many a Saturday afternoon/evening waiting for the bus that would take to me to the Huntridge Theater or the Charleston Plaza Mall's Fox Theater to see a double bill.  After a day at the movies, I had to wait at the Plaza for the bus to take me back to Charleston Heights.

"Diamonds Are Forever" starring Sean Connery as Bond, James Bond was shot on location while the Union Plaza was under construction.  You can't see much since most of the action on Fremont Street takes place at night, but the film is a wonderful time capsule of 1970's Las Vegas with a number of locales and signs that are no longer there.