Liberace Fans to Protest the Closing of the Museum

September 19, 2010

Fans of the Liberace Museum are outraged at the closing of the Museum (see our post below). According to our pal, Johnny Katz at the Las Vegas Sun, a protest is planned for Wednesday morning at 11:30 am in front of the museum.

Jeffrey White, the event organizer, is calling for the ouster of Liberace Foundation Chairman, Jeffrey Koep and Foundation President Jack Rappaport. Rappaport's continuing role is unknown but he thinks he may be asked to handle the choosing of items for a possible national tour. He is also trying to find a new home for the Museum on the Strip.

According to Katz, Koep said meager visitation numbers at the museum (from a high of 450,000 at its peak to around 30,000 last year) and an absence of revenue from businesses in the strip-mall plaza owned by the foundation were the reasons the distinctly Las Vegas attraction is closing.

Koep said the museum had for years been financially sustained by the endowment fund set up to award scholarships, and it had reached the point where the museum had to close to preserve that fund, he said. The Liberace Foundation had once awarded $500,000 annually to gifted students; last year that number fell to $65,000.

The organized outcry likely won't be a massive effort. A turnout of between 75 and 100 is expected. But White, quoting from legendary cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead, said the group would not be deterred:

"A small group of thoughtful people can change the world. Indeed it's the only thing that ever has."

For more on the Museum prospects and a film on the life of Lee:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/kats-report/2010/sep/17/supporters-liberace-museum-refuse-close-show-witho/

Liberace Museum Closes Their Doors

September 11, 2010

Well, it seems it has been headed towards this for awhile. But, now it is official. The Liberace Museum has closed its doors citing "declining interest".

Jeffrey Koep, the chairman of the Liberace Foundation, cites the declining interest in Liberace himself as part of the problem.

He also cites the fact that as Liberace's fans have gotten grayer and older, new fans have not necessarily taken their place.

Unlike Elvis and the Rat Pack, both of whom were Las Vegas legends at the same time Lee was wowing crowds in the 1950s and 1960s, Liberace is not necessarily remembered as well as the others in today's media saturated times.

Both Elvis and Sinatra have estates, controlled by family, that make them powerhouses to be reckoned with and keep their departed loved ones in the eye of the public. Liberace did not have that. Nor did he have recording legacy that is kept alive through the licensing of his music.

His legacy seems to be his flair of showmanship whose roots flow to Lady Gaga and other modern singers.

A biopic, directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Michael Douglas has been talked about but with Douglas battling stage 4 cancer, it's future is uncertain.

The museum opened in 1979 with 5,000 square feet and by 1988 had grown to 11,000. In its heyday, the Museum was a big hit and the most visited museum in town.

The Foundation says that profits have been declining for 12 years and cites its off-Strip locale as part of the problem.

They hope to continue with traveling exhibits but for now it's "Goodnight, Irene" for the Liberace Museum.

We are sorry to see it go.

The Union Plaza: A Look Back to the Beginning

July 11, 2010

We've had a couple of emails from people asking about the Union Plaza and wanting to see more pictures about the Train Depot, Union Park and what was there before the Union Plaza was built.

Thanks to our good friend, Dennis McBride, at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas we can do just that.

This is an aerial shot of Union Park with the Train Depot sitting in the background with the train tracks behind the Depot. In the foreground, you get a glimpse of the Las Vegas Club neon sign and roof line and a small glimpse of the Golden Gate neon sign on the left.

This is the Train Depot looking east. Union Park is front with the Las Vegas Club across the street. To the left of the Depot is part of the Cashman Dealership.

This is looking just south of Union Park and the Train Depot. In the foreground is the Golden Gate. Across Main Street is the Greyhound Bus Terminal and Von Tobel Lumber.

Rendering of the Union Plaza Hotel. Though the rendering credits Stanley J. How and Associates in Omaha, Nebraska, the local firm of Walter Zick and Harris Sharp were involved as well.

Construction begins on the Union Plaza. The Las Vegas Club and the Golden Gate are in the foreground. The Train Depot has yet to be torn down.

More coming!!!!!

Mid-Mod Wowzem at Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

May 4, 2010

From Dennis McBride at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas:

The April 24 opening reception for the Mid-Modern Las Vegas exhibit at the Nevada State Museum was a hit, drawing more than 130 people. The exhibit had been eagerly anticipated by Las Vegas’s community of Mid-Modders, as well as architects, historic preservationists, and realtors. The museum’s docents served a buffet from Mid-Century Modern dishware and several of them dressed the part. Many of those who attended the reception also dressed from the 1950s and ‘60s. Among the notable guests were realtor “Uncle Jack” LeVine; artist and Mid-Mod collector Diane Bush; Atomic Age Alliance founders Mary-Margaret and Carey Stratton, whose restored home in Paradise Palms was featured in the exhibit; Las Vegas Night Beat publisher Bill Schafer; realtor “Downtown Steve;” and curators from the Las Vegas Springs Preserve and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In addition, Bill Mitchell, his wife, Barbara, and son Scott flew in for the reception from Florida and New Jersey: Bill is the son of Jay Florian Mitchell, whose historic photographs of Mid-Century Las Vegas compose most of the exhibit. Steve Cochran, grandson of Mid-Century Las Vegas designer and builder Lee Cochran, attended with his family. Lee Cochran’s 1964 Mason Manor home development is featured in the exhibit; homeowners from Mason Manor were also on hand to meet the Cochran family and talk about the history of their homes.

Scott, Barbara and Bill Mitchell

Ray and Steve Cochran

Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas is the last big exhibit the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas will present before its 2011 move into a new building at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas Director David Millman and Mid-Century Modern buff