Abstract
The Pacifica Hotel Collection (1981-1985) contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, and contracts on the Pacifica Hotel, the first resort geared specifically towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection also includes one optical disc with a compilation of Las Vegas television news stories from the summer of 1985 about the Pacifica Hotel project.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The Pacifica Hotel Collection (1981-1985) contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, and contracts on the Pacifica Hotel, the first resort geared specifically towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection also includes one optical disc with a compilation of Las Vegas television news stories from the summer of 1985 about the Pacifica Hotel project.
Access Note
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
In the early 1980s, Lee Martin and Ray Kepner founded Galliard Resorts International with the intention of building a resort targeted specifically for the LGBTQIA+ community in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Treasury Hotel and Casino located on Tropicana Avenue closed in 1982 and Martin and Kepner approached Andrew DeLillo, Sr., the hotel's owner, and proposed the Treasury reopen as the Pacifica Hotel. The height of the AIDS epidemic in 1985 resulted in Las Vegas civic and gaming authorities preventing Martin and Kepner from opening the Pacifica Hotel. DeLillo also backed out of the deal and the Pacifica Hotel went out of business after one year of operation. The hotel was renamed as the Polynesian Hotel and as of 2021 operates as the Oyo Hotel and Casino.
Sources:
Hawley, Tom, "Video Vault: Pacifica Hotel targeted gay community, drawing attention and derision," KSNV News3LV, May 10, 2017. https://news3lv.com/news/local/video-vault-off-strip-hotel-targeting-gay-community-draws-attention-derision
Pacifica Hotel Collection, 1981-1985. MS-01066. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preferred Citation
Pacifica Hotel Collection, 1981-1985. MS-01066. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2013 by Dennis McBride; accession number 2013-19.
Processing Note
In 2021, Tammi Kim minimally processed the collection and created the finding aid in ArchivesSpace. Video files were transferred off of one optical disc and converted to M4V.