Search Results
Transcript of interview with Jon Sparer by Barbara Tabach, March 4, 2015
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In this interview, Jon Sparer discusses his involvement as the architect of Congregation Ner Tamid's synagogue in Green Valley. He explains details of the building including the concrete tilt-up form, glass windows and the incorporation of quotes throughout the building. Sparer also discusses his involvement with the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada (The Center) as a board member.
According to architect Jon Sparer, when he moved to Las Vegas in the early 1980s, the art of the deal was still based on a "handshake." It was just after the infamous MGM fire and Jon went to work for Rissman and Rissman. He later worked for Marnell Corrao Associates until 2001, and then as a principal in his own firm. He is now retired. While honing his design skills with the exciting transformation of the Strip into a world-class destination, Jon also became an active contributor to the Las Vegas community. Among his most notable experiences was being on the search committee for a new location for the fast growing Congregation Ner Tamid and then the architectural design for the synagogue's location in Henderson. It was a unique experience and Jon tells how he approached each aspect of the religious facility and how it would provide a memorable setting for life experiences. Jon has been involved with Jewish Family Services and the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). In addition, Jon along with his husband John Klai have been instrumental in the LGBTQ community and the opening of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada [The Center]. In this interview, he also talks about the significance of The Center/ and its success in working with the Clark County Health District, as well as providing a user-friendly experience for all who visit The Center and the Bronze Cafe located there.
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Photographs of Glass Pool Inn signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), 2002
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Site address: 4613 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign details: Located on the very south end of Las Vegas Blvd the Glass Pool Inn boasts a Pylon/Pole sign along the east side of the Strip. Both the sign and the adjacent lounge, which holds vestiges of wall signs, are directly Northwest of the famed glass Portaled pool, where the establishment takes its name.
Sign condition: Structure 3 Surface 2 Lighting 2
Sign form: Pylon
Sign-specific description: The Glass Pool's main sign is a double-backed, double poled, internally lit pylon design. The top portion, a sculpted internally lit marquee in the classic kidney pool shape, reads "Glass Pool Inn." A smaller sign of similar water referenced design, sits below the main marquee. They are both contained in sheet metal framed painted blue. The bottom portion is comprised of a incandescent bulb LED matrix center, a Sheet metal message center containing a small plastic readerboard with vinyl letters, and a red neon sign for vacancy. The boxes or the message centers are also blue sheet metal.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign animation: none
Sign environment: The Glass Pool Inn sits on south end of the strip among the small dying hotels of Las Vegas Blvd's earlier history, it is one of the first signs you see traveling North on the strip entering town. Just north lies the beginning of the main flood of architecture from the modern strip; while to its south are the beginnings of the strip and the spawning new growth of Las Vegas. The Glass Pool stands in the unique position of being in that gateway of entering the Las Vegas Strip
Sign manufacturer: YESCO
Sign - date of installation: 1953
Sign - date of redesign/move: In 1989 when Steve Wynn was establishing the Mirage, there was another property which also had the name: the small southern Strip, roadside motel. When Wynn acquired the name the original Mirage simply changed its name to the Glass Pool Inn. The original sign was left in place, and simply remodeled to fit the new name of the motel. Permitted by the county to refurbish in December of 1988.
Sign - thematic influences: Water and the pool itself, kidney-shaped design.
Sign - artistic significance: The Glass Pool is an artistic artifact of the older smaller strip hotels. Artistically it is reminiscent of the roadside pole sign used to attract traffic. It represents one of the last strip roadside motels in that portion of the Strip.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Pylon; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Paint
Mixed Content
Transcript of interview with Jerry Engel by Barbara Tabach, March 1, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Jerry Engel was born in 1930 in New Jersey and spent most of his early life in Long Beach, New York until the family moved westward to Las Angeles. Jerry is a retired Certified Public Accountant and loves to talk about the history of Las Vegas that he observed since arriving in 1953. That was the year that he moved to Las Vegas to join his older brothers, Morris and Phil, in their accounting firm. Their major client at the time was Desert Inn. Another personal connection with local history: the Engel brothers? mother, Esther Katz Engel, was among the early investors in the Moulin Rouge hotel/casino enterprise. Jerry graduated with honors from University of California, Los Angeles in 1951. His accounting career in Las Vegas is highly regarded and he continues to maintain a consulting practice. He remains active within the community and enjoys doing presentations based on his memories of Las Vegas history. Within this interview, Jerry highlights people, casinos and other observations of local history that he came into contact with over the decades. He provides insights about the role of an accountant in the gaming industry. He also discusses the influence of Jewish business leaders in and array of local gaming and non-gaming issues, including the retail world, Jim Crow era segregation, and the astonishing growth of the valley over six decades.
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Transcript of interview with Gil Cohen by Claytee White, August 5, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Interview with Gil Cohen by Claytee White on August 5, 2015. In this interview, Cohen discusses growing up in Las Vegas and attending University of Nevada at Reno. He returned to Las Vegas to join the management training program at the Stardust. He talks about his friendships with Moe Dalitz and Carl Cohen, and his interest in golfing. He also discusses corporate ownership of casinos, unions, and his experiences working at different Strip hotels.
Gil Cohen came to Las Vegas in 1957, when was ten years old, when his father, Yale Cohen, was recruited by Moe Dalitz to work at the Stardust Hotel and Casino. Cohen graduated from University of Nevada Reno, and started working at the Stardust through the management-training program. In 1975, he was made hotel manager, his first of many leadership positions in Strip properties, which have included the Dunes, Aladdin, Hacienda and Monte Carlo, where he currently works as a casino host.
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Grace Hayes Photograph Collection
Identifier
Abstract
The Grace Hayes Photograph Collection consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives from approximately 1890 to 1980. The collection includes personal photographs of Hayes and her son Peter Lind Hayes and publicity photographs from Hayes's entertainment career.
Archival Collection
Brochure from the Molasky Group of Companies, approximately 2010
Date
Archival Collection
Description
This brochure includes highlights of the Molasky Group of Companies, specializing in real estate development.
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Martin Stern Architectural Records
Identifier
Abstract
The collection is comprised of drawings (1950-1990) completed by American architect Martin Stern and/or his architectural firm, Martin Stern Jr., AIA Architect and Associates, and contains 400 cubic feet of materials including 710 drawings from over 300 different projects involving over 100 buildings. Stern’s work focused on the resort centers of Las Vegas, Nevada; Reno, Nevada; Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The materials feature hand-drawn architectural drawings, ranging from pencil and ink on tracing paper preliminary sketches to ink on Mylar (TM) construction documents, and a number of artist’s renderings, used for presentations and promotional materials. The drawings also contain work from a number of consultants, engineers, and other architects who collaborated on the development of the various projects. The collection includes architectural drawings for: hotels, casinos, integrated casino resorts, office towers, multi-family residential developments, and custom single-family homes.
Archival Collection
Grace Hayes Papers
Identifier
Abstract
The Grace Hayes Papers (1900-1989) include personal papers and financial papers pertaining to the Grace Hayes Lodge (formerly the Red Rooster), a nightclub on the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection includes financial documents, newspaper clippings about Hayes and her family, personal correspondence, career mementos, legal documents, and photograph albums.
Archival Collection
Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Las Vegas, Nevada Photographs
Identifier
Abstract
The Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Las Vegas, Nevada Photographs document various activities of the Culinary Union, from the 1950s to 2006, with the bulk of the material documenting the 1990s. Prominently featured in the collection are various strikes, pickets, marches, parades, rallies, and demonstrations from the late 1980s to early 2000s. A large portion of these photographs documents the Frontier Strike of the 1990s. Also included are photographs of press conferences, political rallies, internal committee meetings, Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees (H.E.R.E.) conventions, and various social events. Materials contain photographic prints, photographic negatives, and a small number of slides.
Archival Collection
Las Vegas, Nevada Strip Hotel Labor Relations Collection
Identifier
Abstract
The Las Vegas, Nevada Strip Hotel Labor Relations Collection comprises legal documents, correspondence, and human resources manuals and pamphlets related to labor in the hospitality industry on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada from 1963 to 2008. The majority of documents involve the Culinary Union, the Bartenders Union, the Teamsters Union, MGM Mirage affiliated hotel casinos, the Dunes Hotel, and the Sands Hotel and Casino.
Archival Collection