“At five years old, I was the youngest boy at the orphanage. This was the first time that I had lived with indoor plumbing and indoor showers.” To describe award-winning home builder Larry Canarelli as a self-made man is to grossly understate his accomplishments and his determination. Canarelli, founder of American West, Nevada’s largest privately owned development company, learned all about living without shelter as a very young boy. When he was nine years old, Canarelli, the second of his mother’s six children, encouraged his veteran stepfather to buy the family’s first permanent house for $80 down and an agreement to assume payments on the Veterans Administration loan. As his school peers dreamt of large, shiny cars, Canarelli envisaged big, beautiful houses. After self-funding his education, graduating from the University of California Los Angeles, completing two years of U.S. Army service, and earning his Master’s degree from University of Southern California, Canarelli began his career working with a large home building firm in the Los Angeles area. Three years later he switched firms, and the new company sent him to Las Vegas. In this interview, Canarelli reaches back to his childhood to explain his motivation to build houses: “All of my life, I had an interest in housing. Perhaps this is because of never having a house when I was younger.” He recalls how the Collins Brothers helped him when he founded American West. He describes the Southern Nevada “shelter market” of the 1970s and follows its evolution in style and marketing through the 1980s and 1990s; he talks about master planning and the builders who first master planned their Clark County developments: Pardee Homes in Spring Valley, American Nevada in Green Valley, and Howard Hughes Corporation in Summerlin. He speaks to the influences of interest rates and available land on housing prices; the importance of environmentally responsible housing; where the entry-level housing market will go, and ways that technology has changed home building and home buying. And throughout, he exemplifies his devotion to, knowledge of, and respect for Southern Nevada’s housing industry-its builders, its market, and its buyers.
In this interview, Rabbi Malcolm Cohen speaks about observed differences between British and American Jewish communities as well as new Temple Sinai initiatives to build community and engage younger congregants. Rabbi Cohen and his wife have two children, Elijah and Rachel.
Rabbi Malcolm Cohen was born on October 7, 1973 in London, England. He describes having the typical Reform Jewish upbringing of a second generation Londoner. His mother worked as an office assistant, and his father ran a bookshop and also prepared youth for their bar and bat mitzvahs. It was his father?s dedication to Jewish education and service that greatly influenced his career path. After earning a degree in psychology from Southampton University, Rabbi Cohen went on to get a professional qualification in youth and community work. He subsequently became the British Reform movement?s first outreach officer, leading the efforts to engage 20- and 30-year-olds to Judaism. At his wife, Sarah?s, encouragement, Rabbi Cohen enrolled in Leo Baeck College to become a rabbi. Upon finishing his studies in 2006, he got a job at West London Synagogue, a large Reform congregation, where he worked with a team of rabbis. In 2009, Rabbi Cohen took the position as Temple Sinai?s rabbi, where he has served ever since. In this interview, he speaks about observed differences between British and American Jewish communities as well as new Temple Sinai initiatives to build community and engage younger congregants. Rabbi Cohen and his wife have two children, Elijah and Rachel.
On February 25, 1977, Walter John Ritzau interviewed Elizabeth Schneehagen Garrison (born 1943 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about her life in Southern Nevada. Garrison first talks about her schooling in Las Vegas and her first homes in Las Vegas. She also discusses the atomic testing, the Devils Hole in Ash Meadows, early church involvement, recreational activities, and some of the environmental aspects of Las Vegas. Garrison later describes her work for the Central Telephone Company before describing the Helldorado parade and some of the early activities designed for children. In the latter part of the interview, she describes her father’s garden, the changes in the city environment and building, shopping locations, and more about her home life.
On March 12, 1977, Lance Kenny interviewed realtor, Doris Evans (born in Dexter, Missouri) at her place of business, Doris Evans Realty, located at 1100 Cahlan Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers Boulder City and Las Vegas [1937-1977]. During the interview Doris discusses real estate, local hotels, early transportation, and social recreation. She also mentions the nuclear tests, crime, environmental changes, and marriage and family life in Boulder City and Las Vegas. Doris’s business partner, Patty (Renette Beringer), is also present during the interview and helps Doris recall the year they started Doris Evans Realty in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In 1905 a twenty-two-year-old second-generation Swiss American left Los Angeles with a friend for Lincoln County, Nevada. Edward "Ed" Von Tobel (1873-1967) and his friend Jake Beckley had heard about some land that was going up for auction. Together they purchased a parcel on the second day in the new desert town of Las Vegas, where they established Von Tobel's Lumber Company, which served Southern Nevada from 1905 until it closed in 1976. In Las Vegas Von Tobel met and married fellow German-speaker Mary Hameril, and together the couple raised four children in the city: Jake, Katherine Elizabeth, Ed Jr., and George. Many Von Tobel descendants live here still. Margaret Carnell, granddaughter of Ed Von Tobel and Mary Hameril and the oldest of three daughters of Elizabeth Von Tobel and Kenneth Zahn, was born in Las Vegas in 1939. After attending Arizona State University Margaret married in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1958 Margaret raised two children in Scottsdale, Arizona, before returning to Las Vegas in 1983. Margaret manages the Von Tobel family properties and in her spare time likes to travel. Patricia "Patsy" Brinton is the second daughter of Elizabeth Von Tobel and Kenneth Zahn. Like her sisters Patsy was raised in Las Vegas, where in 1972 she married real estate broker Robert Brinton. The Brintons raised two daughters and a son. Like her cousin Sharon, Patsy donates considerable volunteer hours through Assistance League of Las Vegas and Junior League of Las Vegas. Patsy enjoys traveling and playing golf and tennis. Sharon Schmitt, the second of four daughters of Edward Von Tobel Jr. and Evelyne Leonard, was born in Las Vegas in 1940. In 1963 in Las Vegas Sharon married Larry Schmitt, an agent for Allstate Insurance. Besides enjoying traveling and playing tennis, Sharon has long been an active community volunteer through Assistance League of Las Vegas, Junior League of Las Vegas, and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Together the Schmitts raised a family of three children, who still live in Las Vegas and are raising the next generation of the Von Tobel family.
A male dancer wearing a fabric hood and metallic face mask, metallic bikini and white knee boots is surrounded by two female dancers wearing short curly wigs, metallic face masks, metallic arm bands, and metallic bikini costumes and white knee boots. Four female dancers wearing short curly wigs, metallic face masks, metallic arm bands, and metallic bikini costumes, metallic capes and white knee boots are visible standing in clear plastic tubes behind the main dancers. The Aladdin opened on April 1, 1966 and closed on November 25, 1997, and was imploded on 7:30pm, on April 27, 1998, except for the Aladdin Theatre to make way for the construction of an entirely new casino. The new Aladdin was scheduled to reopen on August 17, 2000, at 6:00 p.m. The opening was delayed while the Clark County building inspector completed its fire safety testing. Another delay was caused by last-minute repairs to the casino surveillance system. The new Aladdin finally opened the next day at 7:45 a.m. The casino was sold in bankruptcy on June 20, 2003 to a partnership of Planet Hollywood and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Renovations were carried out in stages, allowing the resort to remain open throughout. The retail space formerly known as "The Desert Passage" was converted into the Hollywood-themed "Miracle Mile Shops" and the theatre formerly known as the "Aladdin Theatre" was converted into "The AXIS". After the casino was renovated, it was reopened as "Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino" on April 17, 2007. Site Name: Aladdin Hotel (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 3667 South Las Vegas Boulevard
A male dancer wearing a fabric hood and metallic face mask, metallic bikini and white knee boots is surrounded by two female dancers wearing short curly wigs, metallic face masks, metallic arm bands, and metallic bikini costumes and white knee boots. Four female dancers wearing short curly wigs, metallic face masks, metallic arm bands, and metallic bikini costumes, metallic capes and white knee boots are visible standing in clear plastic tubes behind the main dancers. The Aladdin opened on April 1, 1966 and closed on November 25, 1997, and was imploded on 7:30pm, on April 27, 1998, except for the Aladdin Theatre to make way for the construction of an entirely new casino. The new Aladdin was scheduled to reopen on August 17, 2000, at 6:00 p.m. The opening was delayed while the Clark County building inspector completed its fire safety testing. Another delay was caused by last-minute repairs to the casino surveillance system. The new Aladdin finally opened the next day at 7:45 a.m. The casino was sold in bankruptcy on June 20, 2003 to a partnership of Planet Hollywood and Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. Renovations were carried out in stages, allowing the resort to remain open throughout. The retail space formerly known as "The Desert Passage" was converted into the Hollywood-themed "Miracle Mile Shops" and the theatre formerly known as the "Aladdin Theatre" was converted into "The AXIS". After the casino was renovated, it was reopened as "Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino" on April 17, 2007. Site Name: Aladdin Hotel (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 3667 South Las Vegas Boulevard