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Photograph of Mayor Oran K, Gragson speaking at the pre-telethon production meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1974
Date
1974
Archival Collection
Description
Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (at the podium) addressing the general session at the pre-telethon production meeting for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held each Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The show was founded and hosted by actor and comedian Jerry Lewis, who hosted the broadcast from its 1966 inception until 2010. The history of MDA's telethon dated back to the 1950s, when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA raised funds for the organization's New York City area operations. The telethon was held annually on Labor Day weekend beginning in 1966, and would raise $2.45 billion for MDA from its inception through 2009. The telethon aired up to 21½ hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon on the holiday itself. MDA called its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast. Beginning in 2011, coinciding with Lewis's controversial departure, MDA radically reformatted and shortened the telethon's format into that of a benefit concert, shortening the length of the special each successive year. Successive telethons from 2012 to 2014 renamed the show as the MDA Show of Strength and further cut its airtime. The 2012 edition was reduced to three hours as a primetime-only broadcast. The 2012 edition did not refer itself as a "telethon". The 2013 Show of Strength discontinued the long-standing format of being syndicated to individual stations of varying network affiliation and aired on a major national network instead of being syndicated to individual stations, airing on ABC on Sunday, September 1, 2013, and being reduced to two hours. While the 2012 edition did not refer itself as a "telethon", it referred itself as such for the 2013 edition. The final edition, for 2014, aired on ABC on August 31, again as a two-hour special beginning at 9PM ET/PT. This was the final edition for the telethon, as it was announced on May 1, 2015 that the MDA would be discontinuing the annual event.
Image
Fernando Rocha oral history interview: transcript
Date
2019-11-13
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Fernando Rocha conducted by Nathalie Martinez and Barbara Tabach on November 13, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Fernando Rocha recalls growing up in Santa Ana, California and in Sunrise Manor in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fernando Rocha is a Mexican professional who is committed to giving back to the Latinx youth of Las Vegas. He talks about his responsibility as a translator in his family with his siblings. He credits his academic and professional success to the Clark County School District and programs such as GEAR UP and Upward Bound. After studying at Hofstra University, he came back to Las Vegas to work with Wells Fargo and is an active community member as co-founder of the Nevada Youth Coalition and work through the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and Nevada Promise Mentor at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN).
Text
Meeting minutes for Consolidated Student Senate, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, February 23, 2004
Date
2004-02-23
Archival Collection
Description
Includes meeting minutes, along with additional information about advertisements and assessments. CSUN Session 34 Meeting Minutes and Agendas.
Text
University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library Architectural Records
Identifier
UA-00074
Abstract
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library Architectural Records (1965-2010) are comprised of drawings and documents created by the American architecture firms of Welles Pugsley Architects and Leo A Daly Architects, as well as their associated consultants, engineers, and other professional collaborators. This collection documents the design and construction of Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The materials feature both hand-drawn and computer generated architectural drawings, ranging from preliminary sketches and artist renderings to schematic drawings and construction documents.
Archival Collection
Photographs of Cupid's Wedding Chapel signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), March 13, 2017
Date
2017-03-13
2017-09-09
Archival Collection
Description
The Cupid's Wedding Chapel sits at the north east corner of East Hoover Avenue at 827 South Las Vegas Boulevard. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 827 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Bellevue Holdings
Sign details: The original construction of this building was in 1950. This chapel is known for their weddings with Elvis Presley, James Brown and Johnny Cash impersonators.
Sign condition: 5- The sign is in very good condition with bright colored graphics with little/no fading
Sign form: Pylon
Sign-specific description: This sign has a white steel beam as its base. The shape of their sign is a red heart with a white arrow going through it. The red heart portion of the sign has a red steel sign box within this is a back lit red plastic sign with white font on it. Surrounding this sign is exterior skeletal neon that illuminates red at night time. The font on their sign states "Cupid's Wedding Chapel" with the word Cupid in a bubble cursive font and the "Wedding Chapel" portion in a white block font. Surrounding these letters are white hearts as well as an image of Cupid shooting a love arrow. The white arrow that shoots through the heart sign showcases flashing incandescent light bulbs.
Sign - type of display: Neon, incandescent and plastic backlit sign
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit sign
Sign animation: Flasher for incandescent light bulbs
Sign environment: This location is a few blocks south of Fremont Street on Las Vegas Blvd. This chapel has other wedding chapels near it as well as the city courthouse and a few antique shops.
Sign - date of installation: This sign has been up since at least 2007.
Sign - thematic influences: The heart and arrow is symbolic to depict love and Cupid specifically, which helps showcase the theme and name of this location.
Sign - artistic significance: Chapels perpetuate Las Vegas as the Marriage capital of the world as well as maintaining their Neon Signs really pays tribute to Las Vegas' vintage culture.
Survey - research locations: Cupid's Chapel website http://www.cupidswedding.com/, Asessor's Page, Top 20 chapels in Vegas website https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/top-20- vegas-wedding- chapels-1018.html , history channel website http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of- valentines- day/pictures/valentines-day/cupids- wedding-chapel- in-las- vegas
Survey - research notes: The Cupid's Wedding Chapel sign was showcased on History. Com discussing Valentine's Day Weddings, and they gave the number that there were 2.2 million marriages in the U.S. in 2007 and 126,354 took place in Nevada. http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of- valentines- day/pictures/valentines-day/cupids- wedding-chapel- in-las- vegas
Survey - other remarks: They were ranked 5 on the top 20 chapels to get married at here in Vegas. https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/top-20- vegas-wedding- chapels-1018.html
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-09
Sign keywords: Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Incandescent; Flashing; Neon; Pole sign
Site address: 827 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Bellevue Holdings
Sign details: The original construction of this building was in 1950. This chapel is known for their weddings with Elvis Presley, James Brown and Johnny Cash impersonators.
Sign condition: 5- The sign is in very good condition with bright colored graphics with little/no fading
Sign form: Pylon
Sign-specific description: This sign has a white steel beam as its base. The shape of their sign is a red heart with a white arrow going through it. The red heart portion of the sign has a red steel sign box within this is a back lit red plastic sign with white font on it. Surrounding this sign is exterior skeletal neon that illuminates red at night time. The font on their sign states "Cupid's Wedding Chapel" with the word Cupid in a bubble cursive font and the "Wedding Chapel" portion in a white block font. Surrounding these letters are white hearts as well as an image of Cupid shooting a love arrow. The white arrow that shoots through the heart sign showcases flashing incandescent light bulbs.
Sign - type of display: Neon, incandescent and plastic backlit sign
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit sign
Sign animation: Flasher for incandescent light bulbs
Sign environment: This location is a few blocks south of Fremont Street on Las Vegas Blvd. This chapel has other wedding chapels near it as well as the city courthouse and a few antique shops.
Sign - date of installation: This sign has been up since at least 2007.
Sign - thematic influences: The heart and arrow is symbolic to depict love and Cupid specifically, which helps showcase the theme and name of this location.
Sign - artistic significance: Chapels perpetuate Las Vegas as the Marriage capital of the world as well as maintaining their Neon Signs really pays tribute to Las Vegas' vintage culture.
Survey - research locations: Cupid's Chapel website http://www.cupidswedding.com/, Asessor's Page, Top 20 chapels in Vegas website https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/top-20- vegas-wedding- chapels-1018.html , history channel website http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of- valentines- day/pictures/valentines-day/cupids- wedding-chapel- in-las- vegas
Survey - research notes: The Cupid's Wedding Chapel sign was showcased on History. Com discussing Valentine's Day Weddings, and they gave the number that there were 2.2 million marriages in the U.S. in 2007 and 126,354 took place in Nevada. http://www.history.com/topics/valentines-day/history-of- valentines- day/pictures/valentines-day/cupids- wedding-chapel- in-las- vegas
Survey - other remarks: They were ranked 5 on the top 20 chapels to get married at here in Vegas. https://www.gpsmycity.com/tours/top-20- vegas-wedding- chapels-1018.html
Surveyor: Emily Fellmer
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-09
Sign keywords: Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Incandescent; Flashing; Neon; Pole sign
Mixed Content
Photographs of Starlite Motel at dusk, Las Vegas (Nev.), March 17, 2017
Date
2017-03-17
2017-09-05
Archival Collection
Description
The Starlite Motel sits at 1873 North Las Vegas Boulevard. Shortly after this photo was taken, the sign was scrubbed of its neon and made dormant. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 1873 N Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: LAS VEGAS DRAGON HOTEL LLC
Sign details: This motel resides in North Las Vegas and is one of the few around that still offers traditional roadside lodging.
Sign condition: 5 - Sign was recently updated with was appears to be newer neon and a different color scheme, going with a bright blue and brown. New white vinyl letters have been added.
Sign form: Pole
Sign-specific description: Previous to the spring 2017 upgrade: This pole sign extends out toward the street for motorists and pedestrians to see. This pole is a bright red color. A four pointed red star sits at the top of the red pole for everyone to see. This is outlined with neon tubes that glow blue at night. In the spaces between the points of the star the neon tube is bent to create smaller points. In the middle of the star painted in bold white script is the word "Starlite." This is also outlined with neon tubes to glow at night. Under this is the word "VACANCY" painted in bold white text, but the neon tubes that outline it light up red. Attached to the point of the star that extends toward the road is a long, rectangular sign that reads "MOTEL" in bold white text with a black outline on a light blue background. Extending from the "MOTEL" sign towards the red star are 3 smaller four pointed stars that have incandescent light bulbs in their center and are outlined by neon tubes that glow blue at night. On top of the "MOTEL" sign is another one of these four pointed stars that sits on the outer edge of the sign. Next to this is a larger, light blue four pointed star with an incandescent light bulb in the center and a smaller four pointed star made from a neon tube surrounding the light bulb. The neon tube that outlines the larger portion of the star is bent to create smaller points in the portions of the star without points.
Sign - type of display: Neon and incandescent
Sign - media: Steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign animation: Unknown since update
Sign environment: The surrounding properties are Jerry's Nugget and the Silver Nugget casinos. It is also just down the street from the Cultural Corridor which includes the Neon Museum and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The Las Vegas Library is also down the street.
Sign - date of installation: c. 1950s
Sign - date of redesign/move: Spring 2017
Sign - thematic influences: This property is one of many star-themed motels throughout the city. The 1950's was a popular time for space age/ star themed business due to the Space Age and explorations during this time period. Also, since the name of the property is the "Starlite Motel", the amount of stars included in this sign emphasizes this theme.
Sign - artistic significance: This sign has a heavy influence of the Space Age due to the stars throughout the sign that are telling of the theme for the property. The specific stars for this sign have a Googie-like influence as well because they are very stylized in a futuristic manner.
Survey - research locations: Assessor's website, roadarch.com
Survey - other remarks: http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/nevada/vegas/lvmotel/lvnorthmotel/index.htm#sta rlitemotel
Surveyor: Lauren Vaccaro
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-05
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Paint; Pole sign
Site address: 1873 N Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: LAS VEGAS DRAGON HOTEL LLC
Sign details: This motel resides in North Las Vegas and is one of the few around that still offers traditional roadside lodging.
Sign condition: 5 - Sign was recently updated with was appears to be newer neon and a different color scheme, going with a bright blue and brown. New white vinyl letters have been added.
Sign form: Pole
Sign-specific description: Previous to the spring 2017 upgrade: This pole sign extends out toward the street for motorists and pedestrians to see. This pole is a bright red color. A four pointed red star sits at the top of the red pole for everyone to see. This is outlined with neon tubes that glow blue at night. In the spaces between the points of the star the neon tube is bent to create smaller points. In the middle of the star painted in bold white script is the word "Starlite." This is also outlined with neon tubes to glow at night. Under this is the word "VACANCY" painted in bold white text, but the neon tubes that outline it light up red. Attached to the point of the star that extends toward the road is a long, rectangular sign that reads "MOTEL" in bold white text with a black outline on a light blue background. Extending from the "MOTEL" sign towards the red star are 3 smaller four pointed stars that have incandescent light bulbs in their center and are outlined by neon tubes that glow blue at night. On top of the "MOTEL" sign is another one of these four pointed stars that sits on the outer edge of the sign. Next to this is a larger, light blue four pointed star with an incandescent light bulb in the center and a smaller four pointed star made from a neon tube surrounding the light bulb. The neon tube that outlines the larger portion of the star is bent to create smaller points in the portions of the star without points.
Sign - type of display: Neon and incandescent
Sign - media: Steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign animation: Unknown since update
Sign environment: The surrounding properties are Jerry's Nugget and the Silver Nugget casinos. It is also just down the street from the Cultural Corridor which includes the Neon Museum and the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. The Las Vegas Library is also down the street.
Sign - date of installation: c. 1950s
Sign - date of redesign/move: Spring 2017
Sign - thematic influences: This property is one of many star-themed motels throughout the city. The 1950's was a popular time for space age/ star themed business due to the Space Age and explorations during this time period. Also, since the name of the property is the "Starlite Motel", the amount of stars included in this sign emphasizes this theme.
Sign - artistic significance: This sign has a heavy influence of the Space Age due to the stars throughout the sign that are telling of the theme for the property. The specific stars for this sign have a Googie-like influence as well because they are very stylized in a futuristic manner.
Survey - research locations: Assessor's website, roadarch.com
Survey - other remarks: http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/nevada/vegas/lvmotel/lvnorthmotel/index.htm#sta rlitemotel
Surveyor: Lauren Vaccaro
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-05
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Paint; Pole sign
Mixed Content
