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Transcript of interview with Patrick Gaffey by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White, August 19, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
One cannot talk about the arts in Southern Nevada without speaking of Patrick Gaffey. The Cincinnati, Ohio, native moved to Las Vegas as a child and has served the local arts community in several roles nearly his entire adult life, retiring soon after this interview as cultural program supervisor for the Clark County Parks & Recreation Department. After earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English at the University of Nevada, Reno, Gaffey married Cynthia Pearson in 1968. In 1981 he began working as a publicist for the Allied Arts Council of Southern Nevada, founding its acclaimed magazine, Arts Alive, and remaining with the organization through its several moves until 1991. In this interview, he speaks to the collaborative nature and long vision of the Southern Nevada arts and architecture community through the founding of Discovery Children's Museum and the Neon Museum and of working with farsighted public entities—the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District, Clark County,
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Transcript of interview with Irwin Molasky by David G. Schwartz, April 23, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Interview with Irwin Molasky by David G. Schwartz, April 23, 2014. In this interview, Irwin Molasky discusses arriving in Las Vegas in the 1950s, and building the Pyramids motel on the Strip. He talks about the entertainers in various hotels on the Strip, the concept of the "star policy," and bringing Parisian shows to Las Vegas. He goes on to discuss his real estate developments, including Paradise Palms, Boulevard Mall, and Sunrise Hospital, and donating the land for the development of UNLV.
Irwin Molasky came to Las Vegas in 1951, during a time when "everyone knew everyone else," and there was a small, but strong Jewish community. An Army veteran, Irwin and his wife moved to Las Vegas after living in California for a short time. Irwin soon built The Pyramids, a Strip motel next to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. The Pyramids opened the same day as its northern next-door neighbor, The Sands Hotel and Casino, on December 15, 1952. Irwin used his newly acquired contractor's license to become on the city's most important real estate developers. Over the next 60 years, he built everything from residential housing, including Paradise Palms to commercial properties. Projects included Sunrise Hospital and the surrounding medical buildings; Sunrise City Shopping Center and other power centers; Bank of America Plaza and much other downtown development; and golf courses. When the recession hit, Irwin began bidding on government projects across the country, successfully shielding his business and employees from the economic downturn. Irwin's real estate ventures not only had a tremendous impact on Las Vegas' economic development, but a substantial effect in social programming. Irwin donated 40 acres of prime real estate to the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) so that university could expand. Additionally, he was the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation and received an honorary doctorate in humanities.
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Biographical essay by Eva Weisz Vayda, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Vayda's essay describes her young-adulthood in Hungary, and being sent to Birkenau camp in 1944, and successive camps afterward. She came to the United States in 1956 with her husband and children.
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Audio clip from interview with Milton I. Schwartz by Claytee White, May 4, 2004
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Part of an interview with Milton I. Schwartz on May 4, 2004. In this clip, Schwartz discusses his life after the military and working in Las Vegas.
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"Force-Feeding Democracy": article draft by Roosevelt Fitzgerald
Date
Archival Collection
Description
From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Drafts for the Las Vegas Sentinel Voice file. On the 25th Anniversary of 1963 March on Washington.
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Transcript of an interview with Chris Ramirez by Wendy Starkweather on October 2, 2013
Date
Archival Collection
Description
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