The Betty Henderson Professional Papers (1963-1985) are comprised of materials produced by Betty Henderson in her capacity as a private music teacher in Las Vegas, Nevada and as a member of the Nevada Music Teachers Association (NMTA). The collection includes scrapbooks of concert programs and NMTA events, materials from Henderson's experiences in Europe as a People-to-People ambassador with the Music Teachers National Association, and recordings on reel-to-reel tapes of concerts Henderson performed in or judged.
Oral history interview with Joseph Ostunio conducted by Claytee D. White on December 20, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Joseph Ostunio discusses his early childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada and how he grew to love country music. He talks about the Route 91 Harvest music festival, which he attended with his friend in 2017. He describes the events of that weekend and the shooting on that Sunday, October 1, 2017, during which his friend was shot. Ostunio ends the interview with his feelings regarding Las Vegas and what he has learned about himself from this experience.
The Desert Moon Motel sign sits at 1701 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site name: Desert Moon Motel (Las Vegas, Nev.) Site address: 1701 Fremont St Sign owner: Jerzy and Celina Kosla Sign details: The building was constructed in 1942 (Assessor). According to one commentator, the Desert Moon motel opened on the site in 1952 (Roadside Architecture.com). The cars on a vintage postcard of the motel appear to date from the late 1940's or early 1950's (Ebay). The same vintage postcard (Ebay) shows the motel as a member of United Motor Courts, an early motel referral chain founded in 1933 which published a travel guide until the early 1950's (Wikipedia). Based in Santa Barbara, California, United Motor Courts was made up of "a friendly group of independent owners of motor lodges..." (Historic Highways). The Quality Inn motel franchise was a spinoff of United Motor Courts (Wikipedia). The motel has been renovated by its current owner, Polish immigrant George (Jerzy) Kosla (Glionna, 2017). Sign condition: The sign is Condition 4, good. The paint appears slightly faded but there is no flaking or peeling. The cabinets, reader boards, and fiberglass moon are all in good condition. The neon is intact. Sign form: Pole sign Sign-specific description: The sign pole and metal cabinets are painted pink. The design and lettering are the same on both sides of the sign. The trapezoid-shaped lower cabinet extends horizontally toward the street. It contains a rectangular white plastic lightbox which states "FREE ADULT MOVIES" in red sans serif letters and "FLAT SCREEN TV'S in smaller black san serif letters. To the left of the letters is the black silhouette of a female figure. On the metal below the plastic screen are clear sans serif neon letters which spell out, "NO VACANCY" in red when illuminated. The upper metal cabinet hangs from the street side of the pole. White painted san serif letters, covered by clear sans serif neon letters which glow red when illuminated, run vertically down the cabinet to spell out, "XXX MOVIES". Five metal cabinets attached to the street side of the sign run vertically to spell out, "M-O- T-E- L" in white painted sans serif letters covered by yellow sans serif neon letters. On top of the pole is a white p Sign - type of display: Neon, Lightbox Sign - media: Steel, Plastic, Fiberglass Sign - non-neon treatments: Lightbox Sign environment: East Fremont Street, surrounded by other motels. Sign - date of installation: c. 1950s Sign - date of redesign/move: The now pink or faded red sign cabinets were painted blue in a 2003 photograph Sign - thematic influences: Desert, Space Age, Western Sign - artistic significance: The current sign appears to have taken the Western/Lunar theme from the previous sign and transformed it into a 1950's/1960's Space Age/Lunar theme Survey - research locations: Assessor's website Survey - research notes: Ebay. Las Vegas NV Desert Moon Motel roadside Nevada vintage linen postcard ca 1940s. Retrieved from https://picclick.com/LAS-VEGAS- NV-Desert- Moon-Motel- Roadside-Nevada- 141923576051.html Glionna, J. M. (2017 April 23). Motel, once a haven, now a crime-ridden jungle in downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las- vegas/downtown/motel-once- a-haven- now-a- crime-ridden- jungle-in- downtown-las- vegas/ Historic Highways. (2007 July 14). Archive for the "Motel Associations" category: Looking for a motel in 1933. Retrieved from https://historichighways.wordpress.com/category/motel-associations/ Roadside Architecture. com (n.d.). Las Vegas Signs: Desert Moon Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/signs/nvvegas.html RoadsidPeek.com. (n.d.). Downtown motels Las Vegas: Desert Moon Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/nevada/vegas/lvmotel/lvdownmotel/index5.htm Wikipedia. (n.d.). Motel: 2.6 R Survey - other remarks: A postcard circa early 1950's features a different sign with a saguaro cactus and quarter moon (Ebay). The current sign appears to have taken the Western/Lunar theme from the previous sign and transformed it into a Space Age/Lunar theme, which may indicate that the sign dates from the date from the late 1950's or 1960's. Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22 Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Fiberglass; Pole sign; Light box; Sculptural
Information about the Inspire Theater sign that sits at 107 S Las Vegas Blvd. Site address: 107 S Las Vegas Blvd Sign owner: Fremont LV Blvd LLC Sign details: The original construction year of the building dates back to 1952. Though in 2013 the building was redesigned to open as the Inspire theater in 2014. The Inspire Theater offers a variety of venues including a 150 seated theater, a rooftop patio and multiple cocktail bars. Sign condition: 5 - new sign with good quality day and night Sign form: Blade and semi-decorated shed Sign-specific description: The sign itself is all connected though it wraps around the whole building, it starts with a long rectangular blade with their logo then goes in a rectangle around the building and ends with their logo on a shorter blade with their logo. The longer white rectangular blade portion begins on the corner of the building above their rooftop lounge (which meets together back to back with a smaller rectangular blade). If you are going north on Las Vegas Blvd you will see the big blade which reads "INSPIRE" in channeled silver thin print font letters. The adjacent blade is a bit shorter, so you can see a portion of the big blade over the smaller one if you are looking at the building from the East Fremont District, with this overlay it looks like there is a letter "I" and a dash(-) underneath it. On the actual portion of the shorter blade there are the "INSPIRE" thin channeled font letters, which are identical in design to the other side of the sign but just a smaller font. The outside edges of these back-back signs are horizontally lined with neon tubing. These blades then continue around the building into two horizontally neon lined strips that make the building have a decorated shed feature to it. This then makes a rectangular feature around the whole building. In between the top of the rectangle and the bottom, there is a balcony where guests can hang out. Though on both the left and the right sides of the blade there are plasma screens that show advertisements for their property. Also on the west side of the building there are thin horizontal strips of LED/plasma lights that sparkle in an iridescent fashion. Sign - type of display: Neon Sign - media: Steel Sign - non-neon treatments: T.V. screens, LED Sign animation: Flasher and iridescent light flow Sign environment: On the corner of South Las Vegas Blvd. and Fremont St. East, the first property on the south side of the Fremont St East District. Sign - date of installation: 2014 Sign - thematic influences: The sign is incorporated into the architecture, as well as the sign wraps around the entire building which is remnant of the decorated shed look. The sign is related to the theater theme since the blade style sign was very prominent for the 1950's and 60's movie theater signs, such as the El Portal movie theater sign. Sign - artistic significance: Their sign is very remnant of a 1950's Movie theater sign with the blade and wrap around of Neon, since they are a modern day theater it seems as if it's a retro throwback. Survey - research locations: Inspire website, assessor's website Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-08-18 Sign keywords: Blade; Neon; Steel; LED; Flashing; Video screen
Oral history interview with Alex de Castroverde conducted by Monserrath Hernandez on April 17, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, De Castroverde discusses his family's background and his parent's emigration story from Cuba to the United States. He talks about growing up in Reno, Nevada, his father becoming a lawyer, and attending the University of Nevada, Reno. De Castroverde remembers the establishment of De Castroverde Law Group, the significance his father had on the Hispanic community in Las Vegas, Nevada, and taking over operations of the law firm with his brother. Lastly, De Castroverde talks about his involvement with Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School, the Guinn Center, and the Las Vegas Business Academy.
"The goal of this 2014-2015 project is to build a web and mobile resource that will connect researchers from around the world to thousands of historical items—photographs, brochures, scrapbooks, letters, drawings, videos, and more—detailing the lives and contributions of Jews in Southern Nevada. It will include carefully researched biographies, timelines, and histories of institutions, events, and prominent themes showing the integral roles Jews have played in the history of Southern Nevada.