Search Results
Transcript of interview with William E. "Bilbo" Helms by Denise Wolff, March 4, 1980
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On March 4, 1980, collector Denise Wolff interviewed truck driver and teacher, William E. “Bilbo” Helms (born on December 7th, 1932 in Memphis, Tennessee) in an office room at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the transformation, growth, and development of the public education system in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Transcript of interview with Flora Hannig-Kellar by Michael Taylor, March 27, 1981
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On March 27th, 1981, collector Michael D. Taylor interviewed housewife Flora Hannig-Kellar (born January 24th, 1902 in Washington, Utah) in Henderson, Nevada. This interview is Flora Hannig-Kellar’s personal account on growing up in Nevada. She discusses home and family life and local social and recreational activities. During the interview Mrs. Hannig-Kellar also shares some of the poetry she wrote about Nevada and her family, specifically her children and grandchildren.
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Transcript of interview with Elbert Edwards by Ronald Johns, 1972
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On an unspecified date in 1972, Ronald Johns interviewed Elbert Edwards (born 1907 in Panaca, Nevada) about his life in Southern Nevada. Edwards first talks about his family’s move to Panaca, Nevada in 1864 and talks briefly about his work in Las Vegas public schools during the Great Depression. The two also discuss the Boulder Dam, Edwards’ involvement in politics, and mining in Nevada. He also talks about the cost to build a home in Las Vegas in 1936, the development of Boulder City, and the way of life in the small town of Panaca. The interview then moves on to the topics of the early territorial boundaries of Nevada and Utah, the atomic testing at the Nevada Test Site, and early water sources in Southern Nevada.
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Meeting minutes for Consolidated Student Senate University of Nevada, Las Vegas, November 25, 1996
Date
Archival Collection
Description
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Photographs of Desert Moon Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), April 18, 2017
Date
Archival Collection
Description
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
Mixed Content
Inspire Theater Neon Survey document, August 18, 2017
Date
Archival Collection
Description
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
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Anita Tijerina Revilla oral history interview: transcript
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Anita Tijerina Revilla conducted by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo on October 09, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Revilla discusses her early life in San Antonio, Texas. She talks about her decision to make education a priority, figuring out the college application process on her own, and her initial interest in social justice. Revilla talks about how her critical consciousness was developed, and her pedagogical approach to teaching. Revilla describes her role in the 2006 May Day march, advocating advocating for the queer community, and disrupting oppressive systems to increase educational access for students. Lastly, Revilla discusses ethnic studies and the history of inequality in the United States.
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