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.

Information about the LaPalm Motel sign that sits at 2512 Fremont St.
Site address: 2512 Fremont St
Sign owner: La Palm Motel Inc
Sign details: Property originally constructed in 1963 on 0.33 acres.
Sign condition: 3 - the sign is in decent condition and appears worn from weather. It is unclear if the sign still lights up at night.
Sign form: Roadside pole sign
Sign-specific description: This pole roadside sign has a simple design. A large black pole supports the other elements for this sign. The top portion of the sign features a plastic, backlit sign reading "La Palm" in a black, serif text. Underneath the "lm" of the "La Palm" sign is a series of open channel letters spelling out "MOTEL" against a faded teal background. This portion of the sign is also a thin, rectangular shape allowing for an open space between the "MOTEL" of the sign and the pole that supports it. Underneath the "L" of the "MOTEL" is the bottom portion of the sign that is attached to the pole. This portion of the sign features a plastic, backlit sign reading "DAILY WEEKLY CABLE TV POOL KITCHENETTES LAUNDROMAT" in bold red letters against a white background. Under this is the word "VACANCY" painted in bold white text. Neon tubes spell out "NO" and outline "VACANCY." Along the outer edge of this sign facing Fremont, the sign is painted a pale yellow with incandescent light bulbs lining this section.
Sign - type of display: Neon, indandescent, backlit
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Paint
Sign environment: This property sits at the corner of East Charleston and Fremont in an area filled with many other smaller motels. There is a Pepe's Taco and Lowe's Home Improvement that close to this motel.
Sign - date of installation: Possibly c. 1963
Sign - thematic influences: There is no exact theme replicated in this sign. It does look similar to other motel signs throughout the city since it sits directly along the roadside allowing motorist and pedestrians to see it easily.
Sign - artistic significance: This sign is a standard example of motel signage because it features the basic elements of a roadside motel sign. It has the name of the property, the word "motel", and other amenities that they may offer.
Survey - research locations: Assessor's website
Survey - research notes: http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/nevada/vegas/lvmotel/lvdownmotel/index4.htm
Survey - other remarks: There is not a date of any specific redesign of this sign; however, based on an earlier image of this sign the font in the "La Palm" portion of the sign did change somewhere along the way during the time this property has been around.
Surveyor: Lauren Vaccaro
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-10
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Paint; Pole sign; Roadside