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Photographs of Mirage signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), 2002
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Site name: Mirage (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Site address: 3400 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: MGM Mirage
Sign details: The main attraction of the property is its spectacular exploding volcano placed among an astounding array of lagoons, waterfalls and palm trees. One of the themed hotel casinos, the architectural form takes precedence over an abundance of flashing lights and neon. Two pylon signs reside on the front of the property along Las Vegas Blvd, another on the west side of the property, two arched banner entrances are placed among them, lettering atop the towers, and various text placed among the vast stretch of landscaping are the only visible large elements of signage.
Sign condition: Structure 5 Surface 5 Lighting 5 The structure and lighting on the signs are in excellent repair, with no apparent major physical damage. The surfaces of the pylons and assorted log text, are a bit dirty, but no more than any other establishment, considering the punishment each must undergo due to the elements as well as the live volcano.
Sign form: Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère
Sign-specific description: Just north of Caesars Palace a giant pylon sign faces north/south, on the east side of the strip. Two giant square posts support a giant backlit advertisement panel, and an adorning entablature containing the channel letters spelling "Mirage." Between the two giant legs two cabinets are present to fill the space. Just below the main backlit panel an LED screen resides just above another back lit panel. The two giant legs have a series of polished metallic panels running vertically up the sides, creating a recessed channel. The sections are separated with slight overhangs. The bottom smaller panel cabinet is an advertisement for "Danny Gans" and the main panel advertises for the "Seigfried and Roy" magic show. A small banner rests between the main entablature, and the panel, reading "Magicians of the Century." The black channel letters in the main pediment spells "The Mirage," and are filled with incandescent bulbs. The lush foliage and walkways continue north where a covered awning faced with a carved wood and brass bullnose, allows pedestrians to take a moving walkway up to the resort. The landscaping continues north where it meets a driveway denoted by a low arched banner supported by a pair of square columns on either end. "The Mirage" is spelled in polished gold channel letters, with white interiors and filled with incandescent bulbs. The banner itself is sculpted into two sweeping solid shapes on the tops and bottoms, with a series of folded ribbon like scroll shapes. The center section is crafted as to allow light to pass through the negative spaces created by the rows of positive scroll shapes. The banners face east. On the faces of each of the flanking posts, two images of jumping dolphins are sculpted and finished in the same fashion. Past the gateway the thick beds of foliage and palm trees can be seen headed back along the drives. Continuing north a multi tiered lagoon rushes circulating water on and over waterfalls, while yet more green shrubbery and palm trees encrust islands and images of eroded rocks and geological formations. The beautiful imagery continues north, twisting and turning in and behind itself to create a fantastic spectacle for a passerby to be lured in and be fascinated. Approximately in the middle of the length of the expanse, the famous functioning volcano rests quietly amongst smaller rocks and waterfalls. Just past the volcano the lagoon opens up into a wide flat area of water where bronze dolphins are positioned to look as if they are jumping out of the water. Still the rich foliage dominates the landscape, until another arched gateway interrupts the expanse to allow traffic. The foliage, and lagoon landscaping, picks up again, cozily grasping the base of a smaller pylon of similar design as the first. The two reflective paneled legs rise up to connect with a horizontal piece of the same design. A large backlit cabinet advertising for Danny Gans occupies approximately three-quarters of the space between the legs. An entablature of the same design as the main pylon, yet smaller, crowns the top of the sign. The trademark font spells "The Mirage" in black channel letters and filled with incandescent bulbs. Just past the small double sided pylon, a small of recess of rocks plays home to the end marker of the Mirage. A bust of Siegfried and Roy with a tiger is ambiently lit, provided photo opportunities for tourists. An interesting function has been added to the bust. In the flower bed behind and on the sides of the object, faux boulders are places with glowing crystals protruding from the surface. The tower of rooms for the Mirage is the popular three winged "Y" configuration converging onto a center structure. On each face of each wing, giant black channel letters spell "The Mirage" in their trademark text. Each is filled with incandescent bulbs.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign animation: Oscillating
Notes: The incandescent bulbs located within text logos on the pylon sign, and upon the tower oscillate to appear as shimmering. The effect is one of the more common animations particularly among the larger, corporate casinos.
Sign environment: The placement of the Mirage right on the curve of the Strip makes the pylons visible from a good distance from either direction. The environment displayed by the mirage is that of paradise. When walking past, and up to the property, it hard not to stop and stare at the amazing foliage and spread of waterfalls, and rocks.
Sign manufacturer: Ad-Art
Sign designer: Pylons: Charles Barnard with touches from Wynn's design group Atlandia Design Group. Dolphin Archways: Barnard and Jack Dubois as well as hotel architect, Joel Bergman
Sign - date of installation: 1989
Sign - date of redesign/move: The main pylon has since been updated with a new Siegfried and Roy Back lit Mural, a new LED screen, and another back lit plastic screen featuring Danny Gans. An internally lit banner reads horizontally across the top of the giant Siegfried and Roy Mural which reads Magicians of the Century.
Sign - thematic influences: The theme is tropical island paradise. Complete with active volcano, the front spectacle of rushing waterfalls, chirping bird noises, and leaping bronze dolphins, serves as the backdrop for the simple, slim design of the property's pylon structure. The pylons were designed to reach harmony with the structure of the tower itself, rather than the island theme. The dolphins over the entrance arches however represent the tropical island theme, as well as speaking about the dolphin habitat inside.
Sign - artistic significance: The main pylon was the first of its kind to feature a full color illuminated photographic pictoral. Designed by Rosco, it was billed as the largest of its type in the world. The resort's themed spectacular was also the first of it's kind in regards to its extravagance and unique functionality. Approximate 125,000 people visited the property on its opening day. The resort fits well into the theme of design of the large, corporate property, after all it was one of the pioneers of such a movement in Las Vegas. The Mirage also set the standards for the now frequently seen element of the attraction spectacle, and the standard of quality on the Las Vegas Strip
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Oscillating; Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic
Mixed Content
University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Sciences and Mathematics Diploma Ceremony program
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).
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"Exported 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 Beijing students' demonstration.
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Transcript of interview with Patsy Rosenberry by Barbara Tabach, February 24, 2013
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In the early summer of 1972, Patsy and Chuck Rosenberry packed the car to begin their journey from Hattiesburg, Mississippi to Las Vegas. Patsy’s two teenage children (plus a friend) crowded into the back seat as Chuck eased behind the wheel. He and Patsy had just recently married and he was taking his new family to their new home in southern Nevada. Chuck was a nuclear technologist at the Nevada Test Site and a kind, patient man that Patsy would have followed anywhere. As it turned out, Las Vegas was a wonderful fit and the family would thrive in their new hometown of Las Vegas. The children attended Valley High School; the family eventually bought into a house in the Paradise Valley area; and from 1978 to 1999 Patsy enjoyed working with a growing cardiovascular group. Chuck censored his work-talk like most Test Site employees, but Patsy recalls with pride his concern for safety and how he always felt the public did not have correct information. She also remembers the fun of partic
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Transcript of interview with Patricia Ross by Judy Harrell, March 19, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Patty Ann Drew’s life experiences capture large movements in Las Vegas history: mob-dominated gambling, the Helldorado Rodeo, explosive growth, medical advances, and Clark County School District’s Sixth Grade Centers—all in a desert city centered in the Mormon Culture Region. Patty arrived in Las Vegas as an infant with her parents and older brothers in 1944 and was raised in the Huntridge area, where she and her brothers attended John S. Park Elementary School and matriculated from there to Las Vegas High School. In this interview, Patty talks about her parents working on the Strip, her school days, joining the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, marrying her high school sweetheart, and becoming a young mother in Las Vegas. After Patty married her second husband, Thomas Ross, the couple built a house west of Jones Boulevard and Patty gave birth to her third son. In addition, she returned to school to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and taught at C. H. Decker Elementary School for twenty years.
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Transcript of interview with Paul Senzaki, Alan Hess, and Charlie White III by Stefani Evans and Claytee White, September 9, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Architect Paul Senzaki, and artist-illustrator Charlie White III recall their experiences of working in Las Vegas: Paul on Treasure Island, The Palms, Fremont Street Experience, and World Market Center and Charlie on Treasure Island and its successor, TI; New York New York. Architectural historian Alan Hess, who is an expert on Las Vegas architecture, offers historical context and asks pertinent questions. While this interview touches on several iconic Las Vegas buildings, the conversation mostly details why and how Steve Wynn's Treasure Island involved the labors of artists, illustrators, art directors, and designers of stage and screen as well as the those of architects, contractors, planners, and subcontractors.
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Transcript of interview with Hank Gordon by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans, October 26, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
As we go about our days, running errands and getting things for our households, we often don’t think too much of the story behind the commercial real estate and retail stores we frequent. Only when those stores aren’t there and the neighborhood demographic changes do we embrace the nostalgia that goes into the story of the neighborhoods where we live and shop. Hank Gordon is the man behind those memories of those shopping centers we frequent not only in the Las Vegas Valley, but in Washington, Oregon, Montana, California and Alaska as well. Gordon was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from USC in 1956, when he went to work for a home builder in the San Fernando Valley selling his houses to make some extra weekend money. It was during this time he fell in love with real estate and had to break the news to his parents that he no longer was going to be a doctor. Feeling the urge of leadership he told his mentor that he didn’t want to sell houses-he wanted to develop homes instead. Shortly after that he bought a subdivision of lots in Van Nuys and started building 7-11 and Goodyear stores in the early 1960s. In this interview, Gordon talks about building his first shopping center in 1967 and moving to the Pacific Northwest. He moved to Las Vegas in 1988, when he bought 23 new national retailers to the Valley. He was responsible for bring Home Depot in 1999 and Costco and Best Buy to some of Las Vegas’s longest-standing shopping centers; Best of the Boulevard on Maryland Parkway and Best of the West on Rainbow Boulevard. He speaks of the changes to the market after the Great Recession, how retailers are having a hard time keeping afloat because of online shopping, and his days on the planning commission for the City of Las Vegas during the 1990s, when Jan Jones was mayor. It is without a doubt that Hank Gordon is one of the best in the business and there isn’t a lot of competition at the top.
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Transcript of interview with Cindy Coletti and David Fordham by Stefani Evans and Claytee White, October 27, 2016
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The interior of the green house at the end of the cul-de-sac envelops the visitor. Every room exudes comfort and encourages conversation even as the lake, lapping quietly on three sides of the house, beckons. Cindy Coletti revels in this house and its interiors, all of her own design, especially because they are so different from the daring, opulent, and award-winning custom homes for which she is known. Arriving in Las Vegas in 1988 as a single mother, Cindy immediately submitted a successful design for the first Southern Nevada Street of Dreams event and began networking. She established Sun West Custom Homes in Nevada by applying the design and contracting skills she had successfully honed by building nearly seventy houses in California, Florida, and Colorado—all the while grooming her son Danny—from the time he was in his teens—to eventually take over the company. In this interview, Cindy's husband, David Fordham, shares his background, his reasons for relocating to Las Vegas, work in commercial real estate, meeting Cindy, and living at The Lakes. Cindy then recalls the experiences that brought her to Las Vegas; shaped her ideas of self-help, friendship, design, and business, and instilled in her the confidence to succeed in a man's world. Cindy has retired from building and now enjoys traveling with her husband, but Sun West Custom Homes continues to thrive under the capable ownership and leadership of Daniel S. Coletti.
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Transcript of interview with F. Andrew Taylor by Claytee White, September 30, 2013
Date
Archival Collection
Description
F. Andrew Taylor has been a Las Vegas resident for over 20 years, moving to the city by way of New England and Georgia at the age of 28. Armed with a degree in painting from the Swain School of Design, got a job at a Laughlin casino as a caricature artist. After a brief stay in Laughlin and Bullhead City, Andrew moved to Ward I, where his girlfriend, now wife, lived. They soon moved to the Spring Valley area, where Andrew later learned through conversations with neighbors and his own research that the home sat on what was the old Stardust Racetrack. With Andrew’s move to the city came new professional opportunities. He got a job at CityLife as the in-house artist and graphic designer, what was then apart of Wick Communications. After a year, Andrew began reporting, initially working for the Sunrise/Whitney paper, and eventually working the downtown beat. Always feeling the pulse of the local arts and culture scene, he has attended First Fridays since it started, continues his own art,
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Transcript of interview with Ernie Hensley by Lisa Gioia-Acres, Janurary 25, 2008
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Ernie Hensley, an accomplished African American musician, was born in Washington D.C. on March 14 1940, the son of Ernest W. Hensley Jr. and Gladys Barbara Hensley. Both of his parents worked for the federal government in the nation's capital. Ernest W. Hensley Jr., was an employee at the Department of Defense and Gladys Barbara Hensley mother, who was an excellent pianist and drum major, ultimately set her musical career aside to provide for her family and worked for the National Labor Relations board. At the age of seven, after finding a saxophone in his grandmother's attic, Ernie embarked on his musical journey. He took lessons at the Modem School of Music in Washington D.C. Eventually acquired proficiency with the clarinet and the flute through long hours of practice. Ernie attended a historically black school, Armstrong High School in D.C., until he was transferred to integrated McKinley High School in 1954 following the Brown v. Board of Education ruling. Ernie recalls his experience in a new desegregated environment. After High School in 1957, Ernie joined the Air Force as a member of the 511th Air Force Band. In 1959 he resettled in France to play saxophone for the Air Force Band. Emie ultimately made a career in the Air Force. He had countless experiences of performing around Europe and in Washington D.C. at places like Constitution Hall. A dream came true when Emie was honored to become a member of the "Airmen of Note," the premier jazz ensemble for the United States Air Force. He retired from the Air Force in 1979. Because of his distinguished career in the United States Air Force, Emie had a number of opportunities once he retired from the military. He moved to Las Vegas in 1979 at age 39 and after living in area for just a few weeks, Emie started working with Johnny Haig 3 nights a week. Shortly thereafter, Emie found a long-term home working with Jimmy Mulidore's group at the Hilton for nearly a decade until 1995. Throughout Ernie's lifetime he has been fortunate to work with notable musicians such as Andy Williams, Sammy Davis Jr., Somers, Juliet Prowse, Steve an Eydie and his good friend Sarah Vaughn. Emie, along with his wife Carolyn, a retired UNLV faculty member, still resides in Las Vegas.
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