Search Results
Carolyn Sparks oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview With Carolyn Sparks conducted by Claytee D. White on June 7, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Sparks describes her childhood growing up in Overton, Nevada where her father worked as a mining engineer. Later the family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where her father invested in the El Cortez and Showboat hotels. Sparks received a degree from the University of California, Berkeley before returning to Las Vegas to work at an insurance company, where she met her husband, Kenneth. Sparks discusses their shared adventure insuring many of the businesses on the Las Vegas Strip while simultaneously entering the world of philanthropy. Sparks became area Chairperson of the American Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Junior Mesquite Club, and founded the Nevada Children's Center. Sparks served on the Nevada Board of Regents from 1984 to 1996, on the Board of Directors of the Showboat Hotel & Casino, and as president of the family's International Insurance Services, Ltd.
Archival Collection
Adela Montes de Oca oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Adela Montes De Oca conducted by Laurents Banuelos-Benitez on December 06, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Adela Montes De Oca discusses her early life in Mexico and describes her childhood as a happy and festive one. As an adult, Montes De Oca aspired to be a teacher, but could not due to financial hardship. She shares how this affected her life and influenced her career choice, instead becoming a social worker. Montes De Oca recalls what she learned after spending twenty years working with children in Mexican orphanages. In 2003, Montes De Oca decided to move to Las Vegas, Nevada to join her family who had immigrated years prior. She discusses her immigration and her new career in Las Vegas. She shares her views on the importance of unions and her experiences working with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 as an event organizer and union manager.
Archival Collection
Meeting minutes for Consolidated Student Senate University of Nevada, Las Vegas, November 10, 1993
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Text
Photographs of Tod Motor Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), February 28, 2017
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Site address: 1508 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Ron and Carol Tadmor; Herb Sider
Sign details: Opened in 1962, the Tod Motor Motel was an exciting contribution to Las Vegas Boulevard. However, hard financial times and changing environments altered the motel scene after several years of being open. After a period of crime, new owners renovated the hotel from top to bottom: new facade, carpet, and furnishings. In 2005 ownership changed again and the new owners sought to expand the property. The neighboring properties, however, refused to sell and the owner of Tod tried to get approval to sell units as condos. The Tod Motor Motel has since closed and entrance is boarded up.
Sign condition: About 4-5, appears to have relatively low damage, if any
Sign form: Street pylon and porte cochere near front office
Sign-specific description: Green V-shape with "Tod motor Motel" in orange block letters overlaid, metal pole protruding atop "o" in "Tod" with red, outline sphere attached.
Sign - type of display: Neon
Sign - media: Steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Blue, metal lettering placed on side and front of hotel, spells out "Tod Motor Motel," large painted flowers on side and front near blue lettering; pink, diamond-shaped railing along exterior
Sign environment: On the north end of the strip near the base of the Stratosphere, neighboring Dino's Lounge.
Sign - date of installation: 1962
Sign - date of redesign/move: Remodeled after new ownership, sometime in the mid-2000's.
Sign - thematic influences: Design and patterns similar to South Beach (Miami) hotels, tropical element. Also this sign has remnants of the 50's/60's motorist theme.
Survey - research locations: Assessor's page, Las Vegas Sun article https://lasvegassun.com/news/2007/mar/30/new-life-for-tod/ , Las Vegas Weekly video https://lasvegasweekly.com/photos/galleries/2008/may/22/tod-motor-motel/#/0
Surveyor: Carlyle Constantino
Survey - date completed: 2017-07-13
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Pole sign; Incandescent; Back to back; Backlit; Cantilever construction; Directional
Mixed Content
Sasha Semenoff oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Sasha Semenoff conducted by Claytee D. White on April 29, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Semenoff begins the interview by discussing his early life in Latvia and learning to play the violin as a child before the Nazi invasion. He describes being a Jewish Holocaust survivor, surviving the ghettos and concentration camp where he was held, and explaining how he immigrated to the United States after he was liberated. Semenoff then discusses moving to New York City, New York, where he joined the musician's union before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959. He details his career as a prominent lounge and big band violinist in Las Vegas, where he played at several different casinos, including the Desert Inn Lounge, the Dunes Hotel and Casino, and the MGM Grand Hotel. Semenoff also talks about the musicians he has played with, such as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, his work at the time of the interview, and the presence of organized crime in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Ida Webb oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Ida Webb conducted by Claytee D. White on February 29, 1996 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Webb discusses her childhood in the American South. She discusses her family's move from Tallulah, Louisiana to McNary, Arizona, and then their migration to Las Vegas, Nevada. Webb shares her experiences as a young African American mother in Las Vegas in the 1940s and the things her and her husband did to provide for their family. She shares her views on her marriage and her views on African American culture of the time. Webb discusses her husband's civic involvement and his job at the Las Vegas Sun. She details her experiences working in the hospitality industry for such early casinos as the El Rancho Hotel & Casino, The Flamingo Hotel & Casino, and the Last Frontier Hotel & Casino. She shares her own civic involvements and her participation in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
Archival Collection