The Robert B. Griffith Collection (1928-1975) documents the work of Robert B. Griffith, an instrumental figure in the development of water resources in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as the creation of McCarran International Airport and Nellis Air Force Base. The collection consists of Colorado River Commission papers, 1928 International Air Race documents, general correspondence, a feasibility study, an airport guide, American Legion papers, the memoirs of Alfred Merritt Smith, and death and burial records belonging to his father. The collection also includes slides from various countries, including the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The Spencer and Georgia Butterfield Papers (1890s-1978) consist primarily of photographs and scrapbooks pertaining to Spencer and Georgia Butterfield, a prominent Las Vegas, Nevada couple involved in local business and civic activities. The collection also includes newspaper clippings of their social activities, correspondence, and assorted personal memorabilia.
The Albert S. Henderson Papers (1879-1962), document his career and service as a district judge in Las Vegas, Nevada. Included are correspondence, a personal statement from his election campaign, certificates and proclamations, his memorial book, numerous newspaper clippings, an 1879 edition of Eureka and Its Resources, and various ephemera: union cards, name tags, and election cards.
The Scott Henry Photographs of the Las Vegas, Latinx Community (approximately 1983-2000) consist of 42 photographic prints depicting members of the Latinx community in Las Vegas, Nevada. Thirty-eight of the prints were used as part of a collaborative project between Scott Henry, photographer and editor for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and Thomas Rodriguez, a prominent member of the Latinx community in Las Vegas, for an exhibit of the Las Vegas Latinx community. Henry and Rodriguez together planned who to photograph for the exhibit. The photographs demonstrate the impact that the Latinx community has on the region's political, economic, and social growth and development. A number of the photographs show early members of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), including John Mendoza, Delia Martinez, Tom Rodriguez, Bob Agonia, Corrine Gutierrez, Nick Flores, Grace Salazar, and Gus Ramos.
Oral history interviews with Brian Greenspun conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 10, 2018, January 24, 2018, February 21, 2018, and March 20, 2018 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In the first interview, Greenspun discusses his parents, Hank and Barbara Greenspun, his family's ancestry, and how his family came to Las Vegas, Nevada. He recalls his childhood in Las Vegas, graduating from Las Vegas High School in 1964, and his decision to attend Georgetown University. In the second interview, Greenspun discusses the Watergate scandal, what he believes will fuel the next decade of Las Vegas growth, and development in the technology industry. He talks about the Greenspun Media Group, challenges in journalism, use of the term “fake news”, and the importance of giving young people a forum to talk about what they value. In the third interview, Greenspun recalls union demonstrations the Sands Hotel and Casino, the impact of American businessman Sheldon Adelson, and the need for balance in journalism. In the final interview, Greenspun talks about his father’s reporting on the Nevada Test Site, underground testing in the 1960s, and the early development of the Strip. Lastly, Greenspun talks about the importance of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to the city’s future.
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas Audiovisual Material consists of three 16mm reels of moving images that depict Las Vegas, Nevada from approximately 1925 to 1927. The first reel depicts members of the Kiwanis Club of Las Vegas, which was formed in 1925. The remaining footage depicts views of the First Methodist Episcopal Church, Bank of Southern Nevada, First State Bank, the San Pedro, the Los Angeles, & Salt Lake Depot and Freight House, and various shops on Fremont Street including Oakes Studio, T. M. Carroll Real Estate, J. C. Penney, Las Vegas Garage, and the Las Vegas Age print shop. The footage also shows various local families and desert landscapes. This collection has been fully digitized.
Oral history interview with Maureen Lewis conducted by Hillery Pinchon on March 17, 2006 for the Hurricane Katrina Survivors in Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Lewis first describes her upbringing as one of eleven children, raised in the home her father built in New Orleans, Louisiana's Lower 9th Ward, the area of the city hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. She then begins to describe the events in the days leading up to the landfall of of the hurricane, as she stayed behind in New Orleans with her eldest son and a cousin as most of the family evacuated to Alabama. She relates how she and the cousin were able to leave the city after the initial impact of the storm, but her son was one of the hundreds trapped on an interstate bridge for several days without food or water. She continues talking about the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about people who were forced to commute between Alabama and New Orleans to keep their jobs, sky-rocketing rents, the inadequate state and local response to the emergency, and the strong response of the American Red Cross. She then describes her move to Las Vegas, Nevada with her son, his financee, and their child, and ends with some comments on questions how much racial prejudice played into the tragedy in New Orleans.
The Bill Hughes Photographs (approximately 1980-2012) contains negatives, slides, prints, proofs, and born digital images created by local photographer and photojournalist Bill Hughes for publications including Las Vegas CityLife, Las Vegas Business Press, Las Vegas Weekly, as well as commercial clients. A portion of prints in the collection consist of modeling photographs Hughes took as part of his business. The digital images represent a variety of clients, and feature local bands, DJs, and performers in nightclubs and bars on the Strip and downtown Las Vegas. Also included in digital files are portraits, artistic photographs and self-portraits, and material used for Las Vegas Weekly, CityLife, and Business Press.
The Donna Andress Papers (1890-2021) contain the personal papers of Donna Andress, a longtime resident and activist in Southern Nevada. Materials include correspondence and newspaper clippings from the Nevada Welfare Committee, on which Andress served as chairperson during the 1970s, in addition to pamphlets and newsletters from various Nevada historical organizations and committees. The papers reflect her involvement with community organizations throughout Southern Nevada.
Oral history interview with Vida Chan Lin conducted by Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, and Vanessa Concepcion on May 17, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Vida Chan Lin discusses her childhood growing up in San Francisco and her parents' immigration from China to the United States through Chile. She talks about working in her parents' Chinese restaurant throughout her youth and her later move to Las Vegas to assist her sister and brother-in-law. She recalls becoming an insurance agency owner and how she worked to help the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community after the 2008 housing crisis. Lin shares her decades-long mission to find community within Las Vegas, joining every AAPI group the city had to offer until later developing her own; Lin created the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) in 2015 and was also formerly President of the Asian Chamber of Commerce. The ACDC was developed to provide community support and assistance with voter registrations in Las Vegas. Lin discusses the additional services the ACDC has undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping with the census, distributing food, volunteering at vaccine clinics, and purchasing laptops for Clark County School District students to assist with in-home learning efforts.