On February 10, 1975, Ruth Guidi interviewed George Gilbert (born 1931 in Southgate, California) about his life in Nevada. George first talks about his education in Las Vegas and his family background. He also talks about times during World War II, the shopping facilities available to those in Las Vegas, the casinos that existed, the churches that were built, and the Helldorado parades. The two also discuss social clubs, politics, the atomic testing, environmental and social changes, the Mormon Fort, Hoover Dam, and the first movie theaters.
The El Cortez Hotel and Casino sits at 600 E Fremont St in Downtown Las Vegas. Continually operating in the same location since 1941, the El Cortez is listed on the National Register of Historical Places. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site name: El Cortez Hotel & Casino (Las Vegas, Nev.) Site address: 600 Fremont St Sign owner: IKE Gaming Inc Sign details: 2,77 acre lot, with an original construction year of 1941. Sign condition: 5 - fully functional, looks well taken care of, no damage to the sign, even looks original. Sign form: Back to back Architectural sign Sign-specific description: Double sided architectural sign perched on top of the building of the El Cortez reads El Cortez HOTEL COFFEE SHOP & BAR FREE PARKING with a metal frame work to hold it high for tourists to see down Fremont Street on either side of the road or sidewalk. in the Day it looks white and baby blue with the frame work painted white. At night El Cortez glows red whit what looks like white skeleton neon outlining the wording, HOTEL is outlined with pink skeleton neon, and COFFEE SHOP & BAR FREE PARKING is made of the same pink neon as the HOTEL portion. Sign - type of display: Neon Sign - media: Steel Sign environment: The property is surrounded by other casinos, restaurants, and bars. Sign - date of installation: circa 1941 Sign - date of redesign/move: Possible change in signage around 1946 Sign - thematic influences: Spanish revival (mission) style, the facade was faced with bricks with weeping mortar and the roof was red tile while a large metal sign announced the casino clubs name. Sign - artistic significance: Spanish Revival / Western cowboy themes were popular in Vegas especially in the 30s and 40s due to the image pushed to look like the wild west or as a pioneer town. Survey - research locations: Las Vegas Then and Now, Spectacular, assessor's website Surveyor: Danny Jacobs Survey - date completed: 2017-09-04 Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Architectural; Back to back; Incandescent; Reader board; Marquee; Roof Sign
The Palace Station Hotel and Casino sign sits at 2411 West Sahara Avenue. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 2411 W Sahara Ave Sign owner: Palace Station Sign details: Founded by Frank Fertitta III, was originally Bingo Palace in 1976 but was changed to Palace Station Sign condition: 4 - some broken lights on the sign but for the most part seems in great condition. Owners unsure if keeping the sign or replacing it with a new one during 2017 remodel of property Sign form: back to back pylon Sign-specific description: Double sided pylon road side sign, word "PALACE STATION HOTEL CASINO" In red encasement stuck to the front of a minimalistic image of a train, the word "BINGO" underneath the train front. Skeleton Neon is used to accentuate the features of the train and the lettering on the sign. Sign - type of display: Neon and incandescent Sign - media: Steel, Plastic Sign animation: Chasers around "PALACE STATION HOTEL CASINO" and "BINGO" boxes and the neon in the boxes turn off then fill in from both sides until full again Sign environment: Property is near the I-15, by local businesses and some residential Sign - date of installation: c. 1983 Sign - thematic influences: Seeking to avoid the western theme popular among casinos at the time, Fertitta chose trains. Worried that the name Bingo Palace didn't highlight the full-range of gaming and amenities on offer at the expanded casino, Fertitta held an open contest to rename the casino later that year. More than 26,000 entries were received over three weeks. Las Vegas resident Claire Jarvis won as Palace Station touched on the new train theme while keeping part of the original name. - Las Vegas Review Journal Sign - artistic significance: Owner Frank Ferttitta Jr held a contest for the casinos new theme and the "train station" theme was the favorite out of the entries. Survey - research locations: UNLV Special Collections, Las Vegas Sun, YESCO, Review Journal Surveyor: Danny Jacobs Survey - date completed: 2017-09-10 Sign keywords: Pylon; Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Chasing; Back to back; Roadside; Video screen; Reader board
The Evel Pie sign sits at 508 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 508 Fremont St Sign owner: High Horse Group Sign details: Original construction year of the building was 1949. Previous to this property being Evel pie it house the short lived F. Pigalle fondue restaurant, and the Radio City Pizza. This 1979 Evel Knievel themed pizza restaurant and bar opened in late 2016. Their motto is Live Hard, Ride Fast, Eat Pizza. In the restaurant there is an Evel Knievel Pinball machine and a Stunt Cycle Game. Sign condition: 5 - new sign, just over a year old Sign form: Sign above the entrance Sign-specific description: Above the entrance there are red channeled cursive letters Evel Pie filled with neon tubes that illuminate red at night. To the left and right of the letters there are little white wings that are plastic but are illuminated with neon tubes I behind it. Sign - type of display: Neon Sign - media: Steel and Plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic for "wings" of sign Sign environment: Located in the East Fremont District Sign manufacturer: Diamond Head Signs Sign - date of installation: Late 2016 Sign - artistic significance: The logo is the same font as Evel Knievels old advertisements. This font this was a close representation of his signature but more of a bubble font cursive letters rather than the flat signature that would have been done with a pen/pencil. Also the wings on the sign represent the theme since he was known for jumping such long distances that they said he would fly. Survey - research locations: Assessor's website Survey - research notes: Eater Vegas https://vegas.eater.com/2016/12/16/13979544/evel-knievel- evel-pie- pizza-las- vegas, Las Vegas weekly https://lasvegasweekly.com/dining/dining-news/2016/sep/28/evel- pie-fremont- east-downtown-las- vegas/ Survey - other remarks: The High Horse ownership group that owns this property is comprised of Barden Powers, Jeff Fine, Seth Schorr and Kelly Knievel. Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22 Sign keywords: Plastic; Steel; Neon; Fascia; Building-front design