The Cave Nightclub Records (1992-1994) are comprised of materials generated during the planning and construction of the Cave Nightclub in Las Vegas, Nevada. It opened in 1992 as a straight nightclub. It changed ownership in 1993, and reopened on September 3, 1993 as a gay nightclub and closed early in 1995. The collection contains policy documents, building plans, and promotional and publicity materials, as well as artifacts, including waiter uniforms from the nightclub.
James A. Gay III was born March 6th, 1916 in Fordyce, Arkansas. Arriving in 1946, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.
From the Dennis McBride Photograph Collection (PH-00263) -- LGBTQ+ events and organizations in Las Vegas, Nevada -- Digital images file. Notes from the donor, Dennis McBride: This event celebrated the 45th anniversary of the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union - NV, and was the occasion for presenting Clark County Commissioner [District E, Democrat] Chris Giunchigliani with the 2011 Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian Award. Individuals identified by the donor, Dennis McBride: Candice Nichols [Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Las Vegas (lesbian)]; Suzanne Miele [Nichols' partner (lesbian)]
From the Dennis McBride Photograph Collection (PH-00263) -- LGBTQ+ events and organizations in Las Vegas, Nevada -- Digital images file. Notes from the donor, Dennis McBride: This event celebrated the 45th anniversary of the founding of the American Civil Liberties Union - NV, and was the occasion for presenting Clark County Commissioner [District E, Democrat] Chris Giunchigliani with the 2011 Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian Award. Individuals identified by the donor, Dennis McBride: Candice Nichols [Executive Director of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Las Vegas (lesbian)]; Suzanne Miele [Nichols' partner (lesbian)]
Oral history interview with Sharon Maurer-Schwartz conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 01, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Maurer-Schwartz, with her wife Edna Rice, talks about being part of the gay/Jewish life together over the years including in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both women discuss why they moved to Nevada and the early days of The Center, an LGBT center, which hosted a Passover Seder.
Maureen Elise Mackey was born in October of 1943 in Teaneck, New Jersey. She was a member of the Sisters of St. Mary, and later earned her bachelor’s degree and became a high school science teacher. After serving one of several missions to the Congo, she entered medical school in 1971 at the University of Texas. After several years as a respected physiatrist in Las Vegas, Nevada, Mackey returned to school in 1999 to earn her Masters of Divinity degree at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California.
Michael Loewy was the founder of Desert Mountain States Lesbian and Gay Conference and the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Loewy moved to California in 1987, but remained involved with the gay community in Las Vegas. In 2002 he graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2003 he won a Foundation Award, "Honoring the Pioneers of Gay Las Vegas."