From the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board Records -- Series II: Projects. This folder contains documents about the projects submitted to the Economic Opportunity Board of Clark County agendas, documents about Work Experience Programs in Nevada, documents about the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and neighborhood services center.

Information about the The Beat Coffeehouse sign that sits at 520 Fremont St.
Site address: 520 Fremont St
Sign owner: Michael and Jennifer Cornthwaite
Sign details: This location opened in 2009, but closed in 2016. It will reopen as Eureka!, which is a chain of restaurants based in California.
Sign condition: 5- was a relatively new sign and shined brightly
Sign form: Hanging sign
Sign-specific description: This sign was skeletal neon making the letters "the beat" in a bubble letter font. The word 'the' lights up blue and 'beat' is red neon.
Sign - type of display: Neon
Sign - media: Steel
Sign environment: This location is in the Fremont East District on Fremont and 6th Street in the Emergency Arts Center.
Sign - date of redesign/move: Currently this sign is not visible from public view
Sign - thematic influences: This sign showcases a good use of skeletal neon.
Sign - artistic significance: The property's decor is representative of the bohemian, indie, hipster trend of the mid 2000s into the the 2010s.
Survey - research locations: Review Journal article https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/food/the-beat-coffeehouse-in-downtown-las-vegas-to-close-later-this-year/ , The Beat website http://www.thebeatlv.com/ , Las Vegas Weekly article https://lasvegasweekly.com/intersection/2016/jul/12/losing-the-beat-coffeehouse-detriment-to-downtown/ , Vegas Eater website https://vegas.eater.com/2016/9/26/13051480/the-beat-coffeehouse-closes
Surveyor: Wyatt Currie-Diamond
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-17
Sign keywords: Neon; Hanging

Dr. Donald Baepler was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in July of 1932. The family moved to Springfield, Illinois in 1936, where his father was president of Concordia Seminary. Donald decided at the age of seven that he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in ornithology, not an unusual goal in his family. By the time he graduated high school, he knew that he wanted to attend Carlton College in Minnesota to study under Olin Sewall Pettingill. He followed world-famous ornithologist and artist George Sutton to Michigan and then to Oklahoma to complete his doctorate. In 1960, having completed his doctorate, Donald met with a recruiter from Las Vegas. It seemed like an intriguing place, so he took the interview and was offered a job on the spot. Instead, he took a job as professor of biology at Central Washington University, and within four years was vice president for administration and business. He had also been appointed to an accrediting team by the Northwest Association to accredit colleges in the western states, including Nevada Southern University in Las Vegas, and saw the growing town and university for the first time in 1965. Two years later, he was invited to take the job of Academic Vice President at SNU, which he accepted, and he and his family made the move to Las Vegas in 1968. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Donald discovered that he had been named acting president because of Donald Moyer's abrupt resignation. He simply decided to do both jobs. He was successful in changing the name of the school to University of Nevada Las Vegas so that it would not be confused with a teacher's college. This was wholeheartedly accepted by the regents. Once Roman Zom was appointed president in 1969, Donald went back to the vice president position. In 1973, Dr. Baepler was appointed president of UNLV. He held that position for live years and then turned in his resignation. His intent was to teach, focus on a Museum of Natural History, and start a research center. Instead, he was offered the chancellorship of the university system, and he decided to accept the job By 1981, Donald was ready to return to teaching and research, so he resigned as chancellor and came back full-time as museum director and professor of biology. He built up a high-hazard chemistry lab and got the grant monies to sustain it. Dr. Baepler was also influential in adding the Harry Reid Center to the museum. Today Dr. Baepler is still involved with the bird program and gives advice to graduate students, but he no longer teaches. He stays occupied with a private consulting business.

The now permanently closed Mermaids Casino sits at 32 Fremont Street at the Fremont Street Experience. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survery Data Sheet.
Site address: 32 Fremont St
Sign owner: Derek and Greg Stevens
Sign details: Shutdown in 2016, opened briefly June 28th, 2017 for 8 hours to abide by gambling license law, was torn down shortly after. 2.76 acre lot, originally built in 1949.
Sign condition: Signage was removed from building during deconstruction
Sign form: Decorated shed
Sign-specific description: Covering all the sides of the Mermaids facing Fremont street, gives the feel of New Orleans during Mardi Gras with its bright vibrant colors, drums, maracas, and other items. Skeleton neon was used to accentuate features of the sign like details in the drums, outlining the word "Mermaids", and a good portion of the sign was internally lit as well. Giant TV screen hung in the middle at the corner of the building, giant Sun shaped pinata thing above the TV screen adding more to the theme.
Sign - type of display: Neon, LED screen
Sign - media: Steel and fiberglass
Sign - non-neon treatments: LED screen
Sign animation: Animated with an LED TV screen and some neon would flash on and off
Sign environment: Downtown on Fremont Street, part of the Experience. Surrounded by other casinos and gift stores.
Sign - date of installation: c. 1999
Sign - date of redesign/move: Torn down Summer 2017
Sign - thematic influences: Southern party themed, Mardi Gras.
Sign - artistic significance: American South and Mardi Gras.
Survey - research locations: Vital Vegas, Assessor's website
Surveyor: Danny Jacobs
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-09
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Fiberglass; Flashing; Video screen; Sculptural

I've known Christie Young for many years and was grateful she agreed to be interviewed for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Not only is she frank in what she says, but her background as a researcher in sexual issues and as a straight woman involved in the gay community give her a unique perspective. Ancillary to her donation of this interview transcript to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Christie has generously donated her personal journals which detail more than a decade of her life including the years she worked with Las Vegas's gay community . Christie shares the project's concern that documentation of the gay community is ephemeral and vanishes rapidly; her determination that her contribution to that community be preserved greatly enriches our knowledge and will benefit future scholars.