The collection is comprised of drawings (1950-1990) completed by American architect Martin Stern and/or his architectural firm, Martin Stern Jr., AIA Architect and Associates, and contains 400 cubic feet of materials including 710 drawings from over 300 different projects involving over 100 buildings. Stern’s work focused on the resort centers of Las Vegas, Nevada; Reno, Nevada; Lake Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada; and Atlantic City, New Jersey. The materials feature hand-drawn architectural drawings, ranging from pencil and ink on tracing paper preliminary sketches to ink on Mylar (TM) construction documents, and a number of artist’s renderings, used for presentations and promotional materials. The drawings also contain work from a number of consultants, engineers, and other architects who collaborated on the development of the various projects. The collection includes architectural drawings for: hotels, casinos, integrated casino resorts, office towers, multi-family residential developments, and custom single-family homes.
The Donn Arden Photographs (approximately 1920-1989) contain photographs, negatives, and photographic slides of dancer and choreographer Donn Arden. The photographs primarily document Arden's life as a dancer and choreographer in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Paris, France, including performances at the Stardust Hotel, Desert Inn, and MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Lido in Paris. The photographs also depict rehearsals, dancers, showgirls, Arden's friends and family, and performance locations.
The Clinton Wright Photographs (1964-2018) contains black-and-white photographic negatives of various sizes, dating from 1964 to 1971. The images document the Black experience in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s and 1970s, and capture scenes of everyday life in the historic Black neighborhood known as the Westside, social events such as weddings and parties, and events hosted by local churches. The collection also contains a photograph of Clinton Wright from 2017 when he visited the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives, and a memorial program for his wife, Joyce Wright, who passed away in 2018.
The Junior League of Las Vegas Records (1940-2023) contain annual reports, fundraising information, training manuals, articles, minutes, photographs, scrapbooks, cookbooks, and other operational and working files that document the activities of the Junior League of Las Vegas (JLLV). Also included is documentation for advocacy projects the JLLV was involved with, such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.), Safe Haven, the Ronald McDonald House, Read Aloud, and Literature Awareness Program for Children. Other records in this collection document JLLV's fundraising efforts such as the Repeat Boutique, Holiday Coffees, annual benefits, luncheons, and sales of their cookbooks. Also included are scrapbooks and issues of their newsletter The Sage.
Ronzone Family Papers (1900-1991) include newspaper clippings, business documents, correspondence, certificates, yearbooks, publications, artifacts, and photographs. The papers document their lives in Nevada, their department store, and Dick Ronzone's involvement in local politics.
The Barbara Raben Collection on the Las Vegas Jewish Community (1976-2018) is comprised of materials collected by Barbara Raben that document her personal life and her involvement with the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community, specifically the Hadassah Southern Nevada Chapter and the Jewish Family Service Agency (JFSA) of Clark County, Nevada. Hadassah and JFSA records consist of photographs and programs from events held by the organizations. Materials also document Raben's business, The Candy Factory, and her connections to the Florence Melton School of Adult Jewish Learning.