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Photographs of Skyline Hotel and Casino sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), March 14, 2017

Date

2017-03-14
2017-09-18

Description

The Skyline Hotel and Casino sign sits at 1741 North Boulder Highway. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 1741 N Boulder Hwy
Sign owner: Jim Marsh American Corp.
Sign details: The business began as the Dixie bar, which was operating by 1948 in what was then known as Pittman, Nevada (Moore, 2016; Skyline Casino, n.d.). The property's colorful history includes the suicide of one of the original owners on the motel premises and the first library in Pittman, which was located inside the tavern (Skyline Casino, n.d.). The Skyline Casino and restaurant was built on the property in 1964 (Benston, 2003; Meehan, 2016; Skyline Casino, n.d.). The name was briefly changed to Wheel and then returned to Skyline (Old-And the new, 1988). Jim Marsh purchased the Skyline from the son of the original owner in 2003 (Benston, 2003; Meehan, 2016; Skyline Casino, n.d.). In June of 2017, Marsh added a hotel to the casino and restaurant (Meehan, 2016; Moore, 2016; Skyline Casino, n.d.).
Sign condition: Condition is 5, fully restored to a "like new" state. The cabinet, paint and lights are in excellent shape.
Sign form: Pole Sign
Sign-specific description: The sign consists of a rectangular metal pole which supports an electronic reader board topped by a badge-shaped metal cabinet. The pole is painted yellow with a red stripe running down the center. The frame of the reader board is black metal. The badge-shaped metal cabinet is painted red outlined in gold. Yellow incandescent light bulbs outline the cabinet. Light boxes framed in black metal faced with yellow plastic spell out "SKYLINE HOTEL" in western-style serif letters. "SKYLINE" is stacked over "HOTEL", the words separated by a horizontal ornamental design. Below the light boxes, "NO VACANCY" is spelled out in clear skeleton neon letters.
Sign - type of display: Neon
Sign - media: Steel, Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Incandescent lightbulbs, lightboxes and electronic readerboard
Sign environment: Property is located on Boulder Highway near the Skyline Casino
Sign - date of installation: c. 1988
Sign - thematic influences: Western style, common to a lot of Las Vegas valley casino and motel properties
Sign - artistic significance: The property opened in the 1960s, still during the heyday of Western themed properties
Survey - research locations: Assessor's website
Survey - research notes: Benston, L. (2003 June 5). Owner to sell Henderson's Skyline casino. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from https://lasvegassun.com/news/2003/jun/05/owner-to- sell-hendersons- skyline-casino/ Meehan, J. (2016 June 26). Marsh adding hotel to Skyline Casino. Las Vegas Business Press. Retrieved from https://businesspress.vegas/gaming-hospitality/marsh- adding-hotel- to-skyline- casino/ Moore, T. (2016 October 11). Changing Skyline: Hotel wing coming to old-time casino. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from https://lasvegassun.com/news/2016/oct/11/changing-skyline- hotel-wing- coming-to- old- time-cas/ Old-And the new. (1988 October 20). Henderson Home News [Newspaper clipping]. Retrieved from http://www.recapturist.com/wp-content/uploads/Sky- Motel_Henderson-Home- News-19881020.jpg Sky Motel. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.recapturist.com/portfolio/sky-motel/ Skyline Casino. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skyline_Casino Skyline Casino & Restaurant. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cardcow.com/368494/skyline-casino- restaurant-henderson/
Survey - other remarks: Date(s) of any major redesign/move: An undated postcard shows the sign sometime between 1964 and 1988 (Skyline Casino & Restaurant, n.d.). A round pole supports a light box type reader board topped by a badge-shaped metal cabinet. Yellow incandescent light bulbs outline the cabinet. "SKYLINE" is spelled out in clear red skeleton neon sans serif letters. "CASINO" is spelled out in blue skeleton neon western-style serif letters. "RESTAURANT" is spelled out in clear red neon skeleton neon sans serif letters. A photograph taken for a news article in 1988 shows the sign with the same design when it was taken down and moved next door to the Sky Motel (Old-And the new, 1988). The Sky Motel retained the round pole, the reader board, the badge-shaped cabinet and the incandescent light bulbs outlining the cabinet. The Skyline lettering was removed and replaced. "SKY MOTEL" was spelled out in white channel western-style serif letters which were outlined in the interior by white neon tubing. Below "SKY MOTEL" were clear skeleton neon san serif letters which spelled out "NO VACANCY". The Skyline Hotel reclaimed the sign when it opened in 2017. The current sign has a rectangular support, although the original round pole might still be inside. The light box has been replaced by an electronic reader board. The "SKY MOTEL" channel letters have been replaced with light box "SKYLINE HOTEL" letters. The "NO VACANCY" letters from the Sky Motel have been retained.
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-18
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Incandescent; Reader board; Pole sign; Light box

Mixed Content

Photographs of Hialeah Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), April 18, 2017

Date

2017-04-18
2017-08-23

Description

The Hialeah Motel sign sits at 1924 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 1924 Fremont St
Sign owner: La Jolla Development Group, LLC
Sign details: The current building was constructed in 1951 (Assessor). One source states that Tinkler's Motel may have been open on the site in the 1940's (VintageVegas.com, n.d.). A vintage postcard circa late 1940's-early 1950's advertises "Tinkler's Motel Hialeah", although the sign shown in the photograph states" Tinkler's Motel" (CardCow.com, n.d.). A vintage postcard circa 1950's-early 1960's shows the current name,"Hialeah Motel" (Las Vegas motels then and now, n.d.).
Sign condition: Condition is 3, fair. The cabinets are intact with no major rust damage. On the east side of the sign, the paint is flaking moderately on the upper arrow cabinet. On the west side, the paint is flaking severely on the upper arrow cabinet as well as the lower cabinet. Most of the incandescent light bulbs around the upper cabinet remain. All of the neon tubes are gone from both the lower and upper cabinets.
Sign form: Pole sign
Sign-specific description: The lower cabinet is shaped like three rectangles stacked upward in increasing size. The pole runs through the cabinet, which is cantilevered toward the street. The upper cabinet is shaped like an arrow pointed at the motel. The pole and lower cabinet are painted forest green. On the lower cabinet, hand painted sans serif letters state, "Hialeah 1924 VACANCY". The exterior of the upper arrow-shaped cabinet is painted black. The interior is white. The cabinet is channeled and holes for neon tubing are evident, but no neon remains. Yellow incandescent light bulbs outline the exterior of the cabinet. At the center of the pole on the hotel side is a horizontal pole from which a small sign may have hung previously.
Sign - type of display: Incandescent light bulbs, but the sign also had neon tubing at one time.
Sign - media: Steel
Sign - non-neon treatments: Incandescent light bulbs
Sign environment: This is located on East Fremont and has many other motels surrounding it though many of the neighboring motels are shut down.
Sign - date of installation: Possibly 1940's, likely circa 1950's-1960's
Sign - date of redesign/move: A vintage postcard circa late 1940's-early 1950's (CardCow.com, n.d.) shows a small sign which has either been replaced or modified over time. The sign consists of three cabinets mounted symmetrically on a pole. The lower cabinet is painted white and states, "AIR CONDITIONED" or "AIR CONDITIONER". The large central cabinet is black and states, "MOTEL". The smaller upper cabinet is painted black and advertises, "Tinkler's". A vintage postcard circa 1950's-early 1960's (Las Vegas motels then and now, n.d.). shows the current pole and cantilevered lower cabinet without the upper arrow-shaped cabinet. On the lower hotel side of the sign hangs a small yellow sign. Some or all of the lettering is traced with neon letters. By the late 1980's, the motel arrow had been added (VintageLasVegas.com, 2017). "MOTEL" is spelled out in red neon inside the channel of the arrow. The lower cabinet is painted green. "T.V." is spelled in black sans serif letters outlined in white. "Hialeah" is painted in white sans serif letters traced by clear neon letters. Below Hialeah is illegible clear neon, possibly "AIR CONDITIONING" or "AIR CONDITIONER". At the bottom of the lower cabinet "HAMBURGERS", "HOT DOGS" and "VACANCY" are spelled out in white san serif letters. A photograph taken sometime between the 1980's and 2008 (Jacobson, n.d.) shows the lettering on the lower cabinet simplified to the current design, except "T.V." is still painted to the left of "HIALEAH". Three yellow skeleton neon waves underline "T.V." and two more indistinguishable neon tubes of the same type sit over the "T". Some neon around "HIALEAH"in the lower cabinet and all of the neon around "MOTEL"in the upper arrow-shaped cabinet remain. By 2008, the sign had reached its current design (Las Vegas motels then and now, n.d.).
Sign - thematic influences: Horseracing (the motel name references Hialeah Park Racetrack in Hialeah, Florida; vintage postcard shows grass and racetrack type fencing [Las Vegas motels then and now, n.d.])
Sign - artistic significance: This location maintains the Horse Racing theme with their name. They also showcase 1940's (possibly), 1950's-1960's eras themes with emergence and prominence of the motor courts during those eras.
Survey - research locations: CardCow.com. (n.d.). Tinler's [sic] Motel Hialeah. Retrieved from https://www.cardcow.com/281785/tinlers-motel-hialeah-las-vegas-nevada/ Clark County Assessor, parcel no. 139-35-803-004. Retrieved from http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/assessor/Pages/PropertyRecords.aspx?H=redrock&P=assrrealprop/pcl.aspx Jacobson, J. (n.d.). Hialeah Motel [private image, copyright applies]. Retrieved from http://www.pbase.com/easystreet/image/103828763 Las Vegas motels then and now. (n.d.). 15: Hialeah Motel. Retrieved from http://stefanidrivesvegas.com/2.html VintageLasVegas.com. (n.d.). Downtown Las Vegas hotels & casinos 1931-2000. Retrieved from http://vintagelasvegas.com/downtown VintageLasVegas.com. (2017 February 2). Hialeah Motel. Retrieved from http://vintagelasvegas.com/tagged/Hialeah-Motel
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-23
Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Steel; Pole sign; Directional

Mixed Content

"Minority Labor Problems and the Hoover Dam Project": manuscript draft by Roosevelt Fitzgerald

Date

1970 (year approximate) to 1996 (year approximate)

Description

From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Unpublished manuscripts file.

Text

Report on the Basic Magnesium, Incorporated water supply system, Clark County, Nevada, October, 1949

Date

1949-10-01

Archival Collection

Description

Report on the water supply system at Basic Magnesium, Inc.

Text

Jean Ford Photograph Collection

Identifier

PH-00295

Abstract

The Jean Ford Photograph Collection (1964-1977) contains black-and-white photographic prints, contact sheets, and transparencies of Nevada politician and activist Jean Ford. The collection includes photographs of Jean Ford with the Nevada State Park Commission and various Nevadan politicians; Ford lecturing and campaigning; and of the 1977 National Women's Conference in Houston, Texas.

Archival Collection

Photographs of Casino Royale and Denny's signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), 2002

Date

2002

Description

Daytime and nighttime views of the Casino Royale and Denny's signs on the Strip. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 3419 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Tom Elardi
Sign details: The Casino Royale is located on the east side of the strip facing west, just south of the Venetian. The smaller establishment shares its space with a Denny's restaurant, which was present before the Royale was opened. The exterior is adorned with a stylized, European-esque, architecture, including apparent windows, domes, towers, and a cohesive landscape of connected buildings. The exterior of the Royale is a brightly lit facade of white raceways, lined with incandescent bulbs, boxing in vibrantly toned walls, and subdued neon. The colors correspond with those seen in the sign itself, as well the neon placed inside the edges of the windows. One section displays purple, the next a teal color, next a blue, then a red. Total signage of the property includes a two LED screens, one on the west side of the building, and the other housed in the logo cabinet on the south west corner of the property. Two logo cabinets, one in the aforementioned spot, and the second facing west over the main entrance on the west side of the building. Two double-faced cabinets lie on the northern end of the west side of the building, advertising for Denny's restaurant. Two small logos signs are also placed on the west face of the structure, for Caffe Trilussa.
Sign condition: Structure 5 Surface 5 Lighting 5
Sign form: Fascia
Sign-specific description: Upon the southwest corner of the building, a blue cabinet houses an LED screen in the rectangular body of the cabinet. The cabinet continues upward where the blue steel face supports white channel letters bordered in red neon and filled with incandescent bulbs. The text is written in two lines. The cabinet continues upward and is transformed into the sculpted design of a pink, purple, red, and blue crown on channel faced scrolls and sweeping shapes. The interiors of each section are lined with neon of a corresponding color to the paint treatments. Around to the west side of the building, the same style of text and scrolling adornments are used in a different marquee sign denoting the main entrance to the establishment. The same style of text seen on the southwestern sign is present with the same pattern of scroll work, crafted in a cabinet style, with channel faces. The major difference between the two signs is the size. The main entrance sign is much larger than the corner sign, as well as not having a LED screen incorporated below the text. The western sign possesses more scroll work below the text instead. The neon treatments are the same, as well as the incandescent bulbs, inside of the text. The lower roofline of the property plays host to the small but noticeable signage for Caffe Trilussa. Upon a extended surface of the roof line, two separate signs for the establishment are present. The roof shape is three sided with the signage on the northwest and southwest sides of the extension. Inside a section of the entablature created with white raceways, brown channel letters, spell the text "Trilussa," stretching across the length of the surface. The brown letters sit upon a yellow surface and are filled with incandescent bulbs, which are as wide as the channel letters themselves. Spelled in bent neon tubing, the word "Caffe" is spelled in all capital letters, sitting just above the left hand side of the title text. The right of the collection is occupied by a graphically treated, two-dimensional cut-out of a palm tree. The palm tree is treated on the surface with neon tubing as well. The tubing glows green and a gold corresponding to the graphical treatments. At the northern end of the property, two signs sit outside facing north, south. The double backed, internally lit cabinets represent the advertisements for the Denny's restaurant attached to the Royale. The first is at ground level outside the main entrance of the restaurant, the six sided, green cabinet, sports a yellow plastic face with red graphic text, reading "Denny's" in script text. Around the border of the face, incandescent bulbs run in a raceway pattern, and are covered in a plastic sheath. An angular cabinet rests on top of the other cabinet, creating a shallow peak. The internally lit, white face reads "Casino Royale" in black text. The same cabinet can be seen cantilevering off of the west side of the building above its partner sign. The cabinets are of identical design except for there is no plastic sheath covering the raceway of incandescent bulbs, and the plastic face of the main section of the cabinet is treated in different graphics. The script reads "Denny's" similar red script, but with a different background.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics; Paint
Sign animation: Chasing, oscillating
Notes: The incandescent bulbs inside the channel letters of the main text oscillate, while all incandescent bulbs on the raceways along the building chase each other also. The incandescent bulbs, which surround the Denny's cabinet, also chase each other.
Sign environment: The Casino Royale stands independently on it's own even though it is surrounded on all sides by casino giants. To the north stands the Venetian, to the South stands Harrah's, and the Mirage lies west across the street. Yes, the property itself seems to be dwarfed by the immense neighbors, but the ultra bright, clear external signage and facade create a charming and bright environment that announces its presence.
Sign manufacturer: YESCO
Sign - date of installation: 1992
Sign - date of redesign/move: The Royale was once the Nob hill, which was closed in 1980. It was reopened in 1992 as the Casino Royale.
Sign - thematic influences: The theme seems to be tied to a European theme with the French term "Royale" in the title. The scrollwork is reminiscent of confetti or Mardi Gras theme. Such a combination of elements to suggest a theme is seen in the Harrah's property also. The party themed reminiscent sculpted cabinets are also reminiscent of the Fleur de Li. Believe it or not, the property is tied to many other larger, corporate, properties in one respect regarding its facades. The facade of a town or city, shrunken down and stylized into the facade of the property is present all over the Strip. Such properties which utilize this technique, to one degree or the next, include: New York New York, Oshea's, Treasure Island, Bellagio, The Venetian, The Luxor, The Tropicana, and the Excalibur.
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Oscillating; Fascia; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic

Mixed Content

Photographs of Rummel Motel sign, Las Vegas (Nev.), February 23, 2017

Date

2017-02-23
2017-09-18

Description

The Rummel Motel sits north of The Strip at 1809 Las Vegas Boulevard South. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site address: 1809 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Yeh Chia-Hong
Sign details: The motel was founded by Marvin Rummel in 1945 (VintageLasVegas, n.d.), although the Clark County Assessor lists the original construction year as 1951 (Assessor, n.d.). Undated vintage postcards, one describing the motel as "new" (Rummel Motel, 1809 So. 5th St. U.S. 91 - L.A. Highway Las Vegas, Nevada original vintage postcard, n.d.) show that a two-story building was later added to the back of the motor court (VintageLasVegas). The addition may explain the discrepancy in construction dates. The Roles family purchased the property in 1958 (VintageLasVegas; Noted bowler, hotel owner dies, 2002). Ralph Roles also operated the Del Mar Motel (the Del Mar's sign, designed by Betty Willis, is now at the Neon Museum). A vintage postcard from 1958 shows that motel was endorsed by the Automobile Association of America and another automobile club (Garofalo, 2011). The motel was severely damaged by fire on April 30 2017 (VintageLasVegas; Hershkovitz, 2017) and is currently closed.
Sign condition: The condition is 2, fair. The lower portion of the cabinet is dented and access panels are damaged or missing. The upper portions of the cabinet display numerous metal patches. The plastic on the reader board has holes. The remaining neon tubing appears to be intact. All incandescent light bulbs are missing.
Sign form: Pylon sign
Sign-specific description: The sign is supported by a rectangular blue metal pylon. A blue metal-framed reader board and orange metal upper cabinet are cantilevered out from the pylon toward the street. In the center of the upper cabinet is an amoeba-shaped area which is painted black and outlined by white skeleton neon. Inside the black amoeba are individual cursive letters which spell out "Rummel Motel" in white paint traced by white skeleton neon. Atop the upper cabinet is a smaller orange metal cabinet which is wing-shaped. Above the wing is a blue metal circle. Inside the channel of the circle are six concentric circles of empty light sockets. On the outside of the circle is a semi-circular metal frame which holds five white skeleton neon five-pointed stars.
Sign - type of display: Neon, incandescent and reader board
Sign - media: Steel and plastic
Sign - non-neon treatments: Incandescent light bulbs and a reader board
Sign environment: This is located on Las Vegas Boulevard South just north of the Las Vegas Strip
Sign - date of installation: The current sign dates back to at least 1958, but probably is not the original motel sign. A vintage postcard shows that before the two-story addition, the motel had a simple double pole sign with the name "Rummel Motel" enclosed by an open oval (Rummel Motel, 1809 So. 5th St. U.S. 91 - L.A. Highway Las Vegas, Nevada original vintage postcard, n.d.). The colors, lettering style and oval shape of the former sign appear to have inspired the design of the sign seen in a postcard from 1958 (Garofalo, 2011). The latter sign, with heavy modification, is the sign seen on the property today. The sign as currently configured is recognizable in a postcard from the late 1950's or early 1960's (Las Vegas motels then and now, n.d.).
Sign - date of redesign/move: The circa 1958 sign (Garofalo, 2011) was supported by double poles. The pole on the street side of the sign can still be seen on the upper cabinet, but it no longer reaches to the ground. The pole on the motel side of the sign ran from the ground toward the center of the sign, and then doglegged inward toward the motel to support the sign from the side. That pole appears to be the same one now enclosed by the pylon. The shadow of the pole can be seen inside the current reader board, which was a later addition attached below the circa 1958 sign. Automobile club shields at the bottom of the circa 1958 sign have been removed. A black metal directional arrow pointing toward the motel from the street side of the sign has also been removed. A circular white or light yellow metal cabinet with concentric rows of incandescent lightbulbs in the interior and a semi-circle of neon stars on the exterior has been moved from the top of the former directional arrow to the top of the wing-shaped cabinet. The circa 1958 wing-shaped cabinet was flush with the street side of the sign and contained skeleton neon which advertised, "HEATED POOL". The current wing-shaped cabinet contains no neon and has been pushed to the center of the sign. The lower cabinet of the circa 1958 sign was painted orange and black, which is now all orange. The amoeba shape was painted blue and is now black. Below the amoeba were skeleton neon letters which spelled out, "NO VACANCY" and "24 HOUR ROOM SERVICE". The neon is now gone. A small black metal cabinet attached at the bottom of the sign contained what appear to be either painted or skeleton neon letters which state, "COOLED BY REFRIGERATION". That portion of the sign is now gone.
Sign - thematic influences: This sign showcases 1950's and 1960's Googie trends. This also conveys earlier motor court designs in the building and the sign.
Survey - research locations: Clark County Assessor, Parcel No. 162-03-310-007, Retrieved from http://www.clarkcountynv.gov/assessor/Pages/PropertyRecords.aspx?H=redrock&P=assrrealprop/pcl.aspx Garofalo, M. (2011 November 2). Still standing-Rummel Motel. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/vintageroadtrip/6304823598/ Hershkovitz, R. (2017 April 30). Fire damages vacant downtown Las Vegas motel. Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved from https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las-vegas/downtown/fire-damages-vacant-downtown-las-vegas-motel/ Las Vegas motels-Then and now. (n.d.). Rummel Motel. Retrieved from http://stefanidrivesvegas.com/8.html Noted bowler, motel owner Roles dies. (2002 July 30). Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved from https://lasvegassun.com/news/2002/jul/30/noted-bowler-motel-owner-roles-dies/ RoadsideArchitecture. (n.d.) The Rummel Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/signs/nvvegas3.html Rummel Motel, 1809 So. 5th St. U.S. 91 - L.A. Highway Las Vegas, Nevada original vintage postcard. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.amazon.com/Rummel-Motel-1809-So-U-S/dp/B00P9LEQCS VintageLasVegas. (n.d.). Rummel Motel. Retrieved from http://vintagelasvegas.com/post/160953547509/rummel-motel-1809-s-las-vegas-blvd-built-by
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-09-18
Sign keywords: Pylon; Neon; Incandescent; Reader board; Plastic; Steel

Mixed Content

Saharan Magazine from the Sahara Hotel and Casino, July 1966

Date

1966-07

Description

An issue of the Saharan Magazine from the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of the headlines in the magazine include: "Liberace Heads Show with Special Appearance of "Day of Decision" Artist", "Sahara Maestro Louis Basil Tells All (about work with Super Stars)", "Sahara news in pictures", "Crowds Hail Opening of $3 Million Sahara-Tahoe Theatre, largest in U.S.", and "We Get Visitors!"

Mixed Content

Report, Outline of water supply system at Basic Magnesium, Incorporated, Henderson, Nevada, September 22, 1944

Date

1944-09-22

Archival Collection

Description

Detailed report with drawings and maps of the water system at Basic Magnesium, Incorporated.

Text