Search Results
Audio clip from interview with Irwin Molasky, April 23, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Part of an interview with Irwin Molasky, April 23, 2014. In this clip, Molasky describes constructing his first property in Las Vegas: a motel called the Pyramids on the Las Vegas Strip. He then talks about the sanitation district as the reason that the city could not annex the county into its borders, and the related issues of a growing city.
Sound
Transcript of interview with Irwin Molasky by David G. Schwartz, April 23, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Interview with Irwin Molasky by David G. Schwartz, April 23, 2014. In this interview, Irwin Molasky discusses arriving in Las Vegas in the 1950s, and building the Pyramids motel on the Strip. He talks about the entertainers in various hotels on the Strip, the concept of the "star policy," and bringing Parisian shows to Las Vegas. He goes on to discuss his real estate developments, including Paradise Palms, Boulevard Mall, and Sunrise Hospital, and donating the land for the development of UNLV.
Irwin Molasky came to Las Vegas in 1951, during a time when "everyone knew everyone else," and there was a small, but strong Jewish community. An Army veteran, Irwin and his wife moved to Las Vegas after living in California for a short time. Irwin soon built The Pyramids, a Strip motel next to the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. The Pyramids opened the same day as its northern next-door neighbor, The Sands Hotel and Casino, on December 15, 1952. Irwin used his newly acquired contractor's license to become on the city's most important real estate developers. Over the next 60 years, he built everything from residential housing, including Paradise Palms to commercial properties. Projects included Sunrise Hospital and the surrounding medical buildings; Sunrise City Shopping Center and other power centers; Bank of America Plaza and much other downtown development; and golf courses. When the recession hit, Irwin began bidding on government projects across the country, successfully shielding his business and employees from the economic downturn. Irwin's real estate ventures not only had a tremendous impact on Las Vegas' economic development, but a substantial effect in social programming. Irwin donated 40 acres of prime real estate to the University of Nevada - Las Vegas (UNLV) so that university could expand. Additionally, he was the Founding Chairman of the UNLV Foundation and received an honorary doctorate in humanities.
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Proclamation for the Molasky Family Park, 2011
Date
Archival Collection
Description
This document recognizes the accomplishments of Irwin Molasky and the Molasky Group of Companies and celebrates the dedication of the Molasky Family Park.
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Photographs of the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Molasky Corporate Center, 2006
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Group of photographs showing Irwin Molasky and others at a podium during the groundbreaking ceremonies for the Molasky Corporate Center at 100 N. City Parkway in Las Vegas, Nev.
Image
Handwritten list of stores and businesses owned by Jews in Las Vegas, Nev. in the 1940s, by Michael S. Mack, 2015
Date
Archival Collection
Description
This document is a listing of Jewish-owned businesses in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada across all sectors including retail, restaurants, hotels and gaming, as remembered by Michael Mack.
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Corporation meeting minutes for Nathan Adelson Hospice, March 19, 1985
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The meeting minutes of the Nathan Adelson Hospice Corporation outline changes made to the by-laws, and statistics for in-patient and at-home care rendered in 1984.
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Floor statements delivered by Chic Hecht during the 100th Congress, 1987-1988
Date
Archival Collection
Description
The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the U.S. Congress. This group of documents is part of the Senator Chic Hecht Papers and includes floor statements delivered by Senator Hecht during the 100th Congress in 1987 and 1988. Topics addressed by Senator Hecht include tributes to distinguished citizens of Nevada, including Irwin Molasky, Arthur S. Waltzman, and the 1987-1988 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team. Other topics are nuclear waste, energy and water appropriations, the PEPCON rocket fuel explosion, and union and right-to-work issues.
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Brochure from the Molasky Group of Companies, approximately 2010
Date
Archival Collection
Description
This brochure includes highlights of the Molasky Group of Companies, specializing in real estate development.
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Transcript of interview with Susan Molasky by Barbara Tabach, March 11, 2014
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In this interview, Susan Molasky discusses her childhood and teenaged years growing up in London, where she worked with in a fabric store. Molasky shares photos and momentos with the interviewer, and talks about originally coming to Las Vegas with her first husband, Leo Frey, in the late 1950s. She discusses raising her children in Las Vegas, and her bout with ovarian cancer, which prompted her involvement in Nathan Adelson Hospice. She continues to discuss her life with second husband, Irwin Molasky, and the causes they are involved in.
Susan Molasky was born in Israel (what was then-Palestine) in mid-1930s, the daughter of Bukharian Jewish immigrants. With the end of World War II, at the age of nine Susan, her sister and mother were able to get visas to live with her father in London. It was in England where Susan learned English and began working, at a fabric shop on Regent Street. In 1957, Susan married her first husband, and the couple moved to Las Vegas on January 1, 1958. She knew immediately that the city would be her home. Susan and her husband moved to Las Vegas to help her brother-in-law, Leo Frey, renovate and manage the Moulin Rouge; their primary business was long-term room rentals to casino employees, occasionally renting to tourists when the casino hotels were full. After two years, her husband changed careers paths and the couple moved to Europe. They had three sons before returning to Las Vegas in 1964. In 1973, Susan married Irwin Molasky, whom she had met through her work with the Sisterhood at Temple Beth Sholom; both sat on the temple's board. Susan enjoyed the excitement and glamour that defined Las Vegas during the 1970s, attending show openings, visiting movie sets, and socializing with stars. But more than this, Susan devoted herself to helping others, most notably through the opening of Nathan Adelson Hospice. Her own battle with cancer, as well as serving as a caretaker for others, ignited her commitment to establish quality hospice care in her beloved city, and she has continuously led the organization's fundraising efforts. There are now two Nathan Adelson Hospice facilities serving the greater Las Vegas area.
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Program from Christmas with Class at the Thomas and Mack Center, December 16, 1983
Date
Description
This program is from the gala opening of the Thomas and Mack Center at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1983, which featured a celebrity lineup including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Diana Ross. The program provides details of the contributions of Jerome Mack and Parry Thomas to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
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