The Harry Hayden Whiteley Architectural Records are comprised of architectural records (1931-1970) created and/or maintained by the American architect Harry Hayden Whiteley and/or his architectural firm, known as Harry Hayden Whiteley and Associates. This collection includes 30.21 linear feet of materials including 45 items from over 30 projects. The collection focuses on his work in the Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada areas. The materials feature both architectural drawings and project files. Architectural drawings include pencil and ink on tracing paper preliminary sketches and mounted artist’s renderings used for presentations and promotional materials. Project files include project correspondence, photographs, and structural calculations. The drawings also contain work from the architect Paul Revere Williams. The collection includes architectural drawings for hotels, shopping plazas, residential developments, and office buildings.
Archival Collection
The James Cashman Sr. Papers date from approximately 1890 to 1969 and contain correspondence, photographs, insurance records, and bank records related to Cashman and his businesses in Southern Nevada. The collection documents the lives of the Cashman family and their businesses in southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Klai Juba Wald Architectural Records (2000-2020) are comprised primarily of digital architectural renderings for projects completed by Las Vegas, Nevada architecture and interior design firm Klai Juba Wald Architecture + Interiors. The collection is comprised of renderings for the firm's projects conducted mainly around Las Vegas, but also includes projects around the United States such as the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Florida and Rivers Casino in Illinois. Also included are master plans and presentation slides for projects like the Choctaw Casino in Oklahoma and Live! Casino & Hotel in Maryland. Master plans for projects in Las Vegas include the LINQ, Silverton Casino Hotel, and Hard Rock Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
The Clyde F. Merrick Photographic Slides (approximately 1971-1979) contain color photographic slides taken by Clyde F. Merrick, longtime resident of Las Vegas, Nevada. The majority of slides in this collection depict signs for different businesses around Las Vegas including the Las Vegas Strip and the Westside. Some of the businesses documented in this collection includes Fong's Garden, Leon's Shear Magic Beauty Salon, Lucas and Son's Antiques, Dick's Tricky Trikes, Mohan's Custom Tailors, the Twenty Grand Club, Owens TV Repair, and Caesars Palace. The collection also documents a variety of different types of businesses around Las Vegas including bars and nightclubs, beauty salons, car washes, gas stations, and restaurants. Merrick was also a car racing hobbyist and a number of slides in this collection depict what is presumed to be the Las Vegas Speedrome racetrack (later known the Las Vegas Motor Speedway). This collection also includes photographs of locations outside of Las Vegas and Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Maria LaCavera Papers (1947-2017) contain the papers of professional dancer Maria LaCavera. The collection documents the career of LaCavera dancing in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Flamingo Hotel in 1947, and the Last Frontier Hotel in 1949 as one of the Ramona Girls dancing in the Danny O'Neil Varieties Act. Materials include photographs of LaCavera and other Ramona Girls, newspaper clippings, correspondence, LaCavera's American Guild of Variety Artists (AGVA) employment contracts, Fabulous Las Vegas magazines, and hotel receipts. Other items of note include photographs of the 1949 Helldorado parade, a Frontier Hotel Ramona Room menu, and Frontier Hotel ephemera. There is also a copy of a self-published biography of LaCavera, written by her daughter-in-law Kristin Meyer entitled From Bon-Air to the Last Frontier. The collection also contains the digital images used to illustrate the book.
Archival Collection
The Sister Klaryta Antoszewska Photograph Collection (1977-1991) consists of photographic slides that depict various Nevada, United States, and international nuclear test protests. The collection includes images of Sister Klaryta Antoszewska and Sister Rosemary Lynch, as well as images of the Lenten Desert Experience and numerous protests at the Nevada Test Site. Also included are images of nuclear testing, soldiers, and anti-nuclear testing promotional materials.
Archival Collection
The Leon Rockwell Photograph Collection (approximately 1850-1979) contains black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, and slides, as well as postcards and tintypes. The images portray the lives of the Rockwell family in southern Nevada, their travels throughout New York and the western United States, and their immediate and extended family members. Also included are images of the volunteer and early firefighters of Las Vegas, Nevada, the Rockwell's family cabin at Mount Charleston, Nevada, and the Rockwell family home in Las Vegas. Portions of the images are from the Rockwell family travels across Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and California and depict historic locations such as Cove Fort, Utah; Rhyolite, Nevada; and Pueblo Grande de Nevada.
Archival Collection
On March 2, 1977, Danny DiGiacomo interviewed office manager, Maxine James (born September 6th, 1925, in Hayti, Missouri) about her life in Southern Nevada. The two discuss the ease with which people could find jobs in early Las Vegas. The interview provides an overview of James’ occupational history in Las Vegas and concludes with a discussion on the rapid growth of the city in the fifties and sixties.
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On March 8, 1975, John Neal interviews Ruth Hazard (birthdate unknown, 67 years old) in her home about her memory of how Southern Nevada has changed economically. Hazard goes in-depth about her knowledge of municipal politics and her husband’s friendships with a number of Nevadan politicians. Hazard also briefly talks about her fascination with the above-ground atomic tests, speakeasies during Prohibition, and local anxieties about Las Vegas “losing its identity.”
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Bud Weil worked as a disc jockey in Mexico after serving in the military during World War II. In 1947, he moved to Las Vegas to work at KLAS but after two days he was job hunting. His search landed him at KENO, a radio station owned by Max and Laura Belle Kelch. His was an interview show that afforded him entree to stars performing in town. The list of his favorite interviews includes Sophie Tucker, Sammy Davis, Jack Benny, The Mills Brother, Rosemary Clooney, Leno Home, Joey Lewis and many others. In 1955, he became restless, left the career in broadcasting, and joined Max Kelch as a partner in a new venture for Las Vegas - Musak. This enterprise took him to the doors of every business in town and shortly, he knew everybody. He uses that knowledge in this interview to talk about all aspects of life as the town grew over the years. Today he is a senior statesman of our town, enjoying everything about Las Vegas except the traffic.
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