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Irwin Molasky oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Irwin Molasky conducted by A. D. Hopkins on June 08, 1999 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal First 100 Oral History Project. In the interview, Molasky discusses his early life in Ohio and moving around the United States before settling in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1951. He then talks about his company, the Molasky Group of Companies, and projects the company had been associated with. One project Molasky focuses on is the design and opening of Sunrise Hospital in 1958, located in Las Vegas. He recalls Nevada Senator Howard Cannon cutting the ribbon for the hospital's opening, as well as business partners for the hospital including Allard Rowan, Morris Barney "Moe" Dalitz, and Roy Cohn. Other Las Vegas projects Molasky discusses include the Boulevard Mall, Paradise Palms housing community, and the Bank of America Plaza near Fremont Street. Molasky also talks about a vocational outreach project he helped develop at the Irwin & Susan Molasky Junior High School. Lastly, Molasky talks about his personal hobbies and Las Vegas's urban growth.
Archival Collection
Susan and Irwin Molasky oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Susan and Irwin Molasky conducted by Michael Geeser on May 15, 2006 for the I Remember When: Recollections from Las Vegas Jewish Leaders Oral History Project. They talk about the founding of the Nathan Adelson Hospice and about the Jewish community in Las Vegas, Nevada. Irwin talks about building the first high-rise condominium and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, about building Sunrise Hospital and Boulevard Mall, about the future of Las Vegas, light rail in the city, and the Las Vegas downtown and its future. They also discuss the water supply in southern Nevada and the possibility of a high-speed railroad from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
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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