On February 26, 1977, collector Harold May interviewed Laura Gentry (born May 1897 in St. Thomas, Nevada) at her cabin in Gold Butte, Nevada. In this interview, Laura Gentry discusses living in St. Thomas and Overton, Nevada. She discusses the development of the Overton and Gold Butte areas of Nevada as well as the people involved in mining in these areas.
On an unspecified date in 1972, Ronald Johns interviewed Elbert Edwards (born 1907 in Panaca, Nevada) about his life in Southern Nevada. Edwards first talks about his family’s move to Panaca, Nevada in 1864 and talks briefly about his work in Las Vegas public schools during the Great Depression. The two also discuss the Boulder Dam, Edwards’ involvement in politics, and mining in Nevada. He also talks about the cost to build a home in Las Vegas in 1936, the development of Boulder City, and the way of life in the small town of Panaca. The interview then moves on to the topics of the early territorial boundaries of Nevada and Utah, the atomic testing at the Nevada Test Site, and early water sources in Southern Nevada.
Oral history interviews with Olivia Díaz conducted by Nathalie Martinez and Barbara Tabach on August 31 and September 14, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In the first interview, Díaz gives her family and personal history, growing up in Las Vegas but often visiting her family in Durango, Mexico for extended stays. She recalls her matriarchal upbringing, particularly while living in Mexico, and what life was like growing up and going to school in East Las Vegas and at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Subjects discussed include: Mexico; Latina identity. In the second interview, Díaz talks about her English language education career for the Clark County School District (CCSD) and the events that led her to run for Nevada Assembly and Las Vegas City Council. She is presently Nevada's Assemblywoman for District 11 and Las Vegas' Councilwoman for Ward 3. Olivia concludes her interview with insights into her political and educational goals for the community and the initiatives she has focused on in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Las Vegas Library sign sits at 833 North Las Vegas Boulevard. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 833 N Las Vegas Blvd Sign owner: City of Las Vegas is the owner of the property since 2015, but it is an Independent government agency ran by a board of trustees chosen by the city and county Sign details: Opened since 1990. Used to be paired with the Lied Children's Discovery Museum but has been solely the library since the Children's Discovery museum moved to its new location in 2013. The Library property was sold to the city of Las Vegas October 2015. Sign condition: 4-Lights up very brightly at night and the graphics are still relatively visible during the day, but the Lexan covering makes it a little cloudy looking during the day. Sign form: Small rectangular roadside sign Sign-specific description: Rectangular sign about 4ft by 3.5 feet but raised off the ground by nearly 7-8 feet. Double sided slate of concrete with painted font stating "Las Vegas Library". The letter light up red (neon) at night and the border of the sign is blue (argon) Sign - type of display: Neon Sign - media: Concrete Sign - non-neon treatments: Lexan to cover the Neon tubing Sign environment: Across the street from Cashman Field. Located in the Cultural Corridor about a mile north of Fremont St. near the beginning of North Las Vegas. Sign manufacturer: Fluresco Lighting and Sign Sign - date of installation: 43143 Sign - date of redesign/move: Pre 2012- there was a roadside sign for the children's museum and library but no neon features on that sign. Sign - thematic influences: Basic skeletal neon, but great use of Neon and Argon. Also the use of concrete as the background is very interesting and not seen as commonly as steel or wood backings for signs. Sign - artistic significance: This sign shows that any type of company or property here in Las Vegas can have a Neon sign, thus perpetuating the culture of Las Vegas and how Neon defines the town. Survey - research locations: Las Vegas Sun Article https://lasvegassun.com/guides/about/public_libraries/ , Clark County Library website http://www.lvccld.org/about/branch_info.cfm?id=4 , Discovery Children's museum website https://www.discoverykidslv.org/ , contact with Stephen Rice the Library's General Services Director Survey - research notes: The building is defined by the tall cylinder tower that used to be an observatory for the Children's museum. Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-08-04 Sign keywords: Neon; Concrete; Roadside
The ABC Stores sign sits at 23 East Fremont Street inside the Fremont Street Experience. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Sheet. Site address: 23 Fremont St Sign owner: Sidney and Minnie Kosasa Sign details: The idea of the ABC stores originated in Hawaii with their first store opening in Waikiki in 1964 as a traveler convenience store selling groceries, cosmetics and souvenirs. The company now has location here in Las Vegas as well as Guam and Saipan. The owners wanted a name that everyone could remember so they named it ABC. The building that houses this ABC Store on Fremont was originally constructed in 1940. The property opened as the ABC Stores in November of 2001. Sign condition: 5- relatively new and in good condition. Sign form: Flat bullnose sign, though nearly a canopy sign Sign-specific description: Above their entrance are big silver plumes that are all lined with chasing incandescent. At night these plumes look like a iridescent pearl color. There is one big plume in the middle and two on either side of the big one. On the middle plume there is a blade sign stating "ABC (vertically) Stores (horizontally)" which is also lined in incandescent on the roadside portion of the sign. The blade portion is a backlit plastic sign. Above the silver plumes is "ABC STORES" in channeled block font letters. These letters are outlined in blue neon (argon) and have gold colored incandescent that are flashing. Sign - type of display: Neon, incandescents and backlit plastic signs Sign - media: Plastic and steel Sign - non-neon treatments: Neon, incandescents and backlit plastic signs Sign animation: Chaser for the incandescents on the plumes and flasher on the incandescents in the ABC letters above the plumes. Sign environment: This property is on Fremont in between Main and First Street. To the east would be the site of the old Famous Pioneer Club and La Bayou was to the west, but has been torn down in the past year. Across the street was the Glitter Gulch. Sign manufacturer: YESCO Sign - date of installation: 2001 Sign - thematic influences: The plumes that this location has look very similar to the 1970's Raul Rodriguez Flamingo feathers. Sign - artistic significance: Could be reminiscent of the 1970's Flamingo Feathers designed by Raul Rodriguez. Though it is also remnant of the old showgirl outfits with their plumes and big feathery outfits. Survey - research locations: ABC website http://www.abcstores.com/about/ , Acessor's Page, contact with Lovella Joy C. Romulando the Assistant Property manager. Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-09-01 Sign keywords: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Plastic; Steel; Chasing; Flashing; Bullnose