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Margaret Riskin oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02164

Abstract

Oral history interview with Margaret Riskin conducted by Anna Huddleston on August 12, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods: an Oral History Project of Ward 1. In this interview, Riskin discusses living in Las Vegas, Nevada since 1993. She talks about moving into a home in the Scotch 80s neighborhood, her neighbors, and the home owner association for the neighborhood. Riskin describes security concerns in the Scotch 80s, experiencing a home robbery, and why she decided to relocate. Lastly, Riskin discusses community events held in her neighborhood.

Archival Collection

Ken Stichter oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01768

Abstract

Oral history interview with Dr. Ken Stichter conducted by Kate Ward on March 08, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Stichter reflects upon his career as a teacher and administrator in Southern California. He describes his motivations for becoming a principal, his regular responsibilities and challenges, and his working relationships with teachers, students, and other administrators. He also discusses his experience as an assistant superintendent, and compares it with his experience as a principal.

Archival Collection

Brenda Arnold oral history interview

Identifier

OH-00048

Abstract

Oral history interview with Brenda Arnold conducted by Janet E. Prince on February 28, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Arnold discusses her career as a librarian, her religious activities in Las Vegas, Nevada, and viewing the above-ground atomic testing. She also recounts activities she did while visiting Lake Mead and Harris Springs at Mount Charleston.

Archival Collection

Willis Evans oral history interview

Identifier

OH-00558

Abstract

Oral history interview with Willis Evans conducted by Kathleen Morgan La Spina on December 02, 1986 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Evans discusses arriving and living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Evans also discusses being involved in the civic organization, District Attorney Youth Advisory Group. The interview concludes with a discussion of Boulder (Hoover) Dam, and changes in Las Vegas’ economy, politics, and environment.

Archival Collection

Geneva Stark Merwin oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01289

Abstract

Oral history interview with Geneva Stark Merwin conducted by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick on August 24, 1983 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Merwin discusses her career and experiences as a teacher in Pahrump, Nevada after moving there in 1941. Merwin also discusses some of the people in the town and its layout. Merwin goes on to describe her teaching career in Las Vegas, Nevada after being recommended to the school board by Maude Frazier.

Archival Collection

Jennilee Thayer oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02631

Abstract

Oral history interview with Jennilee Thayer conducted by Claytee D. White on August 12, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Thayer discusses arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1936 when it was still a mining town. She describes early Henderson, Nevada, attending Basic High School, and recalls her father’s employment at the Basic Magnesium Plant. Lastly, Thayer discusses her employment in show production, atomic bomb testing, and changes in Las Vegas.

Archival Collection

Congregation Ner Tamid

Congregation Ner Tamid is the second oldest Jewish synagogue in the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, founded in 1974. It is the largest Reform synagogue in Nevada, and has been led by Rabbi Sanford Akselrad since 1988. Ner Tamid is home to the Gary and Lynn Kantor Early Childhood Education Center and the Mark L. Fine Judaica gift shop.  It offers youth and adult education, as well as a Men’s Club, Sisterhood, and other social groups. In 2015, more than 600 families were members of Ner Tamid, and the congregation offered over 200 programs and activities in the course of a year.

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

Date

2017-04-18
2017-08-22

Description

The Desert Moon Motel sign sits at 1701 Fremont Street in Downtown Las Vegas. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet.
Site name: Desert Moon Motel (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Site address: 1701 Fremont St
Sign owner: Jerzy and Celina Kosla
Sign details: The building was constructed in 1942 (Assessor). According to one commentator, the Desert Moon motel opened on the site in 1952 (Roadside Architecture.com). The cars on a vintage postcard of the motel appear to date from the late 1940's or early 1950's (Ebay). The same vintage postcard (Ebay) shows the motel as a member of United Motor Courts, an early motel referral chain founded in 1933 which published a travel guide until the early 1950's (Wikipedia). Based in Santa Barbara, California, United Motor Courts was made up of "a friendly group of independent owners of motor lodges..." (Historic Highways). The Quality Inn motel franchise was a spinoff of United Motor Courts (Wikipedia). The motel has been renovated by its current owner, Polish immigrant George (Jerzy) Kosla (Glionna, 2017).
Sign condition: The sign is Condition 4, good. The paint appears slightly faded but there is no flaking or peeling. The cabinets, reader boards, and fiberglass moon are all in good condition. The neon is intact.
Sign form: Pole sign
Sign-specific description: The sign pole and metal cabinets are painted pink. The design and lettering are the same on both sides of the sign. The trapezoid-shaped lower cabinet extends horizontally toward the street. It contains a rectangular white plastic lightbox which states "FREE ADULT MOVIES" in red sans serif letters and "FLAT SCREEN TV'S in smaller black san serif letters. To the left of the letters is the black silhouette of a female figure. On the metal below the plastic screen are clear sans serif neon letters which spell out, "NO VACANCY" in red when illuminated. The upper metal cabinet hangs from the street side of the pole. White painted san serif letters, covered by clear sans serif neon letters which glow red when illuminated, run vertically down the cabinet to spell out, "XXX MOVIES". Five metal cabinets attached to the street side of the sign run vertically to spell out, "M-O- T-E- L" in white painted sans serif letters covered by yellow sans serif neon letters. On top of the pole is a white p
Sign - type of display: Neon, Lightbox
Sign - media: Steel, Plastic, Fiberglass
Sign - non-neon treatments: Lightbox
Sign environment: East Fremont Street, surrounded by other motels.
Sign - date of installation: c. 1950s
Sign - date of redesign/move: The now pink or faded red sign cabinets were painted blue in a 2003 photograph
Sign - thematic influences: Desert, Space Age, Western
Sign - artistic significance: The current sign appears to have taken the Western/Lunar theme from the previous sign and transformed it into a 1950's/1960's Space Age/Lunar theme
Survey - research locations: Assessor's website
Survey - research notes: Ebay. Las Vegas NV Desert Moon Motel roadside Nevada vintage linen postcard ca 1940s. Retrieved from https://picclick.com/LAS-VEGAS- NV-Desert- Moon-Motel- Roadside-Nevada- 141923576051.html Glionna, J. M. (2017 April 23). Motel, once a haven, now a crime-ridden jungle in downtown Las Vegas. Las Vegas Review Journal. Retrieved https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/local-las- vegas/downtown/motel-once- a-haven- now-a- crime-ridden- jungle-in- downtown-las- vegas/ Historic Highways. (2007 July 14). Archive for the "Motel Associations" category: Looking for a motel in 1933. Retrieved from https://historichighways.wordpress.com/category/motel-associations/ Roadside Architecture. com (n.d.). Las Vegas Signs: Desert Moon Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadarch.com/signs/nvvegas.html RoadsidPeek.com. (n.d.). Downtown motels Las Vegas: Desert Moon Motel. Retrieved from http://www.roadsidepeek.com/roadusa/southwest/nevada/vegas/lvmotel/lvdownmotel/index5.htm Wikipedia. (n.d.). Motel: 2.6 R
Survey - other remarks: A postcard circa early 1950's features a different sign with a saguaro cactus and quarter moon (Ebay). The current sign appears to have taken the Western/Lunar theme from the previous sign and transformed it into a Space Age/Lunar theme, which may indicate that the sign dates from the date from the late 1950's or 1960's.
Surveyor: Mitchell Cohen
Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22
Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Fiberglass; Pole sign; Light box; Sculptural

Mixed Content