Neon Signage designed by Brian "Buzz" Leming

On Thursday, June 5th we are saluting Neon Designers Brian "Buzz" Leming and the incomparable Betty Willis as part of our "Untold Stories" at the Springs Preserve.

Betty Willis was born and raised in Las Vegas.  Her family used to travel by train to Los Angeles when she was younger and she fell in love with neon signs and their vibrant colors.  After studying at the California Art Institute in Pasadena and working in the art department/marketing at the old MGM studios, she returned to Las Vegas and began her career as a Neon Designer in those halycon classic Las Vegas days.  She has designed many of the most iconic signs we associate with Las Vegas:  The Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, the Moulin Rouge and the Blue Angel, just to name a few.

Brian "Buzz" Leming grew up in Henderson and always loved drawing.  He became a fireman with the local department before deciding that what he really wanted to do was design neon signs.  He mentored under Betty Willis and worked with the legendary Hermon Boergne and Kermit Wayne.  His signs include the Lawless Center (above), the Hacienda Horse and Rider that rides above Fremont Street and the Rio sign.  He was part of the team that designed that original Aladdin sign and the original Caesars Palace sign.  Buzz is retiring this year after a long and colorful career.

We will be raffling off three limited edition prints of the Fabulous Las Vegas sign, courtesy of our friends at the Las Vegas News Bureau.

It all happens on Thursday, June 5th at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve

7:00 pm

Admission is $12.

You won't want to miss this rare opportunity to hear these two greats talk about their careers.

Special thanks to RoadsidePictures for letting us use these images. 

CCC workers take a lunch

(Image courtesy of the Boulder City Museum and Historical Association) 

As part of Historic Preservation Month, the Friends of Classic Las Vegas and the Classic Las Vegas Roadshow are proud to announce our upcoming panel on Southern Nevada and the New Deal.

Hosted by the Nevada State Museum and Friends of Classic Las Vegas, this informative Roadshow event will delve into the history of how in the depths of the Great Depression, the New Deal's effect not only on the country but on Southern Nevada specifically.

Please join us to hear Historians Dennis McBride and Peter Gough and long-time residents Mike Pinjuv, Johnny Pinjuv and Bonnie Rams as they discuss the Las Vegas that they knew and what the New Deal meant for the Valley.

It will be a wonderful evening of history, stories and memories and you don't want to miss it!

Wednesday, May 14th

Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

700 Twin Lakes Dr

Lorenzi Park

5:00 - 6:00 pm  Reception

6:15 - 8:15 pm  Roundtable Discussion

Refreshments will be served.

We look forward to seeing you there! 

 

We are thrilled to announce that we have another upcoming panel on the History of Helldorado.  If you are new to town and wonder why there is a Helldorado Celebration (which is coming on May 17th) or if you remember fondly sitting on the curb on Fremont Street watching those beautiful floats go by, come on around and here the stories of how and why Helldorado got started and what it was like. 

At one point in the 1950s, it rivaled the Rose Parade in terms of attendance and beautiful floats.

A great evening of history and fun that you won't want to miss!

The History of Helldorado

Tuesday, May 13th

Clark County Museum

1830 S. Boulder Highway 

7:00 PM   (Please note new START TIME)

Panelists include:

Emmett Sullivan, the son of co-founder Mark Sullivan

Tim Cashman, the grandson of co-founder, Big Jim Cashman

Don Payne, former Manager of the Las Vegas News Bureau

Thank you to the Las Vegas News Bureau for helping to Sponsor this event! 

We hope to see you there! 

St. Thomas was a thriving farming community in the Moapa Valley.  But, when Boulder (Hoover) Dam was finished, Lake Mead began to rise behind the Dam.

The community of St. Thomas had to be abandoned.  Its citizens packed up their belongings and left for the territory ahead.

Left behind were the buildings, fixtures, wells and the reminders of a once-proud Mormon community.  As the Lake rose, St. Thomas faded from view and from memory.

But as the drought continues and the Lake gets lower and lower, St. Thomas has risen from its watery grave.  The crumbling buildings once again back in the hot sun and eerily reminds us of our past.

On Thursday, April 3rd, Untold Stories will look back at the history of St. Thomas and the history of the ruins.

Untold Stories:  Revisiting St. Thomas 

Panelists will include:

Eva Jensen, curator and historian for the Lost City Museum in Overton

Dennis McBride, curator and historian for the Nevada State Museum

Dr. Michael Green, professor of history, College of Southern Nevada

Thursday, April 3rd 

7:00 pm

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Admission $12

For more information on St. Thomas:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-blog/2008/2/11/the-past-resurfaces.html 

"There was more changes on Fremont Street than anywhere else for quite awhile" 

Carey Burke, 2004 interview 

Our historian, Lynn Zook, will be presenting this month's Untold Stories: Historic Fremont Street this Thursday, March 6th at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

The panelists are:

Carey Burke

Brian "Buzz" Leming

Mike Pinjuv

Mike Pinjuv was born in Las Vegas in the 1920s.  Both Carey and Brian came to Las Vegas as youngsters in 1946.  All three have fond memories of Fremont Street.  They watched as the Street evolved from their Main Street to Glitter Gulch to the Fremont Street Experience of today.

Along the way, the cruised Fremont Street, watched Helldorado parades on its curbs, hung out at the hamburger joints and in Brian's case, helped design some of the incredible neon signs that still grace the Street.

Join us this Thursday, March 6th

7:00 pm

The Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Admission is $12