There was a major fire early this morning at the Gilcrease Sanctuary.  Due to high winds, firefighters had a difficult time getting the blaze under control but we understand they have.

 

My good friend, Jane Ann Morrison, over at the R-J wrote this wonderful column today.  Thank-you, Jane Ann!

Lynn  told me I had to, absolutely had to, go see the Walt Disney Family Museum there. She raved about the quality of the museum and convinced me and my friend this was a must-see.

Lynn was adamant … and she was right.

The museum tells Walt Disney's life story, but it is also part of the life story of just about every 20th century American.

Who hasn't seen a Disney cartoon or movie or been to Disneyland? "Snow White" was made in 1938 but like so many other Disney creations, it remains a significant part of American culture.

Going through the museum, located at the Presidio in San Francisco, was a personal experience as well as a time to learn more about Disney the man, rather than the corporation.

There were surprises galore.

Did you know Mickey Mouse was Disney's second choice as a cartoon star? He created a series called "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit," but lost the rights to his distributor, making Disney a lifelong stickler for copyright.

In 1928, he created this mouse called Mortimer. Except his wife, Lillian, didn't like that name. Mortimer became Mickey and mouse history was changed forever. Oswald the Lucky Rabbit could have a been a contender, but instead, is a footnote.

Did you know Disney said "the toughest period in my whole life" was in 1941 when he had union problems with the animators?

Did you know that for "Steamboat Willie," it took 348 cartoon drawings to create less than one minute of film?

The museum works on many levels. Since it's in a refurbished barracks on the grounds of the Presidio, the parking is on what was once a military parade ground. The setting is one of military history and preservation while the museum tells the life story of a natural storyteller.

I saw more adults than kids this past Saturday afternoon, but it's designed to appeal to both, just on different levels.

Lynn learned about the museum from a newspaper article published around the time the $110 million museum opened Oct 1.

Just before Christmas, she and her husband went to San Francisco to see the museum and relish the wonderful memories it provoked. "It was reliving my childhood," she said. "The animation room brought back memories of seeing 'Bambi' at the Huntridge Theater. We watched it from the crying room because my brother was a baby." Her husband, Jon Stromp, a video engineer for extreme sports, focused on the development of the technology, starting with the rough beginnings of cartoons, then the revolution of animation. The museum doesn't explain today's animation technology because it ends with Disney's death in 1966 and it's a stirring closure, including newspaper cartoonists honoring a fellow cartoonist.

Sometime later Zook spotted a job listing -- the museum was looking for a digital archivist. She applied.

In the meantime, she was told that "Untold Stories," the monthly panel about Southern Nevada history she first organized in September 2007, was being canceled by the Springs Preserve. Officials are rethinking the educational programs and cutting costs. Lynn would no longer be commuting from Southern California to Las Vegas each month.

Three days later, she was offered the job at the Walt Disney Family Museum. She's moving to San Francisco this weekend for another job and another commute. Lynn starts work there Monday.

Next time you're in San Francisco, see the Walt Disney Family Museum. Tell them Lynn Zook sent you, because indirectly, she did.

Anyone who loves the outdoors, loves nature and loves fresh fruit is familar with the Gilcrease family.  Their family farm provided fresh fruit and veggies to a growing city in the 20th century. 

Today, that farm is a nature sanctuary and has been for 40 years.  They are celebrating their anniversary and are inviting all of us to join them.

From the R-J:

Love is in the air at Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary these days.

John the ostrich and his "girlfriends" are in mating season.

One pen over, a donkey mama tends to her foal, born the day after Valentine's Day. Sanctuary staff says you can call the baby Valentino.

A few paces away, you can find the ultimate love story.

A widowed orange-bill mute swan has found love in a black swan. The mute swan lost his mate -- the birds mate for life -- but has found himself a companion.

To witness all the drama for yourself, visit Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary at 8103 Racel St., which is gearing up for site upgrades.

About 1,500 abandoned birds and barnyard animals call the sanctuary home, although some migratory birds come and go. Bill Gilcrease started collecting and taking in abandoned birds in 1970. The sanctuary didn't become a nonprofit entity until 1991.

Although the sanctuary will turn 40 this year, it has been in the Gilcrease family since the 1920s and has seen a lot of changes to the property. An orchard neighbors the sanctuary and, at one point, a wildlife park with exotic animals was on the land. A former giraffe pen now houses a mule deer.

"All these years, it's been a preserve for birds, but it's so much more," Executive Director Sandra Salinas said.

But after decades of opening their wings to abandoned and rescue birds, staff has had to stop accepting new animals.

"It's not fair to the birds to take on any expansion at this time," Salinas said.

But a change is about to come.

The center recently received a grant for $500,000 from an anonymous donor and has begun eyeing plans to enhance cages and facilities and use more space on the 8-acre lot.

The sanctuary partners with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, and, each year, about 5,000 students come to the sanctuary for hands-on education programs. Salinas said the sanctuary will be able to rebuild cages and bird averies and explore green approaches to maintaining the grounds.

Other funds will go to educational programs, Salinas said. The sanctuary has opportunities for education in ornithology, paleontology, archaeology, agriculture and horticulture, she listed.

"We have things for (those in) preschool on up to college," she said. "Isn't that cool?"

Through on-site classes on animal wellness, presentations and tours, the facility encourages the thoughtful adoption of pets so the sanctuary doesn't become a dumping place for the abandoned animals.

Salinas grows excited when showing preliminary renderings of the future of Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary.

Historical landmarks will be honored, and educational gardens will find a new home, but new features such as a hummingbird and butterfly plaza are possible. Staff members and the sanctuary's board of trustees currently are taking proposals from architects and planners.

"It has so much potential," Salinas said.

The sanctuary will be holding an arts and crafts festival from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 24 and 25. Vendors, entertainment and carriage rides will be available for attendees.

Gilcrease Nature Sanctuary is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Admission is $5 for adults, $1 for children under 12 years of age, and $4 for seniors ages 65 and over and military personnel. Special rates for class tours and large groups also are available.

For more information, visit www. naturesanctuarygilcrease.org, call 645-4224 or e-mail info@naturesanctuary gilcrease.org.

Brian Paco Alvarez is the Curator of the Las Vegas News Bureau Archive and an Urban Historian.  He is also a native Las Vegan long involved in the cultural arts of our favorite neon city.

He took a few minutes to talk about culture, art and urban history with us:

1) As a native Las Vegan, how has the city changed since you were a kid and what do you think of the changes?

 

Oh my goodness has Las Vegas changed. It is not the small city that I grew up in but looking at the Strip I am excited to see it finally fill in and have tall structures that are part of any city. As a child I was fortunate to spend several years living in New York and New Jersey with family and I was always fascinated with tall buildings. So when Las Vegas resorts began reaching for the sky it reminded of what New York was like. Of course buildings do not make a city but large concentrations of people do. Unfortunately Las Vegas decided to spread its population out rather than try to encourage the population to live in the core; this has been a trend that was set many years ago.

 

Las Vegas is definitely a tale of two cities; the greater Las Vegas Metro area and the Strip. For better or for worse the communities out of control growth caused us great headaches over the last 25 years. Our community’s leaders have done a poor job of proper planning and this lack of leadership is self evident by the urban sprawl that has gripped the city in all directions.

 

The greater Las Vegas metropolitan area definitely did not learn any lessons from Los Angeles and allowed increasing tax revenues to blind them when it came to planning. Luckily with the economic downturn over the last two years the city is learning major lessons in urban planning. Many suburban areas have become ghost towns and people are slowly moving back to the city core where the redevelopment of Downtown will be the economic driving engine of the city for the foreseeable future. We are very fortunate that Mayor Oscar B. Goodman understands the importance of a vibrant city core and his perseverance in the redevelopment of Downtown sets the stage for Las Vegas to develop a new and creative economy outside of the gaming sector. It is a good time to be living in Las Vegas for the renaissance has begun.  

 

 

2) There is a popular myth that people believe: "There is no culture in Las Vegas", as one of the leading advocates for the Arts in Las Vegas, how do you respond to that myth?

 

The myth is propagated by the fact that recent transplants always compare Las Vegas to the communities they came from. I am willing to guarantee that most of the people who complain more than likely did not participate in their former community’s cultural assets. It is self evident when I attend the opera, the symphony or most cultural activities by the audiences that attend these events. In many instances I am one of the youngest people in the audience. Usually those who do attend those events are seniors who retired to Las Vegas and immediately enculturated themselves to the culture of their new home. Whereas recent transplants of my age are the ones who always claim there is no culture in Las Vegas yet you rarely see them at the opera.

 

Yes there is culture the problem is simple, “newbees” are not willing to seek it out nor are they willing to participate in helping further the arts in their new home.

 

3) What partnerships would you like to see the City of Las Vegas and Clark County pursue regarding arts and culture?

 

I have always been an advocate of consolidation. It is in my strongest belief that the City of Las Vegas should annex North Las Vegas and the townships of Paradise, Winchester, Sunrise Manor, Spring Valley, Enterprise and Whitney.

 

With that said Clark County should work closely with the city in the preservation of its historic neighborhoods and in the development of a separate cultural affairs division outside of parks and recreation. Why reinvent the wheel when the City of Las Vegas has the expertise in this area.

 

A series of special districts should be created around the community that foster redevelopment especially in the area of cultural arts infrastructure. These districts would encourage creative businesses to relocate there and create synergistic centers. These districts could be located around the University, Commercial Center, China Town, around the campus of College of Southern Nevada on West Charleston and Cheyenne. The county has begun this in earnest but more focus needs to be given to it especially in lieu of the current economic realities.

 

4) Aside from a core group of supporters, Historic Preservation still feels like it is under-rated and under supported not only by the City and the County but by the residents of Las Vegas as well.  What suggestions do you have for making historical preservation more important to the local municipalities and the community at large?

 

The solution is very simple, “education.” The preservation groups must be willing to step forward and work closely with our community leaders to educate them about the treasures in which we as a society have been entrusted to care for. Las Vegas is a new city therefore we must find novel ways of explaining to the public that the buildings that were built 40 and 50 years ago are relevant to history because of the context in which they were built.

 

This community has a spectacular ephemeral past and we must use those collections whether they are from UNLV Special Collection, the Nevada State Museum or the Las Vegas News Bureau to educate the public about preserving our past. Unfortunately we do not have many large commercial buildings left to preserve but we have thousands of historic homes in dozens of historic neighborhoods that we should be preserved. Demonstrating to the public the importance of preserving these neighborhoods is key, not to mention it helps sustain property values. We must demonstrate to the public the economic value of historic preservation. Economics always resonates with the American public no matter what community you may live in.

 

5) You are currently the curator of the Las Vegas News Bureau collection but you have also worked at the Liberace Museum and the Neon Museum.  What do you think of the Liberace museum's plans to move to the Strip?  And what do you think of the Neon Museum's partnerships to restore classic signs and repurpose them?

 

Well if history has taught us anything museums on the Strip do not work. Let us look at the Guggenheim as a prime example of this. If the leadership of the Liberace Museum feel they have a better formula then I wish them G-dspeed. But in my honest professional opinion a move to the Strip means they cease being a museum and from what I have gathered so far that is their goal. In the end they become another attraction like Titanic: the Exhibition and Bodies. 

 

As far as the Neon Museum; I have had the honor to be their interim Curator and benchmark to my time at the museum I was tasked to write a Curatorial Plan based upon their collections management policies that they had in place when I took over the collection. I believe that the museums rehabilitation and exhibition of their classic signs is a very prudent move.

 

During my tenure with the museum the board discussed at length this very subject and with the curatorial plan, they have a primer to base their decisions on. So far from what I have observed the plan is working beautifully. The museum is using its collection as a way to educate the public about this important architectural vernacular by exhibiting these artifacts in a public forum yet at the same time maintaining the Boneyard for the public to enjoy.

 

6) As a key supporter of the Arts District, where do you see it going in the next few years?

 

The seeds of the arts district were planted many years by a small group of visionaries who saw the areas potential and it is recently that those seeds have begun to blossom.

With the renaming of the neighborhood to 18b, representing the original 18 blocks of the arts district, the recent opening of the Modernist Brett Wesley Gallery and the soon to be completed ACE Rapid Transit System on the Casino Center corridor the stage is set for what will become an interesting set of growth patterns over the next few years. As I mentioned previously the city has made great strides in the redevelopment of Downtown and they have taken a leadership role in encouraging businesses and people to relocate into the city core. Everything that the city has done thus far has been trending positive and we hope that this trend will continue.

 

7) The new City Center on the Strip, what are your thoughts?  Is it the direction the Strip is going to go in when the economy recovers?

 

Projects like City Center come around once in a generation and it is doubtful that we will see anything of that scale and magnitude built in Las Vegas in the foreseeable future. I do not want to conjecture too much about the project since I am still carefully studying it. City Center deserves a very well thought of and critical approach and one that looks at all facets of its development. Because of its sheer size and scope one must look at it three dimensionally rather than opine as most people do. I would rather study the project as more than just another resort on the Strip; it is far too important socially and economically than looking at it ephemerally.  I will say this that City Center is a project that has left me thinking in ways that other Las Vegas projects have not. I love the challenge and I am up for it wholeheartedly.

What we will be seeing on the Strip as the economy recovers is the reinvestment and updating of older properties along the Strip. A prime example of this is the literal re-invention of Caesars Palace over the last fifteen years. Rather than tear down and rebuilt they have very successfully remodeled the older elements of the property and brought them together with new elements into an architecturally consistent project that in many ways resembles the mixture of buildings in ancient Rome. Caesars has and will always be my favorite Las Vegas resort.

Thursday evening was the final "Untold Stories" at the Springs Preserve.  We had a great panel of Las Vegas High School alumni that enjoyed talking to about their high school days.  The audience was terrific, with many alum attending as well.

Due to budget cutbacks at the Springs, they are refocusing their educational programming and one of the programs impacted was "Untold Stories".

I am forever grateful for the 2.5 years that they supported the program.  It was the only monthly series that allowed long-time residents to share their stories and memories of a younger and smaller Las Vegas with residents.

We covered a number of historic topics from "The History of Fremont Street", "The History of the Strip", "A Look Back at the MGM Grand Fire", "St. Thomas" and more.

I want to thank all the people who participated on the panels over the last 30 months.  We covered a lot of different historic topics and I am grateful to all who came out to share their history.  I also want to thank the class members as well.  Each month it was a joy to look out from the podium to see familiar faces and know that there are people who really are interested in learning more about this place we call home.  Finally, I want to thank Dr. Michael Green for always being available, often on short notice, to be the historian for the evening.

As they say, when one door closes another opens and that is what happened here.  Within days of learning that "Untold Stories" was ending this month, I was offered the job opportunity of a life time.  Unfortunately, it will take me away from Las Vegas. 

However, we will continue to archive the 130 video oral histories that we have collected over the years and hope to have that monumental task completed by this time next year.  Late last year, with the help of a grant from the Historic Preservation Commission, we delivered the first 25 archived interviews on DVD to the Nevada State Museum and to Special Collections.  We are currently working on the next set.  So our work does continue though I won't be a monthly presence the way I have been for the last five years.

The Friends of Classic Las Vegas will have a meeting next month (details to TBA, so stay tuned) and will continue to be a vital voice in historic preservation.  I won't be able to do as much of the organizing as I once did but I will still be involved and look forward to advising the group.

This blog and site will continue on as well.  I will still be writing here and a few people have offered to contribute historic and cultural pieces as well.  So, if you are a regular reader, fear not, Classic Las Vegas is not going anywhere.  We will still be here and the power of the internet will make it possible to stay connected to you.

As for me, I begin a new adventure later this month as the Digital Archivist for the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio in San Francisco.  It is a world class museum and I am excited about this opportunity.

In the meantime, historic preservation in Las Vegas still needs all the support it can get so I do hope you will stay with us and continue to learn more about the 20th Century history of Las Vegas right here.