For information on our upcoming Mid-Century Modern Salute to Walter Zick, click here

I'm tired of reading articles in papers like the Los Angeles Times (a paper that I used to love and is now barely on life-support) about all the things to do in Las Vegas.  Why?  Because they all revolve around gambling and shows.

Las Vegas is much more than just gambling, drinking and going to shows.  There is a whole side of the town that visitors and even locals rarely take the time to see.

So, we thought we'd list ten of our favorite things to do in and around Las Vegas that DON'T involve gambling or taking in a show.  Drinking afterwards is optional.  Just don't drive.

10.  Visit Boulder City.  The Best Dam town likes to bill itself as "A World Away in a Day".  Visiting Boulder City is like walking back in time.  There are no casinos and they are very stringent about building heights and growth.  Much of Boulder City looks like it did in the 1940s and the 1950s. 

Stop in at Milo's for sandwiches, cheese platters, dessert and some of the best wines (reasonably priced) in the Valley.  Since Dennis moved into town we don't haunt Milo's the way we used to but you have no excuse. 

Go, walk around, visit the antique shops, the galleries, the Boulder Dam Hotel and Museum (call ahead and make sure the Museum is open) and finish off your day with bite to eat at Milo's. Enjoy the patio dining and the people watching.   It's worth the trip.  Check and see if there are any events at the Boulder Theater (the fall Chatauqua might be coming).

9. Visit the Valley of Fire.  Everyone always talks about Red Rock Canyon on the other side of the Valley.  But this is one of the most amazing places in the Southwest.  Wonderful red rock formations, lots of history and landscape just made for taking pictures.  It's a State Park located not very far from Boulder City and on the way to Lake Mead.  It is Nevada's oldest and largest State Park, having been dedicated in 1935.  Ancient trees and early man are represented throughout the park by areas of petrified wood and 3,000 year-old Indian petroglyph. Popular activities include camping, hiking, picnicking and photography. The park offers a full-scale visitor center with extensive interpretive displays. Several group use areas are also available. The park is open all year.  Take plenty of drinking water and wear shoes made for hiking.

8.  Visit St. Thomas.  This Mormon farming community was a thriving little town until the construction of the Dam heralded it's demise.  The town was evacuated in the mid-1930s and the rising waters of Lake Mead submerged homes, civic buildings and the like.  The water in Lake Mead has shrunk so low that for the past few years the ruins of St. Thomas have been rising up.  Well, they are all on view now.  The Park Service has trails that lead down to the various ruins.  Take plenty of drinking water and wear hiking shoes.  It's a great way to spend a half a day examining the ruins.  On the way back, stop in Overton and take in the Lost City Museum.

7.  Visit the Techatticup Mine.  Down in Nelson, you can tour one of the most famous mines in Southern Nevada, the Techatticup.It's the oldest, richest and most famous gold mine in Southern Nevada. Located just 45 minutes outside of Las Vegas, they provide historical mining tours and scenic blue water cove trips on the Colorado River at the mouth of Black Canyon below Hoover Dam. You will visit historical sites where steamboats docked and stamp mills operated over 100 years ago.  Stop in at the small museum and soak up history.  Take plenty of drinking water and wear hiking shoes!

6.  Check out the wonderful Roadside Motels on East Fremont Street.  It may not look like the best neighborhood but it is filled with lots of history.  This is one of the largest collections of roadside motels from the 1940s and 1950s still standing.  From the Pair-a-Dice and the Blue Angel just past the turn from Boulder Highway all the way up to where the Ambassador East used to stand, you'll get an idea of what travelers to Las Vegas saw when they first arrived from Arizona and Utah.  Back in the day, this was the gateway to Fremont Street for many weary travelers.

5.  Visit the Nevada State Museum in Lorenzi Park.  Lorenzi Park has plenty of history all on its own but the State Museum being there is an extra bonus.  Due to state budget cuts, the Museum is only open from Wednesdays through Saturdays, 9:00 - 5:00 pm, but they have exhibits on the wildlife of Nevada, the history of Las Vegas (including the early days), a bat exhibit and a revolving exhibit.  Plus, the library has plenty of newspapers on microfiche for easy browsing.  The staff is great and eager to help.

4.  Visit the Las Vegas High School Historic Neighborhood.  Las Vegas High School, now the Performing Arts Academy, is the oldest high school in Las Vegas.  Built in the 1930s, it was the first high school built.  Located on 8th Street, just south of Fremont Street, it still stands as a testiment to the hardy families who helped Las Vegas grow.  Be sure to check out the Senior Squares on the front steps. Though the neighborhood is on the Historic Register, many of the houses which were lived in by those pioneering families are being torn down and McOffices are taking their place.  But you can still get a very good idea of the bucolic neighborhood it once was with it's charming architecture and manicured lawns.  Walking tour maps are available from the City website.  When finished, drive over to the Fifth Street School at Las Vegas Blvd South and Lewis, and tour the restored building of what was once our main grammar school.

3.  Visit the other historic neighborhoods around Las Vegas.  As Las Vegas began to grow, the city started spreading out.  Historic neighborhoods such as Huntridge, Marycrest, Alta, Bonanza Village, Beverly Green, Paradise Palms and John S. Parks all offer glimpes into the growth from a dusty railroad town to the Entertainment Capital of the World.

2.  Walk Fremont Street.  Forget the gambling and the girlie places.  Fremont Street is the oldest street in Las Vegas.  Read our Brief History (click on the link above) to get started.  From Main to 6th Street, if you look close enough you can still find glimpses of its historic past peeking out in the darndest places.  So, take a walk down to the El Cortez and back and pay attention to the buildings.  You'll be surprised at what you find.  Afterwards, go to Dona Maria's for some of the best and most reasonably priced Mexican food in Very Vintage Vegas!

1.  Start attending our monthly series, Untold Stories at the Springs Preserve.  We are beginning our third season at the Springs Preserve next week.  This is the only series that each month brings long-time residents out to talk about the history they made and that they witnessed.  Want to know more about the history of Las Vegas?  Then join us the first Thursday of every month (dark in January) and hear how history was made here from the people who lived it.  Upcoming topics include Mining in Southern Nevada, the History of the Moulin Rouge, Howard Hughes and Las Vegas and Las Vegas History You Don't Know.

First Thursday of Every Month at the Springs Preserve.  6:30 pm.  Come early and check out the museums, the hiking trails and the view.  The Springs is where Las Vegas began.  Without it's flowing water, no one would remember Las Vegas today.  So, come immerse yourself in history.  It won't hurt and you'll be surprised at how much you learn and how enjoyable history can be to learn!

If all Walter Zick and partner Harris Sharpe ever designed was the Mint Hotel and it's beautiful neon sign that would be enough.

But Walter Zick designed much more than just the most beloved, lost neon sign of Las Vegas.  He designed a variety of commercial buildings, mainly banks, schools and residential homes.

A lot of his architecture is still standing which is really amazing considering the reputation Las Vegas has with preserving history.

As noted here earlier this year, we became much more aware of Walter Zick's architectural contribution to the Las Vegas Valley when we got a disc from Jack LeVine over at VeryVintageVegas that had been put together by Zick's daughters in hopes of having a school in the Valley named after their father.

While the School District turned down the daughters, we came up with an idea and working with the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas and Nevada Humanities, we received a grant to do a program centered around Walter Zick and his mid-century architecture.

On October 3rd we will have a panel discussion at the State Museum on the work of Walter Zick.  Confirmed panelists include our favorite mid-century author and historian, Alan Hess, Assemblage Studios' architect, Eric Strain, Karen Zick Goff and her sister, Claire and neon designer, Brian "Buzz" Leming.

Following the discussion, there will be an afternoon bus tour of some of Zick's still-standing architecture.  The final stop on the tour will be the Morelli House.  Though Zick did not design the Morelli House, it's mid-century architecture makes it a perfect place to have a small reception before returning to the State Museum.

We are currently working out the bus route, which we hope will include a few stops so that we can see the interiors of some of the buildings.  Once we have all the details worked out, we will post them here.

Seating for the bus tour is limited and reservations will be necessary.  Once we have the reservation number working, we will post that as well.

So, subscribe to this blog because you are not going to want to miss this.  If you ever wondered what happened to mid-century modern Las Vegas or how it came to be, this is the program for you.  If, like me, you've always appreciated how modern our Valley truly was, you won't want to miss this program.

It's going to be historic, fact-filled and lots of fun.

So, stay tuned.

This program made possible by Nevada Humanities and the Nevada State Museum and the generous donations of VeryVintageVegas, the Friends of Classic Las Vegas, Brian "Paco" Alvarez and the Junior League of Las Vegas.

It's been a part of the Huntridge neighborhood and part of the fabric of Las Vegas for more years than I can count.  When I was a kid, it was a treat to go to the movies at the Huntridge theater and then go across the street and have a milkshake at the Huntridge Diner.

It was owned for years by a branch of the Fong family.  Rather than see the history lost when the Fongs decided to retire, a local man came to the rescue and took over the business.  He's given the diner a facelift but kept the 1950s/1960s look and feel.

Today, it needs your help.  In these tough economic times, it takes courage to open a restaurant or take over a historic lunch and dinner counter.

Show your support, go have a meal at the Historic Huntridge Diner.  If you see any of the FCLV/VVV crowd, be sure to say "hey".

From our pal Paula Francis at KLAS-8:

CLASSIC DINER OPENS IN TOUGH TIME:

A local man who says retirement was driving him crazy admits he may be even crazier to open a new restaurant in the middle of a recession. But after resurrecting the old Huntridge Diner, he’s just hoping the retro restaurant’s colorful past will help it survive long enough to have a future.

It’s 50’s and 60’s decor, music, and milkshakes are definitely a blast from the past. If the historic Huntridge Diner can hang on long enough, it’s future could be as bright and shiny as its new facelift.

Just like the music, the old-fashioned milkshake machines are shaking again and the burgers, ground from fresh round daily, are sizzling on the grill. “I make everything the moment they ask for it,” said Chef Moses Cruz.

The historic diner, located inside the old Huntridge Drugstore at east Charleston and Maryland Parkway is back in business, much to the delight of old time Las Vegans like Mayor Oscar Goodman and young new regulars like Chris Turner — who can spot a good thing even if he wasn’t even born yet the first time it came around. “It looks like it would have 50 years ago. It’s cool,” he said.

“This fountain behind me is 40-years-old. You just don’t see places like these anymore,” said restaurant operator Joel Holffman.

Its bright red booths, shiny counter tops and freshly painted walls are adorned with 50’s and 60’s memorabilia. In fact, Hoffman says all that’s missing here is a steady stream of customers. “It’s frustrating! If the place was dirty, I could understand it. Or if the food wasn’t good, I could understand it,” he said. “Our prices — $6.95 for a fresh grilled hamburger or philly steak, fries and a soda.”

But like the historic Huntridge Theater directly across the street, which remains closed for now, the Huntride Diner went out of business for a while as well. “I remember going to the Huntridge next door when it was a movie theater. I saw Woodstock there. Wow, that was 40 years ago,” said customer Brian Babbitt.

Hoffman wonders if folks, like long-time resident Brian Babbitt, just haven’t realized the historic restaurant is back in business and better than ever. “If they come in once, they’ll be back,” he said.

Hoffman says he only needs 50 customers a day to turn a profit. But right now he’s only averaging 10 to 12. He says word of mouth will have to start traveling faster if the restaurant is going to survive the recession.

And yes, we will have our salute to the 40th anniversary of the King in Las Vegas later this afternoon!

Somerset Shopping Center

Cactus Motel

Desert Rose Motel, sign is in the Neon Boneyard

El Sombrero on Main Street

Ted Weens Firestone

Fremont Street, 198

Hill Top Supper Club, closed

Pair-a-Dice Motel

La Concha sign, in the Neon Boneyard

Starlite Motel in Northtown

Tacos Mexico, formerly a Denny's

It certainly sounded like one of those "fires of suspicious nature" that plague empty, historic buildings in Las Vegas.  So we are not surprised that Arson investigators have some questions about the fire that finally destroyed the historic Moulin Rouge Hotel two months ago.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

For city residents, the four-alarm fire at the Moulin Rouge in May was a civic misfortune, the second major blaze to devastate the site since the iconic downtown hotel opened in 1955.

For Las Vegas arson investigators, who have confirmed that the fire was set by human hands though not necessarily intentionally, the blaze presents a host of facts to explore.

No allegations of arson have been made by city investigators — and may never be. In their only public statement since the May 6 fire, investigators last month confirmed “there was human involvement regarding the heat source” — though they do not yet know whether it was intentional or accidental.

“Neither arson or cooking by vagrants could be eliminated, so the investigation is ongoing,” according to a city spokeswoman.

The Moulin Rouge’s new owners assumed control of the property one day before the fire, after the former owners went bankrupt and the property was foreclosed upon. The Moulin Rouge sign — the only remaining valuable vestige of the historic casino — was carted off to the Neon Boneyard one week before the blaze.

The Moulin Rouge, open for a period of months in 1955, was the first integrated casino in Las Vegas. It was the place where several community leaders, including former Las Vegas Sun Publisher Hank Greenspun, met in 1960 and agreed to end segregation on the Strip.

The property’s former owner, the Moulin Rouge Development Corp., had sold the City Council last August on its plans to develop a spacious casino and 41-story hotel on the Bonanza Road site. Before demolishing the site’s existing structure, the owners faced a large bill for removing asbestos from the property. The fire cut into that cost considerably.

Two arson experts outside of Nevada who were interviewed by the Las Vegas Sun after they familiarized themselves with news accounts and city news releases about the fire say the circumstances, taken together, raise questions investigators want to explore.

“These are all what we call major red flags,” said Nicholas Palumbo, a nationally certified fire investigator based in New Jersey. “You look at these things and you have to ask: Are they all just coincidences?”

City spokeswoman Diana Paul said no other questions about the fire, or the probe being led by Las Vegas Fire & Rescue arson investigators, will be answered until the investigation is complete. The statute of limitations for arson in Nevada is four years, she said.

More than 100 firefighters took over two hours to quell the blaze. Plumes of dark gray smoke could be seen for miles. No one was injured.

A local fire investigator from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms was on the scene, the ATF confirmed, though local fire officials decided not to call in the agency’s national response team to assist with the probe.

(ATF national response teams have been called to at least three Southern Nevada fires in recent years, including the 2003 fire at the Moulin Rouge.)

As firefighters were finishing their task, the structure was demolished. According to a city news release, the decision to demolish what remained of the building was made by the city manager and fire chief based on an ordinance that allows the city to abate a hazard — in this case, tear down a smoldering building — if “the condition of a property constitutes an imminent hazard.”

According to the release, representatives of the group that had lost ownership control of the property the day before, the Moulin Rouge Development Corp., were on the scene and had a contractor ready to conduct the demolition.

Despite the fact that the group no longer owned the property, the city gave the company the OK to tear it down. The city said arson investigators had finished their work at the site before the demolition.

The Moulin Rouge Development Corp., which purchased the property in 2004, filed for bankruptcy in February with $40million in debt, despite receiving a $24million loan from Seattle-based lender Olympic Coast Investment Inc. for a new hotel on the site.

The week before the fire the property was put up for auction but there were no bidders, sources familiar with the process said. On May 5, Olympic Coast took ownership of the 15-acre site, which also includes two former apartment complexes and 60 condominium units.

Olympic Coast’s president, John Hoss, visited his new property while the fire was still being doused.

“The timing is a little odd,” Hoss told a Las Vegas Sun reporter at the time. “It’s a weird coincidence. It’s certainly odd.”

In a more recent telephone interview, Hoss said he had no idea how the fire started.

He said his group is attempting to sell the property — which still has gaming development rights attached — for more than $25million, and that parties have expressed interest. A sale could be announced soon, he said.

Hoss said there was an insurance policy in place when Olympic Coast took ownership. He declined to say how much the property was insured for, other than that it was in the single-digit millions of dollars. But he said he’s asking insurers for only $100,000 to cover the cost of the fire’s clean-up.

Both Hoss and the city’s neighborhood response division manager, Devin Smith, confirmed that all four properties are or were laden with asbestos, and that the city has been demanding it be cleaned up at a cost of $1.2million. That cost is now hundreds of thousands of dollars less because it is cheaper to clean up asbestos from a fire site than to remove asbestos from an existing structure, Smith said.

Palumbo, the fire investigator, and Patrick Andler, a Phoenix-based certified fire instructor who has investigated more than 4,000 fires, say the city may have erred by allowing the building to be demolished so soon after most of the fire had been doused.

Investigators would have had a better shot at determining the precise origin of the fire — and what may have caused it and who may have started it — if the structure had been left intact, they said.

“Fire investigation is a process of elimination,” Andler said. Investigators need to be able to look at every single room to determine which one was the source of the fire. And then they need to have access to that room to search for debris.

Neither the three principals of the Moulin Rouge Development Corp., Chauncey Moore, Dale Scott and Los Angeles attorney Rod Bickerstaff, nor the group’s former public relations consultant, Jayson Bernstein, could not be reached for comment.

David Peter, the president of Republic Urban Properties, a Virginia group that had announced it would invest up to $1billion to develop the site — said he has washed his hands of his investment and given up on seeing a return on the money that his group had poured into the project. “We’ve written it off,” he said.