Wanted to let everyone know that PACC is holding their annual meeting next Saturday, Nov. 13th,  at the Springs Preserve.

The Ice House, demolished

From Corinne Escobar:

PACC members and friends, the Preservation Association will host its fall meeting at the Springs Preserve on November 13, 2010, Saturday at 11:00 am.  We will walk the trail to the Big Springs site guided by Greg Seymour, who was the archaeologist during the construction of the Springs Preserve.  The tour is free but please RSVP to me at corinneescobar@pacc.info.   I am not sure about the logistics for refreshments but we will see.  Anyone wanting to help, Please contact me! Thanks, I look forward to seeing you there, Corinne

Our buddy Dennis McBride, the Curator of History at the Nevada State Museum not only saved our Saturday programs with his canny foresight but he also wrote up this wonderful recap of all the events:

A Successful Weekend

On October 22-24, the Friends of Classic Las Vegas hosted its second annual Mid-Century Modern event. Co-sponsored this year by the Architectural and Decorative Arts Society, the El Cortez Hotel, Retro Vegas, VeryVintageVegas.com, the Metro Arts Council of Southern Nevada, and RAFI Planning, Architecture, and Urban Design, Mid Mod Marvels proved once more the enduring popularity of mid-century modern living.

The weekend started with a swank affair Friday night at the Morelli House, maybe the best known Mid-Century Modern landmark in Las Vegas, owned and restored by the Junior League. League members dressed in period clothing, provided tours of the house, and hosted a meet-and-greet reception for Mid-Century aficionados. The Nevada State Museum supplied a series of photographs of mid-century Las Vegas from the Jay Florian Mitchell Collection to round out the evening. With plenty of wine and nibbly things, the evening gave a hint of the fun yet to come.

Saturday included two panel discussions and the Las Vegas premier of the film, William Krisel, Architect, a documentary detailing the career of famed mid-century architect Bill Krisel. The Las Vegas National Golf Club on Desert Inn Road, around which Krisel and his partner, Dan Palmer, built their iconic Paradise Palms residential development, hosted Saturday’s events.

The first panel—Mid-Modern Architecture, Design, and Las Vegas--included architectural historian Alan Hess; Las Vegas architects George Tate and Robert Fielden, and Dr. Robert Tracy from UNLV’s School of Architecture. Following a slide show of mid-century architectural images from the Nevada State Museum, Tate, who has been working in Las Vegas for more than 50 years, entertained the audience with anecdotes and first-hand accounts of his work in mid-century, while Fielden, Hess, and Tracy provided historical, philosophical, and aesthetic perspectives.

The second panel of the afternoon—The Las Vegas News Bureau in the Mid-Mod Era--detailed the history of the Las Vegas News Bureau and its 60 years of promoting Las Vegas through visual media. The panel included Brian “Paco” Alvarez, curator for the News Bureau; Don Payne, former Bureau manager; and Darren Bush, Bureau photographer. Alvarez provided two slide shows of the News Bureau’s most famous and iconic images.

The film which followed the panels on Saturday—William Krisel, Architect—has been eagerly anticipated for some time. Krisel and his partner, Dan Palmer, were among the most influential architects in Mid-Century America. Palmer and Krisel were Mid-Century populists who brought the formerly elitist architecture to a mass market through construction of thousands of affordable middle-class homes. It was Krisel, more than any other architect long after he and Palmer split, who made Mid-Century Modern style and design popular.

The Mid Mod Marvels weekend wound up on Sunday with a four-hour tour of some of the finest of Las Vegas’s Mid-Century neighborhoods. After wrecking the bus on the way out of the parking lot of the Reed Whipple Cultural Center—which required everyone to debark and re-board—the tour got underway, led by architectural historian Alan Hess and Mid-Modern realtor “Uncle Jack” LeVine.

The tour passed through such 1950s-60s neighborhoods as Paradise Palms, Marycrest, Glen Heather and McNeil Estates, the Las Vegas Country Club, and the notorious Scotch 80s. Along the way there were three open house stops. While Hess put these Las Vegas neighborhoods into a historical and architectural perspective, Uncle Jack provided an entertaining monolog of intimate stories and anecdotes of the neighborhoods, of the people who lived there, and of their historical importance in the development of Las Vegas.

With two successful Mid-Century Modern cultural and educational events under their belt and with a widening circle of sponsors, we hope the Friends of Classic Las Vegas can keep up the momentum and turn these weekends into an annual event.

We hope you had a great time, too!

 Special thanks to Clay Heximer for providing the pictures.

TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE!!!!!!!!

http://www.adas-lv.com/

Thank you for being so patient!  We've got the preliminary details (with more to follow) but we figured it was best to get rolling on this so that our readers could start making plans!

The Friends of Classic Las Vegas and the Architectural and Decorative Arts Society present:

Mid-Mod Marvels:  A Celebration of Mid-Century Modern Architecture and Design

The Events:

Living the Mid-Mod Lifestyle Party:

The fun begins on Friday evening, Oct. 22nd with a reception at the famed Morelli House.  The Junior League of Las Vegas has graciously agreed to open their doors for a cocktail party to kick off our weekend of Mid-Century Modern madness.

Alan Hess will be there to say a few words about not only the era of Mid-Century Modern but also provide a bit of history about the Morelli House.

The reception starts at 5:30 pm and goes until 7:30 pm.  Tickets are $25.

Mid-Century Modern History and Las Vegas

We kick-off Saturday afternoon, Oct. 23rd at the National Golf Course's (originally the Stardust Golf Course) Clubhouse with two panels on the era and Las Vegas.

The first one:  Mid-Century Modern Architecture, Design and Las Vegas  begins at 1:00 pm:

Panelists include Alan Hess, architect William Krisel, Chris Nichols and Dr. Robert Tracy talking about the influence of architects such as Welton Beckett, Wayne McAllister and Paul Revere Williams on local architects such as Walter Zick, Harris Sharp, Hugh Taylor and the influence of Mid-Century design on Las Vegas.

The second one:  A Look Back at the Las Vegas News Bureau begins at 3:00 pm:

The Las Vegas News Bureau helped put Las Vegas on the map in the Mid-Century Modern era.  The photographers captured not only the stars of the era but also the buildings and hotels of the era, most of which are gone or altered way beyond their original design.  Panelists will include:  former News Bureau manager, Don Payne.

In the evening of Oct. 23rd, we will present the Las Vegas premiere of the documentary, "William Krisel, Architect" at 6:30 pm.

The documentary, produced by Design OnScreen and directed by Jake Gorst, looks at the life and the influence of William Krisel.  Known mainly for his Mid-Century Modern architecture in California, Mr. Krisel's influence on the residential architecture of Las Vegas can be seen in the Paradise Palms neighborhood.  Working with developer Irwin Molasky, Mr. Krisel designed the homes in that subdivison.

Following the screening, the will be a Q&A session with Alan Hess and William Krisel.

Tickets for Saturday's events are $20.00

Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas Bus Tour:

On Sunday afternoon, Oct. 24th, we will offer a double-decker bus tour highlighting the Mid-Century Modern neighborhoods of Las Vegas.  This will be a different tour route than the one we did last year with new open houses at two Mid-Century modern homes.  Neighborhoods we will glide through include Marycrest, Paradise Palms and the Scotch Eighties.

The tour leaves from the Reed Whipple Cultural Center at noon, include a stop at the Morelli House and will last three hours.  The bus will return to Reed Whipple at the end of the tour.

Please be aware, like last year, seating for the tour is limited.

Tickets are $20.

Now, if you want to save a few dollars, you can buy a three-day pass for $50.  Passes and individual tickets will be available on the ADAS website.  As soon as they have the page up, we will post a link here.

So, start planning your wardrobe and your itinerary, because this is going to be one great weekend you won't want to miss!

Support for this great weekend provided by:

City of Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission

Sponsors for this great weekend are:

The El Cortez

The Junior League of Las Vegas

Metro Arts Council

Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas

Retro Vegas

Terry Wilsey

VeryVintageVegas

Our emails hint that many of you very much wanted us to have another Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas weekend filled with panels, architecture, tours and more.

Well, we heard you.  Check back this weekend to find out all the details for our "Mid-Mod Marvels:  A Celebration of Mid-Centuiry Modern Architecture and Design".

A reception at the Morelli House on Friday evening Oct 22nd.

On Saturday, October 23rd, a panel on Mid-Century Modern Architecture and Art, a panel on the history of the Las Vegas News Bureau and the Las Vegas premiere of the documentary on William Krisel, the architect behind Paradise Palms.  William Krisel will be with us in person and will attend the screening.

And best of all, Alan Hess, the authority on all that is MCM,  will be back with us guiding us through all that is Mid-Century Modern and the architects who changed forever the landscape of Las Vegas as well as handle the Q&A at the Krisel film premiere.

And yes, there will be a double-decker bus tour on Sunday afternoon with a new route, new open houses and lots of history.

Sound like fun?

It's all coming the weekend of October 22nd and you don't want to miss this as tickets are limited!

So check back here this weekend for the deets! 

Liberace was one of the early entertainers to grace the Las Vegas Strip.  He loved the little oasis in the desert.  He quickly became the highest paid entertainer on the Strip and his name graced the marquee at the Riv for years.

As his fortunes and his popularity rose, Lee bought a home in Las Vegas, near what is today UNLV, off of Tropicana just west of Maryland Parkway.

A museum is dedicated to his life not far from the house and Tivoli Gardens, the restaurant he owned, is still doing business.

However, his home has come up for sale and the belongings and fixtures are being auctioned off.  If you're a fan of the Travel Channel, you've no doubt seen the various hour long shows that include highlights from the interior of the house.

Now, you have a chance to own not only a piece of history but save it from falling into hands that may not understand the history associated with it.

A reader wrote in to say that the Auction did not take place due to court order.  Stay tuned!

Here are some of the items:

Lot # 85
Pillar Archway
Believed to be all original. Has two columns. With a large triple arch top.
Overall 10' high, 7' wide. Made of wood. Is depicted in several photographs of
the Moroccan room. Buyer's responsibility for safe removal from wall.
Location: Moroccan room

Lot # 87
Original Antique Crystal Chandelier
Chandelier that is located in the staircase off of the Foyer leading to the
famous Moroccan room. Amazing combination of crystal prisms with 12
electric candle lights. Chandelier body measures approximately 32" tall, 34"
diameter. Appears to be complete with no noticeable missing glass beads or
prisms. Professional shipping or local pick up only. Location: Staircase leading
to Hollywood room and Moroccan room.

Lot # 128F
Ancient Marble Pillars
Pair of Original ancient imported marble pillars. Original pillars measure
approximately 8'3" tall, 16" diameter at the base and tapering to 12" at the top.
Overall height: 114" including the crown atop of the column which appears to
be an add on afterwards. NOTE: These solid marble columns are extremely
heavy and will require professional removal. Location: Front Entry Door

Lot # 156A
Ancient Marble Pillars
Pillars are believed to be original imported and begin the entry to the famed
eternal hallway. Pillars measure 85" tall, taper from the base to the top
approximately 12" diameter at the base and 8" diameter at the top. NOTE: This
item is extremely heavy and will require professional removal. Overall height of
91" including the top piece which appears to be a later add on.

Lot # 157
Large Triple Arched Column Display
Piece measures approximately 12' 6" long, 8' high, has three arches, four
pillars, three shelf/storage cabinets. Each of which have opportunities for
adjustable height. Will disassemble into approximately 8 large pieces. Pieces
believed to be (unconfirmed) one of the original pieces of furniture from
Liberace's House. Location: Game room

Lot # 162
Original Yamaha Baby Grand Piano
Beautiful White lacquered Baby Grand Piano. This piano is the original piano
as seen on the Johnny Carson Show and presented to Liberace as a personal
gift from the late Johnny Carson. Piano is in overall excellent condition.
Complete with Piano stool. Note: Professional movers only. Location: Living
room

Lot # 181
Beaded Crystal Chandelier
Very ornate. Six circles of crystal beads and a very detailed brass/bronze
colored frame. Chandelier measures approximately 28" in diameter,
approximately 13" hanging. Location: Eternal Hall

Lot # 182A
Ancient Marble Pillars
Pillars are believed to be original imported and begin the entry to the famed
eternal hallway. Pillars measure 85" tall, taper from the base to the top
approximately 12" diameter at the base and 8" diameter at the top. Overall
height of 91" including the top piece which appears to be a later add on.
NOTE: This item is extremely heavy and will require professional removal.
Location: Approximately 1/4 of the way down the famed eternal hallway.

Lot #s 187-190
Baccarat Crystal Wall Sconces
These exquisite sconces are believed to be originals during Liberace's
occupation of the house. History indicates that they were presented to
Liberace as a gift and appear in hundreds of photos during Liberace's tenure.
Sconces are electric and may have been rewired. Each sconce measures 36"
tall, 26" wide with seven arms and a 10" sphere at the top. May be missing the
very minimum number of the smaller crystal pieces. NOTE: All indications are
that these are the original Baccarat sconces, however, we have not been able
to find any maker's marks on the sconces. Location: Eternal Hall

Lot #s 200-203
Eight Hand Painted Ceiling Tiles
Eight 27" x 30 1/2" sized tiles made of plastic, 1/8" thick. Very elegant.
Location: Eternal Hall

Lot # 221
Pair Carved Mahogany Doors
Stunning heavily carved mahogany doors. One side of door is finished
mahogany. Other side of door is white painted. Each door is 94" tall, 37" wide,
2" thick for a combination door opening of 74" by 94 1/2". Location: Private
Living quarters

Lot # 222
Massive Elaborate Chandelier
Incredible Chandelier in a combination of tear drop crystals and iron.
Chandelier hangs approximately 80" and is approximately 5' wide. The top tier
holds 6 lights, middle holds 6 lights, bottom holds 12 lights. Very unusual and
elaborate. Location: Private Living quarters over the fountain

Lot # 248
Oval Crystal Chandelier
Believed to be original chandelier hanging over the bath tub. This chandelier is
featured in many photographs and pictures of Liberace. Chandelier measures
approximately 17" hang, approximately 45" diameter. All crystal pieces appear
to be intact and in excellent condition. Location: Private living quarters. NOTE:
This chandelier will come with a poster showing Liberace and the chandelier in
the bath tub.

Lot # 273
Liberace's Personally Designed Custom Canopy Bed
Typical Liberace style. This canopy bed is extremely ornate in a combination
of marble colored iron bars along with intricately designed brass sculptures.
Canopy is surrounded with gold colored linen and a large crest at the foot of
the bed. Overall height 95" tall. The bed width, king(?) is approximately 80" x
96". This bed's authenticity is verified by many photographs throughout the
house. Included with bed will be a beautiful framed photo of George,
Liberace's brother, and Kay Reed, Liberace's Decorator. Location: Master
bedroom. NOTE: This lot does not include the comforter, sheets, mattress or
box springs. Comforter and sheets will be sold in lot 274.

Lot # 274
Down Filled Silk Comforter and Throw Pillows
Believed to be original with the bed. Beautiful beige colored and teal trimmed
comforter with 5 matching pillows. Comforter measures 100" x 96". Location:
Master bedroom

Lot # 286
Hand Carved Imported Original Fire Surround
It is believed that this is certainly an original piece to the house. Extremely
well defined and carved depicting a lion on each of the pillars with a south
wind face under the mantle. On an interesting note, our sources claim that
originally the three heads' eyes were actual gem stones. However, these were
removed shortly after Liberace's departure. Mantle measures 54" tall, 71" wide,
15" deep. Mantle has normal wear and tear for a piece of this age. Location:
Dining room

Lot #s 372-378
English Stained Glass Panels
This panel is believed to be original with the house and imported from
England. Authentic leaded glass with a center etched bird. Panels measure 27"
x 29". Mixture of greens and ambers. Location: Mini Bar

Featured Items in upcoming Liberace Villa of note that
need to be saved! Please help save the Liberace legacy and bid.
Featured Items in upcoming Liberace Villa of note that
need to be saved! Please help save the Liberace legacy and bid.
http://www.auctionnv.com