One of our favorite Classic Las Vegas neighborhoods is Paradise Palms.  The homes off of East Desert Inn around what is now the National Golf Course are some of the best examples of mid-century architecture in Las Vegas.

The neighborhood was developed by Irwin Molasky and his Molasky Group back in the early 1960s.  Molasky and his partners had built Sunrise Hospital and were developing the Boulevard Mall.  The Boulevard Mall would have a profound effect on Las Vegas.  Stores such as Sears, JC Penney's, Ronzone's and Woolworth's had been anchored on Fremont Street since the 1930s.  Everyone shopped downtown.  But with the building of the Boulevard Mall, enclosed and air-conditioned with plenty of free parking, these businesses and more moved in to the Mall and slowly shuttered their Fremont Street locales.

No longer did we have to shop on Fremont Street.

To go along with his dream of the Mall, Molasky wanted a housing development nearby that would provide foot traffic for the Mall.  He hired the architectural firm of Palmer and Krisel to build the homes in what Molasky called Paradise Palms.

Palmer and Krisel had just completed building custom homes in Palm Springs and brought their mid-century modern sensibilities to Las Vegas.  The homes in Paradise Palms were standard post and beam construction on a slab.  The standard lot size was 40 x 40.  To give the homes a more custom look, the various models were rotated on the lots and/or flipped to give a slightly different look to each home. 

Different roof lines were available:  folded plate, butterfly, ranch and dramatic overhangs.  The homes had stone privacy screens and ornate block work as well.  

Architecturally, they were very different from the homes found in the older Las Vegas neighborhoods.  Those homes, dating back to the years leading up and including World War II were small, many were bungalow and Craftsman style.  Sproul Homes, who was developing housing tracts on West Charleston, was building functional homes that had some unique design features but nothing on the scale of what Molasky wanted for Paradise Palms.

Our pal Alan Hess says of Palmer and Krisel: "They brought excellent and elegant modern design to mass-produced housing. That's significant because every big name in modern architecture at mid-century tried to crack into the mass-produced housing market. And they all failed. Palmer and Krisel, who weren't at all well-known, solved the problem."

The homes would be part of the Stardust Golf Course.  Though the Stardust had plenty of land behind its hotel, they decided to put their Golf Course on East Desert Inn. The Course was designed by Bert Stamps.  Stamps was renown Golf Course designer.  Arnold Palmer originally set the original course record of 63 in 1967.  The PGA and the LPGA were there yearly.

The Stardust sold the golf course to Del Webb in 1969 and it was renamed the Sahara Golf Course.  In the 1980s, the course was sold again and the new owners briefly partnered with the Las Vegas Hilton.  In the late 1990s, it became the Las Vegas National Golf Course.

 
Paradise Palms quickly became a must-have address for those who wanted to live in thoroughly modern home.  Stars that regularly performed on the Las Vegas Strip bought homes in Paradise Palms because of its convenience to the famed Strip.  Many had Palmer and Krisel homes in Palm Springs and loved the look and amenities that came with the homes.  Stars such as Ginger Rogers, Sammy Davis Jr, Diana Ross and Shirley MacLaine all had homes on the Golf Course.

When Marty Scorcese was filming "Casino" in Las Vegas he needed a Classic Las Vegas home for the character of Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert DeNiro).  The film was based on the exploits of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal and Tony Spilitro.  Rosenthal had lived on the Las Vegas Country Club but the exclusive Country Club would not permit filming there.  Scorcese found a house on Cochise in Paradise Palms that would work just fine. 

Today the homes on the Golf Course are endangered as a developer with an eye for high-rise condos has purchased the property.  The homes in the surrounding neighborhood are being restored by home-owners interested not only in mid-century modern architecture but historical neighborhoods as well.  Our pals at veryvintagevegas.com love this neighborhood and if you are interested in living in Paradise Palms, we encourage you to contact the crew at veryvintagevegas. 

Dan Palmer died last year but his partner, William Krisel, is still alive and enjoying the renaissance of interest in his work. 

Here are some items from RoadsidePictures to give you an idea of some of the homes in Paradise Palms:

It probably comes as no surprise that I am a movie junkie.  I have loved films since I was a child and spent most of my teenage years dragging my friends to movie theaters around Las Vegas.  From the Fox Charleston Plaza to the Huntridge to the original MGM Grand Hotel's wonderful theater to our own Cinerama Dome (the one off of Paradise Road, not to be confused with the CineDomes on Decatur) to the Guild and El Portal downtown to the Red Rock Theaters and Parkway and Boulevard Theaters to the Drive-ins, every weekend found us in the a theater somewhere in Las Vegas watching movies, old and new.

It was still the era of the double bill and we saw some great ones.  The original MGM Grand Hotel had an awesome movie theater downstairs from the casino.  Every week they played an old MGM movie, complete with cartoon and newsreel.  I think the admission price was $2.50.  You got a printed program as well.  Inside the theater was furnished with plush leather love seats and small tables in front with a call button.  You pressed the button and a cocktail waitress would come take your order.  It was movie heaven.

I saw the re-issue of "Gone With the Wind" in 1969 with my mother at the Cinerama Dome.  The film was 30 years old and I remember being mesmerized by the epic force of the story and the love story.

The Guild was more of a rep house that played films such as "Harry and Tonto" and "Next Stop Greenwich Village".  When I was only five years old, my bio-dad took me to see "To Kill a Mockingbird" there.

The Huntridge played the Disney movies and had a sound-proof cry room upstairs where mothers could take their crying babies and still watch the movie without disturbing the rest of the audience.  My first date was at the Huntridge.  We went to see "The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean".

I saw "The Sound of Music", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", "The Poseidon Adventure", the "ToweringInferno ", the "Hot Rock" and many more at the old Fox Plaza theater on East Charleston. 

The Red Rock Theater was my neighborhood theater.  Close enough that we could hike there and back without having to wait on the bus.  Luckily, Al Richardson soon got his license and a car and we would fill the car with friends and go to the Red Rock.  "Billy Jack", "The Sting", "American Graffiti" "The Godfather" (it played for a year there), "Blazing Saddles", "Young Frankenstein" and many of the great and not so great films of the early and mid-1970s.  Instead of going to my high school prom, my date took me to see a double bill of  "Magnum Force" and "Dirty Harry" at the Red Rock.  I didn't miss the prom at all.

In addition, we had KVVU-Channel 5, which showed old Cagney and Bogart films every Thursday night from 7:00 - 11:00 pm.   KLAS-Channel 8 had a Saturday late night movie and each network had a Monday and Friday Night at the Movies.  In those pre-VCR and DVD days, it was the only way to see classic studio era films.

Michael Abbott was one of the founders of a film society at UNLV and they would get 16mm prints of films such as "Battle of Algiers" and "Z" to show on campus.

All the theaters that I frequented as a child and as a teenager are gone now, except for the Huntridge and it is but a shell of its former self.

Today, we have DVDs and Netflicks and Turner Classic Movies and it is much easier to see the old Hollywood movies whenever we want.  

Turner Classic Movies, each February, has a salute to the 31 Days of Oscar where they show Oscar nominated and winning films.

In addition they have some wonderful promo material such as the jukebox "31 Days of Oscar Dayoram".

I have put on the site in case there are other movie lovers out there like me.

You can find it here:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/tcm-31-days-of-oscar-dayoram/ 

We hope that you are enjoying this walk down memory lane with us.  Today we are featuring some great ads from Las Vegas businesses circa the 1950s and early 1960s.  Who knew that Las Vegas was really this swanky?  Did you?

Don't you wish you could get that furniture at those prices today?

This is the type of furniture store my folks would have gone to. 

This is the type of store I wished we could have afforded.  I love that lamp.

Our first house in Northtown had a similar heater.  I also love the "Broad Breasted Bronzed" turkey ad for Blue Sage Brands.

I can just picture the women of the Junior League and the Mesquite Club wearing hats like this.

Christian Dior fashion in Las Vegas in the 1950s.  No wonder Fanny's was the place women loved to shop!

I'm thinking the Tall Sailor story is not connected to the ad.

I'm trying to picture where you would wear a hat like this.  Any ideas?

When I was a youngster and we lived in Northtown, the babysitter would let me stay up and watch "Gunsmoke".  This was the very early years when Miss Kitty had the cat-house upstairs and the show didn't try to white wash that.  We weren't big Lawrence Welk fans though.

I'm just not sure what message Benny Binion was trying to convey with this ad.

KENO Radio broadcast from the grounds of the El Rancho Vegas and KORK broadcast from the grounds of the Thunderbird.  KORK later became a television station.  It is better known today as Channel 3.  It is still the NBC affiliate in town.

I miss Fremont Street looking like this.

Gold Medallion All Electric Homes.  The gold medallion was embedded at the foot of your driveway.

For the VeryVintageVegas.com crew.  Thought you might enjoy seeing what kind of home you could get for $95 a month.  What I would give to have that monthly payment.  Located off the old Salt Lake Highway (Las Vegas Blvd North), each house came equipped with  Flameless Electric Kitchen Appliances by Westinghouse, a heat lamp in the bathroom, a 40 gallon hot water heater, spacious linen closets,  tile floors throughout, oversized sliding aluminum windows, folding metal closet doors, mica counter tops, a spacious family kitchen eating area, an outdoor living patio and a Westinghouse kitchen exhaust fan, garbage disposal and built-in range and oven.  Ah, Westinghouse.

For a swell evening on the town.

I loved the Vegas Village in Northtown.  It had a carousel out front and if I behaved myself while Mom shopped I got to go on it after we got through the check-out line.  I usually tried to behave. 

The lovely Schick Patrician came with two sides.  One side for legs, one side for underarms.  Both gentle as lotion, yet you could shavefar closer and far safer than you'd ever dare with a blade.

The Compact was the HE-MAN shaver at the compact price.  Adjustable head for cleaner shaves!  The World's (yes, they capitalized world) only washable, stainless steel head for cleaner shaves.  Don't you feel cleaner just reading that?

The Shick Jewel was completely feminine!  Exclusive 8-comb golden head lets her shave closer than she'd dare with a blade!  In a beautiful jewelry box case.

The Shick 1066

Now he'll shift the speeed, set hte head, fit the shave to his particular beard and skin like a skilled barber does.  Give the mightiest shaving instrument ever invented (it really says that).  Handsome carrying case too! 

Ronzone's was right on Fremont Street, where Neonopolis is today.  I wonder how many women received Sparky the horse valet for Christmas that year?  And how many smiled politely and then returned it?  Sparky was a ceramic catch-all, beautifully colored with a whisk broom tail.

I love the TV/Party cart where you can store your liquor under your teevee.  Guess it makes it closer than walking to the kitchen.  I hope the stero/television chassis came in blonde.  It was a completely contained stero with deluxe 4-speed Multi-Mix record changer, an AM/FM Radio all by Philco.  Price included delivery, installation, parts, labor and warranty.  And no down payment, up to 2 yrs to pay

And don't forget your Orange Stamps.

I wonder what record album you got for free?

I thought it might be fun to put up some old ads from Las Vegas magazines and newspapers.  Bonanza Village is a historic Las Vegas neighborhood located off Bonanza Avenue near Clarkway.  Sounds like quite a bargain in these days, doesn't it?  Note the line, every protective restriction.  You know what that means, right?

Big Jim Cashman sold all makes and models it seems.  I remember his dealership as mainly the Cadillac dealer.  He was one of the most civic minded boosters the town has ever had.

I want to be able to buy Chicken, Rum and  Flour at these prices.

I want my S&H green stamps, my Blue Chip and my Orange Stamps as well.

But most of all, I want to know why bacon used to come in a can?

I never realized that Pabst Blue Ribbon (my dad's favorite beer) was blended that much.  Did you?

 Ed Von Tobel, Sr was a very practical man.  One of the pioneers of Las Vegas, he and his sons

had the best Lumber and Hardware store in town.

How cool is that?

We had a Coca-Cola Bottling Plant and a 7-Up Bottling Plant.

Not bad for a small town.

Tomorrow I'll post some ads from the swanky 1950s and 1960s.  You might be surprised at how swanky and elegant the folks in Las Vegas were back then. 

Our In Memoriam list, unfortunately, keeps growing.

Latest addition, Lounge Pioneer Freddie Bell.  I had the pleasure of interviewing Freddie back in 2004 about his life and career in Las Vegas.  Though he hailed from Philadelphia, he loved Las Vegas.  He and his group, The Bellboys, had come to Las Vegas in the early 1950s and were one of the early lounge acts that helped put Las Vegas on the radar of visitors from around the world.  Today, most people remember Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sam Butera and maybe the Mary Kaye Trio.  But groups like Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and the Treniers were staples in the Lounges of the Las Vegas Strip for more years than many of us can remember.

Freddie and the Bellboys recorded "Giddy Up a Ding Dong" and "Hound Dog".  A young Elvis Presley, appearing at the Frontier Hotel in 1956, caught Freddie's lounge act and heard him sing "Hound Dog".  He approached Bell about the song and Bell basically said "If you want it, it's yours".  Freddie was that kind of guy.   He did a killer impersonation of Presley and Elvis would often drop in to watch Bell's act and then laugh the loudest at the impersonation.

Freddie was pals with the Rat Pack in the glorious 1950s and was headlining the lounge at the Sands thanks to Jack Entratter who hoped by employing the energetic singer he could control his gambling habit.  Bell was one of the lucky ones chosen to join the Rat Pack in the fabled Steam Room at the Sands prior to them taking the stage for the legendary Summit in 1960. 

He married another lounge stalwart, Roberta Sherwood, in the early 1960s and they often alternated on a lounge double bill in throughout the early 1960s. 

When Sonny King passed away a few years back, Freddie Bell took his place anchoring the late-night party at the Bootlegger Bistro.

He entered Valley Hospital earlier this month due to complications from lung cancer.  He passed away earlier today at the age of 76.

We will miss him and his wonderful sense of humor.  He had a strong sense of the entertainment history of the Las Vegas Strip and his role in defining the lounge scene.  He was a true pioneer.