When I was a kid, J.C. Penney's was located at Sixth and Fremont.  Fremont Street back in the early 1960s was filled not only with casinos like the Golden Nugget, the Mint and the Horseshoe but also retail businesses like Penney's, Sears, Ronzoni's and Chic Hecht's.  But that all started to change a few years later when the Boulevard Mall opened.  Sears anchored one corner of the mall and Penney's and Ronzoni's anchored the middle of the Mall with the Broadway on the south-end.  Residents responded by making the Boulevard Mall a rousing success.  Everthing from high-end clothing to Woolworth's to candle shops, head shops and restaurants could be found at the Mall.  We no longer needed to go downtown to do our shopping.  The retail businesses began pulling out of Fremont Street.

The J.C. Penney's became the Fremont Medical Building.  The handicapped entrance was where the old catalog department once was.  But over time as Fremont Street continued to change, the Fremont Medical Building went empty.

Well, it is getting a new lease on life, it seems as an Arts Collective.

From our friend Kristen Peterson now at the Las Vegas Weekly:

David Curtis stands in the doorway of the Fremont Medical Center, soliciting signatures to put him on the ballot for the gubernatorial race. His bicycle is parked outside. His satchel hangs from his shoulder, and his jacket is tagged with a Green Party button.

Artists stream in and out. They're here for the open house for Emergency Arts, a creative collective that will move into the old medical building at Sixth and Fremont, across from the El Cortez and Beauty Bar. They listen to Curtis' brief pitch and sign the paper with their free hand. In the other: a copy of the building's layout, a price list and the mission statement for Emergency Arts. The artists survey tiny exam rooms, nursing stations and X-ray areas, still showing medical residue — signs, surgical lubricant, hospital-room curtains. If everything goes according to plan, these rooms will soon be studios, boutiques and offices.

Creative types plan to take over the space in March, working amid the medical-center theme. That includes Curtis, who intends to run his campaign from the building, and artist Simone Turner, who plans to have a teaching studio.

"It's an exciting building. It has history to it," Turner says.

She knows its history firsthand, having been stitched up there after splitting her lip at a punk show at Calamity Jayne's back in the '80s. The building's condition — water stains on ceilings, busted walls, stained toilets — makes it hard to imagine getting an exam there, but there are plans to have it cleaned up by March.

Turner isn't bothered by the lack of windows in the rooms off the back corridors: "I can put in the lighting I want."

Michael Cornthwaite, owner of the Downtown Cocktail Room, and Jennifer Harrington, owner of the just-closed Henri & Odette Gallery, are leasing the center and managing the multiuse space as a way to rejuvenate the struggling arts scene and add more diversity to the Downtown entertainment district. That it's not in the neighboring arts district has generated chatter, but not enough to curb interest in the project. Its January 14 open house created a lot of traffic. Eleven of the several-dozen people who turned out signed letters of intent to lease, Harrington says. Others still are considering.

Rents range from $200 to $1,500 per month, plus common-area fees. The informational packet informs "ideal tenants" that they need to be able to "see the vision of this project, and the collective benefits from being involved. If we have to convince you, this project is not for you."

Harrington wants a café in the entry area that serves catered food, and a coffee counter. She and Cornthwaite are reaching out to filmmakers and start-up nonprofits.

"It's great," says artist and Downtown resident Justin Favela, who wants to lease a studio space this summer. "It's so funny. It's like a hospital for art — trying to keep the art alive in Las Vegas. And you can work in here and drink across the street."

One of our readers contacted me by email about two weeks ago.  She was wondering if there was still any snow on Mt. Charleston.  I assured her there was. 

Today, there is a whole lot more thanks to the winter storms that enveloped the Las Vegas Valley the last few days.

From the R-J:

One of my favorite people is Dr. Michael Green.  He teaches history at the College of Southern Nevada, he's a familiar face to my Untold Stories class, is one of my go-to guys when I need a historic question answered and is just a terrific guy.

He is also our inaugural guest for a new feature here at Classic Las Vegas.  I will be interviewing various history and cultural gurus in Las Vegas right here.

Dr. Mike was kind enough to help me kick this new feature off.

So, without further ado here's Dr. Mike:

1)  Why do you enjoy teaching Las Vegas history?

Besides teaching Las Vegas history—and general surveys—I specialize in the Civil War era.  I would love to interview Lincoln or someone who knew him fairly well, but that doesn’t seem possible.  But in Las Vegas, the people who made the history are here or one generation removed, and that adds an excitement and interest level for me and, I think, for others. 

Also, to refer to my example, while there remains a great deal we do not know about the Civil War era, we know a lot.  I always find it more interesting to study something not very well known to try to learn more about it, and so much of Las Vegas’s history is uncharted territory.  Also, it is right here, waiting for us.  I like to think of myself as being a public servant, and I think we serve the public when we do research on our community’s history.

2)  Which part of Las Vegas history do you think needs more of the spotlight?

Ha!  Just about all of it!  Even the Strip, which gets so much attention—how much do we know about the business operations and the entertainment history?  We need to know a lot more about what went on here in the community at all times, and especially before the dam.  There have been some good studies of the broader Las Vegas community, but we need a lot more specialized work on everything from women to religion.

3)  Which is your favorite era of Las Vegas history and why?

If you asked me another day, my answer would be different.  To turn it around, I would find it fascinating to have been here when the Stewarts and Kiels were about the only ones around in the late nineteenth century and see just what was really going on.  But I incline toward the 1950s:  interesting people with interesting backgrounds, the Strip and downtown expanding, growth fast but reasonable, political change, incredible entertainment, and a civil rights movement really ramping up.

4)  What is the significance of Las Vegas before WWII and in the post-war era?

Do you have a year for me to answer?  Before World War II, Las Vegas wasn’t terribly significant.  It was a pit stop and a small tourist town between Los Angeles and Salt Lake, dependent on the railroad first for jobs in its repair shops and then, when the railroad moved the shops, on tourists coming through on the train or via the old highway.  Not that that era isn’t worthy and in need of further study, but Las Vegas didn’t matter yet on a regional and national—even international—scale in the way that it would and does.  I think the era is incredibly valuable for us to examine for harbingers of what was to come, locally and nationally.

As for the postwar era, in 1994, Time proclaimed Las Vegas “the all-American city.”  At about the same time, Marc Cooper did a great piece in The Village Voice about how Las Vegas operated, and it was far less, shall we say, glamorous than Time’s version. 

I think that Las Vegas is in some ways symbolic of postwar America:  a greater movement toward leisure and instant gratification, thanks partly to social changes (suburbanization, different mores and morals) and partly to inventions that make them possible (computers and jet airplanes).  Las Vegas also is a fascinating way to look at the evolution of entertainment:  showrooms used to resemble the Ed Sullivan show, which resembled vaudeville. 

Now, with shorter attention spans, we have one-person shows with lots of bells and whistles or Cirque shows that are not in themselves star vehicles but sometimes are related to stars and/or use those bells and whistles.

5)  What are your thoughts on the "Casino" the movie and myth vs. reality?

Let’s start with the point that “Casino” is a marvelous film, as film.  It also does a very good job of conveying its time or milieu.  Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi captured the aura of the time.  The problem is that it’s terrible history. 

For storytelling purposes, they combined several politicians into one, made Ace Rothstein look far abler than Lefty Rosenthal actually was (understandable when you have Robert DeNiro in the lead role), and attached far more significance to the affair between Joe Pesci’s and Sharon Stone’s characters than it actually had. 

The reality is that the mob’s fall here had a lot more to do with federal and state investigations, which don’t transfer well to the screen, and Rosenthal’s incredible arrogance, best displayed in his confrontation with then-Gaming Commission chairman Harry Reid and his abominable television show.

6)  Is the "Green Felt Jungle" a good book on the mob if so, why or why not?

My answer is yes and no.  As with most books in that genre, Ed Reid and Ovid DeMaris have a lot of good information but are more interested in heat than in light.  Also, a significant amount of the book is stuff that Reid reported in the Las Vegas Sun nearly a decade before—the Thunderbird case.  But it has a lot of useful, interesting information, and it’s certainly a good read.

Thank you Dr. Mike!

Our good friend and fellow Friend of Classic Las Vegas, Brian "Paco" Alvarez wants to get out the word about the City of Las Vegas and the Cultural Arts.  Like Paco, we believe that Cultural Arts are essential to residents and without them, the educational programming that we do would be seriously hindered.

Read on to see how you can help, note the dates and do your part to help save Cultural Arts in the City of Las Vegas:

Over the next couple of months the City of Las Vegas will be holding a series of Town Hall meetings to discuss the economic impact of the downturn on the cities budget. It is extremely important that the citizens of Las Vegas participate in these meetings and express concerns over potential cutbacks to city services.

As someone who cares about the Cultural Arts in Las Vegas and understands the positive economic impact the arts has on a community I encourage you to engage your civic leaders about protecting this important asset. We are very fortunate to live in a community in which we can pick up the phone and talk to the very people we elected. We must remind our elected officials that the only way we can diversify our economy and bring creative businesses to Las Vegas is by our long-term sustained investment in the cultural arts.

Investments in museums, cultural centers, theater, public art and all the things that enrich the citizenry; these quality of life issues encourage economic diversification in a community. Creative businesses such as knowledge based companies, innovators, information technology and scores of others will not come to Las Vegas if we cannot demonstrate that we have the infrastructure that creative businesses demand for their workforce. Yes Nevada has a favorable tax environment for businesses to relocate here but have you noticed that they are not exactly flocking to the state nor Las Vegas for that matter? The reason is simple, we have a grossly underfunded educational system and the investment in our cultural infrastructure is minimal.

Whether you agree with me or not the truth of the matter is we cannot continue depending on one industry to sustain our economy. In addition it is not fair to that industry that we continue using them alone to sustain our budgets. These issues run far and deep in Nevada and will not be solved easily nor quickly but we can make a difference if we get involved.

Below is information related to the City of Las Vegas Town Hall meetings and how you can participate.

Town Hall meetings will be held in various locations throughout the city at various times with city council representatives from respective wards attending.

As part of the “Your City, Your Way” Initiative, Las Vegas residents weighed-in on city services and resources, and on what works and what doesn't through several forums including focus groups, a phone survey and on-line survey. The resident input is being used by city management and the City Council to help make informed, strategic decisions based on resident priorities. During the town hall meetings, city staff will present information on the city’s budget shortfall and potential reductions. Staff will also present information on Census 2010, followed by a question and answer period.

City of Las Vegas residents are encouraged to attend one of the Town Hall meetings scheduled at various locations throughout the city. Other Town Hall meetings will take place:

•Jan. 19, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 5: City Council Chambers, 400 Stewart Ave.

•Jan. 25, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 4: YMCA Durango Hills, 3521 N. Durango Drive

•Jan. 27, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 3: East Las Vegas Community Center / Ballroom, 250 N. Eastern Ave.

•Feb. 9, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 6: Centennial Hills YMCA, 6601 N. Buffalo Drive

•Feb. 16, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 2: Veterans Memorial Leisure Services Center, 101 S. Pavilion Center Drive

•Feb. 18, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 6: Northwest Career and Technical Academy / Training Room, 8200 W. Tropical Parkway

•Feb. 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 3: Las Vegas Chuck Minker Sports Complex, 275 N. Mojave Road

•Feb. 24, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 5: Southern Nevada Health District / Clemens Room, 625 Shadow Lane

•Feb. 27, 10 a.m. to Noon - Ward 1: YMCA Meadows Lane, 4141 Meadows Lane

•March 1, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 4: Starbright Theater, 2215 Thomas Ryan Blvd.

•March 4, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. - Ward 1: Charleston Heights Arts Center / Theater, 800 S. Brush St.

For more information and to view the results of the recent phone survey and the focus groups, visit http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/yourcity or call 229-6501.

To learn about the many services, events and facilities available to residents visit the city Web site at http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/