The original Aladdin neon signage designed by Yesco. Brian "Buzz" Leming was part of the design team

Origina Caesar's Palace neon signage designed by Yesco. Brian "Buzz" Leming was part of the design team.

Neon sign designed by Brian "Buzz" Leming

Architecture and Neon in Clark County is the topic of the May 1 panel discussion at 6 pm at the Clark County Government Center. This month we throw the spotlight on the neon and the architecture that made mid-century Las Vegas famous.

Panelists include

Brian “Buzz” Leming, long-time sign designer who mentored under Betty Willis, worked with some of the great sign designers at YESCO and is still designing signs today for Federal Heath.

Helga Watkins, Associate Professor, UNLV Art Dept.,

architect Eric Strain

Dr. David Schwartz, UNLV Library Special Collections.

Friday, May 1st

Clark County Government Center

Clark County Commisioner Chambers

6:00 pm

The discussion, which is free to the public, is part of the ongoing First Friday series “Centennial Stories: Examing Our Past” commemorating 2009 Clark County’s Centennial. The discussion will be broadcast live on CCTV 4. Audience members are encouraged to ask questions

We've got copies!

Discover the real history of Las Vegas!

It's finally available! Yep, the book I wrote on the history of Las Vegas with lots of postcards, some rare and one of kind.

We cover the history of Las Vegas from 1905 to 1965 and besides lots of interesting history about the Strip and the various original hotels, there's lots of history on the Roadside Architecture, the Motels, the Post-War era,and most of all, the Community.

Discover the real history of Las Vegas!

It's a fun-filled book packed with info and lots of images of the Las Vegas you love and miss.

I've got copies of the book for sale on my website and I'll autograph them as well!

http://www.classiclasvegas.com/coolstuff/coolstuff.htm

So, head on over and order your copy today!

A portion of the sales goes toward maintaining this blog and our historical preservation work so it's for a worthy cause!

I was on K-DWN radio yesterday morning promoting my new book, "Las Vegas in Postcards: 1905-1965".

As many of you know, Carey Burke, Allen Sandquist and I spent a long time working on this book last year and our hardwork paid off.  The book looks great.  It is filled with historic postcards that depict the real history of Las Vegas and focus not only on the well-known iconic side of Las Vegas but also the little known residential history of the town.

We owe a big debt of thanks to Dennis McBride, the Curator of History, at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas for letting us use some early postcards from their collection.  Mostly, the postcards came from Carey and Allen's extensive collections.  Many are rare and rarely seen postcards.

So, if you want to know about the Roadside Architecture of Las Vegas, the gaming, the neighborhood churches and schools,  real history of the motels (some of which still exist on East Fremont Street) as well as the real history of the buildings and businesses on Fremont Street and the Strip, then be sure t to get a copy of this book.

On Friday evening, May 8th, Carey Burke and I will be doing a book-signing and program (moderated by Dennis McBride) at the Nevada State Museum.  Stay tuned for more details as that date draws closer.

Also, we are preparing a companion video to go with the book.  Both the companion video and autographed copies of the book will be available for sale here in the weeks to come.  So, keep an eye out here for more details!

Of course, if you find you just can't wait, the book is available in most local to Las Vegas Barnes and Noble and Borders bookstores.  You can also buy copies of the book at the Gift Shop in the Nevada State Museum.

The Friends of Classic Las Vegas will be having their monthly General meeting on Sunday, January 11th.

We would like to invite everyone to join us to help us put together our presevation plans for 2009. We encourage you to bring a friend as well!

Our guest this Sunday will be Ky Plaskon who has written a book, "Silent Heroes of the Cold War", which is about the plane crash on Mt. Charleston that occurred in the late 1950s and was classified top secret for over forty years.

Sunday, January 11th

2:00 pm

Nevada State Museum

Auditorium

700 Twin Lakes Dr

Lorenzi Park

Refreshments will be served!

We hope to see you there!

It was the first building on the campus of Nevada Southern University.  It was designed by famed Las Vegas architects Zick and Sharp.  It was named for a woman who made education her cause, Maude Frazier.  She is beloved by the many people who knew her, were influenced by her education first cause and who had better lives for coming under her tutelage.

For the last year and a half, preservationists have been trying to save Maude Frazier Hall from the wrecking ball.  The majority of colleges around the country usually save the first building that was built on their campus.  Many see it as a timeline and a yard stick for how far a college has come from its humble beginnings.  Whether small or large, well-known or not, colleges usually take pride in preserving and utilizing their first campus building.

Well, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (formerly Nevada Southern University) is not in that league.  They are in a league of their own.  Word has just come from FCLV member Dennis McBride that UNLV is in the process of tearing down Frazier Hall.  Dennis says that the majority of students and employees on campus had no idea the demolition was taking place today.

FCLV member Mary Martinez, Anthropology instructor Heidi Swank, the Atomic Age Alliance, Thalia Dondero, Jack LeVine, Donna Andress and the alumni of Las Vegas High are all to be commended for their efforts in trying to save this important building.

I 'd be willing to bet there is no joy in Las Vegas preservation circles this afternoon.

Maude Frazier Hall

1957 to 2009

R.I.P.

Special thanks to UNLV Special Collections and Joel Rosales at Leavinglv.net for letting us use this images.