A Busy Week in Las Vegas

We hope that everyone had a terrific Thanksgiving holiday, survived the shopping madness (for the record, we did not go near a shopping mall) and are ready for a fun-filled week of events.

I'll be posting more about them in the next day or two but circle your calendars for these important dates:

Wednesday, Dec. 2nd:  I am giving a lecture on the History of Neon in Las Vegas at the Sun City Anthem Learning Center at 1:00 pm.

Thursday, Dec. 3rd: Untold Stories at the Springs Preserve:  "The Las Vegas You Don't Know" with Dr. Michael Green, Mark Hall-Patton and Donna and Gail Andress.  6:30 pm.

Friday, Dec. 4th: The final historic discussion for the Clark County Centennial.  The topic will be "Marketing Las Vegas" with former News Bureau manager, Don Payne; Robert Stoldal; John Ullom and Frank Mitrani.  County Government Center, 6:00 pm.

Sunday, Dec. 6th:  The Friends of Classic Las Vegas will have their annual Holiday Party!  Lots of food and drink to share along with special guest, Don Payne talking about the history of Las Vegas.  The fun begins at 2:00 pm.  It's a pot-luck style gathering so email me for details about what to bring and where!

RTC Transit finds its future in Las Vegas' past

The RTC is going neon.  Well along the new bus routes anyways.  Seems they are teaming with the Neon Museum and others to restore neon signs from our collective past and use as transit markers on their new routes.

From the Review-Journal:

 

 

Downtown Las Vegas has developed into a hip place to hang out and now the Regional Transportation Commission is hoping to play off the newly chic neighborhoods.

Like downtown, the transit agency aims to reinvent itself; it's working to shake the stigma attached to hopping on a public bus. The latest effort comes in the form of neon signs -- some dug out from the old neon boneyard and others newly built. They adorn three stops along the agency's trendy new ACE transit line.

 

In the Arts District, a massive sign reading "18b" shadows the transit stop. For those of us who aren't as cool as we think we are, 18b means 1800 block, which is how the artsy crowd refers to that area. Down the street is the retro sign from the 5th Street Liquor store and, across from the Las Vegas Convention Center, stands the original Landmark casino sign -- reborn on the same spot of the old establishment.

"It's an interpretive, artistic way to illuminate the route for the ACE," said Jacob Snow, general manager of the commission. "We want to make it cool looking and make it a positive experience."

Downtown once had a reputation for prostitution, cheap shrimp cocktails, homeless people and cheesy casino giveaways. It has re-emerged as a gathering spot for the younger crowd with trendy bars that offer no gambling.

 

The redevelopment has even surprised Las Vegas natives such as Snow. Now, Snow is doing the same with the bus system.

Over the years, the agency has gradually faded out its purple and green, exhaust-billowing Citizens Area Transit buses, replacing them with the gold single and double-deck RTC vehicles. In March, the transportation agency will unveil the new ACE system.

Passengers purchase their tickets at the stops, which, combined with the bus-level curbs, will allow a more convenient and quicker boarding process. The new vehicles are the closest Las Vegas will have to light-rail.

And the vehicles themselves?

"This is not your grandfather's bus; this is not a toaster on wheels," Snow said.

So in introducing this new line that will primarily serve downtown and the Strip, why not draw more attention to it with the old-school signs?

"They add native history," Snow said. "We don't have a lot in terms of keeping our history."

In addition to the neon bus stop demarcations, the agency has chosen a handful of artists to create pieces that will be installed on each bus shelter's eight panels.

The idea to install cool signs was actually born years before downtown became popular again.

Snow credits former Clark County Parks and Recreation Director Pat Marchese, who suggested raiding the boneyard for signs that could be erected in the rights of way of a planned light-rail system. The light-rail fell to the wayside, but that didn't mean the RTC should do the same with the signs, Snow said.

The ACE project is still under its $60 million budget, which means Snow and his associates may head back down to the boneyard, a Las Vegas Boulevard property where the signs are stored. He figures he might be able to afford three more signs that would be installed on the Grand Central Parkway stretch of the ACE route.

"This is going to be a lot of fun," Snow said.

And if his strategy works, Las Vegans might think the same about riding the bus.


Classic Las Vegas in the News!

We got a mention in our buddy, John L. Smith's pre-Thanksgiving column on Wednesday:

My mother could hold court at a moment's notice. She was a natural Irish storyteller whose version of events was always entertaining and quite often accurate.

My father was always the last one in the room to tell a story, and not just because mom did most of the talking. He was a good listener who was comfortable with silence. He preferred it, actually. When he told a story, his deep, cigarette-scarred baritone was clear and certain.

 They're gone now, most of their stories reduced to the sketchy recollections of family members and old friends. Cousin Mary Burke has taken it upon herself to collect anecdotes from the various branches of the family, but it's a big task that gets harder with each passing year as memories fade like weathered photographs.

I think of my folks often during the holiday season. If I strain I can almost hear the murmur of their conversation in the next room.

This time of year I am reminded, once again, that I should have taken more time to remember their stories, either by reducing them to journalism or, better yet, recording them in a family oral history.

Dave Isay surely knows that feeling. He's the founder and president of StoryCorps, the independent nonprofit company that seeks "to honor and celebrate one another's lives through listening." It touts itself as "the most ambitious oral history project ever undertaken," and it's easy to see why.

Not only has StoryCorps created one of the nation's largest recorded oral history archives, but it also is the driving force behind Friday's second annual National Day of Listening. So far, more than 50,000 Americans have participated.

Here's how it works.

"The National Day of Listening is one day a year when StoryCorps asks all Americans to set aside one hour to interview a friend, loved one, or member of their community," Isay writes. "The process is simple -- pick someone whose life you'd like to honor or learn more about, find a quiet interview location, and use your iPhone, computer, video camera or any other taping device to record your conversation."

If you're like me, you'll want to bring your child along to ensure the iPhone, computer, or video camera is recording properly and not turning the National Day of Listening into the National Sound of Silence.

For MacArthur Fellow Isay, Friday holds the potential to remind us of our common humanity at a time the nation is roiled in recession.

"The National Day of Listening offers everyone the chance to discover what wonderful and unexpected stories can emerge from the simple request, 'Tell me about your life,' " he observes. (For a do-it-yourself instruction guide, go online at nationalday oflistening.org.)

In Las Vegas, which buries its history like pirate treasure, locals have seized the fleeting opportunity to capture the community's character before it slips away. Local Barbara Tabach heard the call and took it upon herself to record, photograph, and document the stories of dozens of Frontier Hotel employees just prior to the scattering of the work force and the demolition of the venerable Strip casino. Former Southern Nevada resident and genuine Las Vegas lover Lynn Zook went even further, creating the oral history series "As We Knew It: The Story of Classic Las Vegas."

But it's important to remember you don't have to be a professional oral historian to participate. You only need to take the time and a recorder. As an anecdote, Isay provides the story of Bree Candiloro, who interviewed her mother and father.

"I learned things about them I never knew," she said. "Even though we were close already, I feel closer to them now than ever before."

Candiloro should consider herself most fortunate.

What I wouldn't give to hear my parents' voices and stories again.

We encourage everyone to participate in the National Day of Listening!