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The architectural landmarks that have made Las Vegas a classic mid-century American city are the focus of a special mobile tour being offered as a prelude to the upcoming Vegas Valley Book Festival this fall. The mobile tour takes place on Friday, September 14, from 1 to 4 p.m., in conjunction with the Nevada Museums Association’s annual conference and will highlight a number of buildings and sites that define the architecture styles of the 1950’s and 60’s.
The free tour, sponsored by the city of Las Vegas Office of Cultural Affairs, originates and ends at the Atomic Testing Museum at 755 East Flamingo. Mary-Margaret Stratton, leader of the tour, is a founder of the Atomic Age Alliance, a local nonprofit dedicated to preserving mid century architecture. The tour—on a double-decker Red Bus—is being provided to those attending the Nevada Museum Association’s annual conference but a limited number of seats are being offered to the public and those interested must call and register to secure a space.
As a prelude to the book festival, this tour will bring special focus to select buildings and styles that will be the topic of discussion in a book festival panel session on November 2, involving noted author and historian Alan Hess, and preservationist and author Chris Nichols. Both Nichols and Hess have written extensively on mid-century architecture and the “Googie” style that in particular, has contributed to the mythology of roadside architecture. The tour will visit sites that are referenced in their published works including the Moulin Rouge, Huntridge Theatre, the classic residential tracks of Paradise Palms, the Morelli House, the Boulder Highway motels, the Paul Williams designed Guardian Angel Cathedral, the fast diminishing mid-century architecture on the Strip and other little known architectural finds.
This custom tour is one of a number of special events being offered as an introduction to the Vegas Valley Book Festival planned for November 2 and 3. To reserve your seat and for more information about the tour and the Vegas Valley Book Festival call 229-5431.
For more information about the book festival visit http://www.artslasvegas.org/. For more information on the Atomic Age Alliance visit http://www.atomicage.org/.
This Vegas Valley Book Festival is provided by Nevada Humanities and the Office of Cultural Affairs of the city of Las Vegas Office of Government and Community Affairs.
FACT SHEET: Architecture Tour to Highlight Upcoming Book Festival
Vegas Valley Book Festival
The Vegas Valley Book Festival takes place Friday and Saturday, November 2 and 3, 2007, at several locations downtown. Celebrating the Written, Spoken and Illustrated Word, the event brings together 20 nationally known authors, poets and local artists for two days of seminars, readings, exhibitions and spoken word performances. The festival is sponsored by the city of Las Vegas, Nevada Humanities and the Las Vegas Review Journal. All official events are free to the public.
Mid-Century Architecture Tour: Alan Hess and Chris Nichols
This mid-century architecture tour will focus on Las Vegas landmarks referenced in recent books by authors Alan Hess and Chris Nichols—both are featured speakers at the book festival in November. Hess is an architectural historian known for his definitive book, “Viva Las Vegas: After- Hours Architecture.” Nichols, an editor of Los Angeles Magazine, recently published “The Leisure Architecture of Wayne McAllister,” which celebrates mid-century architectural icons including the Los Angeles Biltmore, El Rancho Vegas, Sands Hotel and the El Cortez Hotel.
Atomic Age Alliance
The newly formed Atomic Age Alliance (AAA) is a local nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating historic mid-century design, architecture, signage, culture and business through ongoing community advocacy, activism and educational programs in Las Vegas and beyond. AAA has developed a number of customized Mondo Las Vegas Tours of local mid-century architecture to help preserve the history and culture of the city.
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