Completed in December 2020 using grant funds from the Commission on the Las Vegas Centennial, the entryway at the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts was renovated, restoring a classic building.
The Academy was previously known as Las Vegas High School and had a long history with the famous entertainers who performed in Las Vegas. The main school opened in 1930 at Seventh Street and Bridger Avenue, and the auditorium opened in 1954 at Ninth Street and Clark Avenue.
The renovation project included the repair and painting of the original diamond breeze block wall in front of the auditorium, and the repair and seal of the original high school auditorium sign.
In addition, historic markers were design and installed highlighting events significant to the Las Vegas High School Auditorium, Las Vegas Academy and the Las Vegas community.
These markers point out how the campus has always been synonymous with entertainment. It transformed to the Las Vegas Academy in 1993 with fewer than 500 students and now boasts more than 1,700 annually.
One of the markers details how students started the teen club on campus known as the Wildcat Lair. Big name entertainers would play the lair between their shows at the resorts. Among those who played the Lair were Benny Goodman, Tennessee Ernie Ford, the Mills Brothers, Patti Page, Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone and Mel Torme.
The school also has its fair share of famous alumni, including singer and choreographer Toni Basil, whose pop hit “Mickey” went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts. In the video, Basil can be seen wearing a Las Vegas High School cheerleading outfit. Emmy award-winning actor Matthew Gray Gubler, best known for his role as FBI agent Spencer Reid on “Criminal Minds,” is another graduate of the school.