Bonnie Springs is a Piece of Las Vegas History

While touring Chaleston Blvd. on my way to Modify Vintage Furniture yesterday, I saw this license plate that made me jealous. Incidentally it happened to be on a van from Bonnie Springs, which Jack tells me is the perfect place to go for a four hour vacation when you need to escape the hustle of our speedy city.

Speaking of HUNTRIDGE

I pulled into the unfortunately closed Circle Park to snap a photo of the building I mentioned just below. While there, I snapped these on the historical monument sign from the LV Centennial.

The text reads:

"Las Vegas' first tract subdivision, the Huntridge neighborhood was erected between 1941 and 1944 on land purchased in the 1920s by international businessman Leigh Hunt. After his death in 1931, Hunt's widow sold off large chunks of the land. In December of 1941, the developers announced plans to build a subdivision, graciously naming it Huntridge in Hunt's honor. The modest traditional style homes rented for $50 per month with an option to buy for $5000. The Huntridge neighborhood, loved for its generous lots, curving tree-lined streets and front porches, is one of the oldest intact neighborhoods in Las Vegas."

It's really worth a minute to study the 1944 aerial shot, and the night scene (click on any picture in VVV to see it full screen)

Repositories of History...

There is a common misconception that Las Vegas destroys its history. Yes in many instances this is the case but by no means the norm. We have this misconception due to the fanfare created when a building is imploded. When the world has witnessed almost a dozen spectacular implosions coming from Las Vegas it is easy to see why people believe this.

In actuality what Las Vegas has destroyed are many parts of its architectural past. But architecture is not the only aspect that makes history. History is about stories, experiences and the people that lived in the past. It is about the things that they left behind such as a coffee cup from the El Rancho Vegas, a dinner plate from the Desert Inn, or the millions of photographs taken. Many of the cities museums and repositories have these rare artifacts and share them with the public through innovative exhibits and presentations.

Curators and archivists work hard to help preserve these treasures and interpret them like an archaeologist interprets a bone fragment. In Las Vegas several museums and repositories hold the treasured history of this community. For instance the Las Vegas News Bureau has over 1.5 Million images of Las Vegas history from the late 1940’s to the present time. It is the quintessential repository of Las Vegas photographs in the world. Rare photos of the Rat Pack, Elvis, Liberace, President Kennedy and Beatles arriving are just but a few images that they have.

UNLV Special Collections holds the very bill of sale for the City of Las Vegas. The certificate was signed by Helen Stewart owner of the Las Vegas Ranch to Montana Senator William Andrews Clark, who bought the sprawling piece of land in 1903 for $55.000.00. When I was studying at UNLV I was one of the first people to touch these documents in almost 100 years!

The Clark County Museum in Henderson has a collection of historic homes from Downtown Las Vegas. Rather than the homes being razed many were moved to the museum and a Heritage Street was created. The old Boulder City railroad depot was moved to the museum as were several trains and a wedding chapel from the strip.

While I was curator of The Neon Museum we proudly saved the famous La Concha Motel Lobby, the Stardust Sign and not to mention hundreds of historic neon signs. A dozen of these signs can be seen fully restored on Fremont Street and 3rd Street Downtown.

The New Springs Preserve saved two of the 1908 Railroad Cottages from Downtown.

The Atomic Testing Museum is saving much of our local atomic heritage.

If we look deep enough you will find history in this community and lots of it. Many people are working hard to preserve what is left and leave a legacy for our future.

Here is a list of places you can visit and see the quintessential history of our community.

The Atomic Testing Museum - http://www.atomictestingmuseum.org/
The Liberace Museum – http://www.liberace.org/
The Neon Museum – http://www.neonmuseum.org/
The Clark County Museum - http://www.co.clark.nv.us/parks/Clark_County_Museum.htm
The Springs Preserve - http://www.springspreserve.org/html/home.html
UNLV Special Collections - http://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/