An almost original LIBERACE TOWNHOUSE

Liberace and his brother built these on St. Louis Ave. in 1978. The story has it, that unit 10, which was titled under just the one name Liberace, was for their mother. She lived there for 3 years, but didn't like that stairs, so she moved into another home Lee had built on 15th Street.

There's only 22 units, and 20 of them are actually condos that are either up or down. But 2 units were built as 2 stories, and #10 and #12 were 2 story units with the 3 bedrooms upstairs. Lee's Mom lived in #10.

Our friend and neighbor Olie worked for Liberace as his personal chef for over 20 years. He says Lee brought all the light and plug plates, lights, fireplaces and mantels and all of the other hardware in Europe and had it all sent to Las Vegas for these units. At the time, these condos were "over the top" european in design and style.

Many of them have been "beiged" over the years. But this one which is for rent at 1300/month still looks and feels right. There's a young lawyer who's going to clerk for one of the Federal Court Judges who's moving into Vintage Vegas next week. He's deciding this weekend whether to rent this one, or one of the townhouses in the Las Vegas Country Club.

Moky says....

that he's the very first "desert landscape" to be installed in Vintage Vegas. He pulled his grass and switched to rock in 1964. His neighbors on St. Jude Circle were in SHOCK.

I've only started to interview him about being an original owner from 1955. He started to work at Caesars Palace 5 days before the original grand opening, and worked the casino floor for over 30 years. There's lots of stories, and I promise more later.

What A Vintage Vegas Find!!

Check out this Souvenir from my collection. It sure beats a t-shirt. The lady I acquired this from bought it here in the 60's and had it on her kitchen wall until last year. She said it was responsible for her messy kitchen and for many trips to Vegas over the last forty years.

If you have anymore souvenirs I should post, let me know. bennation@yahoo.com

Sharon Stone's Closet in "CASINO"

6th Street and Bonita is the home of "Sharon Stone's Closet" in the Casino Movie.
Back in '94 (just as I was taking a long shot by moving into downtown --before it was the hip thing to do) film crews with all the trucks and buses and trailers and wires had everything blocked off for days for the location shoot.

It's for rent now, at 2200/month. Tell some of the suburbanites about it. Any realtor can show it or give us a call.

Alta Vista is the name of the 117 home neighborhood between 6th Street and 10th Street on St. Louis, Canosa, Bonita and some of Oakey. There's a real mix of housing styles and sizes. This one is rare because of the added 2nd story and garage, but it fits nicely into the surrounding area. Take a drive by sometime. You'll be surprised at how cute and charming the neighborhood is.

Frantz and Stephanie Kebreau, the premier downtown restoration specialists are rebuilding a home in Alta Vista at 8th and Bonita. We'll have it for sale in about a month. Watch for photos in a near future post about the restoration of 801 Bonita.