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Transcript of interview with Gilbert D. Yarchever by Claytee White, 2006
Gilbert Yarchever was one of nine siblings, born and bred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He describes the way his mother?s family was granted the last name of ?Kurfeersf" by Emperor Franz Joseph (of Austria-Hungary), explains the Seder (the Jewish observation of the exodus of Hebrews from Egypt), and tells what it was like to survive the Depression. Gilbert describes the jobs he held after high school and the government examination he took that led to his lifetime of adventure and travel. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1940 and kept himself busy working for the government and taking classes at George Washington University, as well as working part time at Hecht Department Store and as a freelance court reporter. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Gilbert was sent to Africa on a merchant ship, helped smuggle Jewish survivors into Jerusalem, and was assigned the task of negotiating with Arab sheikhs for laborers to build a road. In the years after that, he worked in Europe, Panama, Alaska, Japan, and Hawaii and describes many of the jobs he was responsible for and many of the individuals he met. He also married and had children, kept up with university classes whenever he could, and collected art objects and paintings. Following his retirement in 1977, Gilbert and his family came to Las Vegas and bought a condo in Regency Towers. He did some consulting work for a couple of years, and then he and his wife began traveling around the states and going abroad. He was involved with UNLV?s EXCEL program, the music department, and the Las Vegas Art Museum. (He and his second wife Edythe presented the first major exhibition on Holocaust art at the museum.) These days Gilbert often donates pieces from his art collection to churches, synagogues, and charitable organizations.
Gilbert Yarchever was in the Navy during World War II, helped smuggle Jewish refugees into Jerusalem, worked as a civil servant in many countries, and moved to Las Vegas in 1977. He helped found the EXCEL program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was an art collector with his wife, Edythe Katz-Yarchever.
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Transcript of interview with Thelma Coblentz by Judith Chavez, February 17, 1980
On February 17, 1980, Judith Chavez interviewed Thelma Coblentz (born 1911 in New Jersey) about her experiences in Southern Nevada. Coblentz first talks about her move to Lovelock, Nevada, where her husband provided medical care as one of the first physicians in the small town. She later talks about her move to Las Vegas and some of the services she helped to provide at Nellis Air Force Base. Coblentz later describes Downtown Las Vegas, specifically the development of the casinos and shopping businesses. She later talks about the rainstorms and dust storms that the city would experience before recalling some of the entertainers who would perform on the Las Vegas Strip. The interview concludes with a discussion on the first physicians in Las Vegas and the increasing population of the city.
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Transcript of interview with Randy Lavigne by Stefani Evans and Clatyee D. White, August 23, 2016
Randy Lavigne, Honorary AIA, has every reason to smile. Since 1995 she has been the Executive Director for AIA (American Institute of Architects) Las Vegas professional organization; she works daily with her daughter in a beautifully restored historic building in the heart of downtown Las Vegas; and the architects with whom she works so value her contributions they compiled and submitted documentation in order to surprise her with honorary AIA membership. In this interview, Lavigne recalls growing up in segregated Emory Gap, Tennessee, where her grandfather bought all the schoolchildren new shoes every year. She details the cross-country trip that brought her to Las Vegas in 1994 and eventually to the AIA in 1995. The bulk of the interview focuses on the building where the AIA is housed and the history of the organization. In 2008 the AIA moved from its former home at UNLV’s School of Architecture to the historic Fifth Street School in downtown Las Vegas. Lavigne discusses the history of the building and its significance to the City of Las Vegas. She reveals plans to examine the architectural history Las Vegas to celebrate the AIA Chapter’s sixtieth anniversary. She also talks about diversity in the profession, the process of licensure, publications, continuing education, organizational records, and the now-defunct auxiliary organization, the Architects' Wives League.
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Transcript of interview with David Wasserman by Barbara Tabach, October 21, 2016
For nearly two decades between 1950 and 1970, only one dentist of Jewish ancestry was known to be licensed to practice in Nevada. That was Dr. Joe Chenin. Finally, in 1971, the steadfast and easy mannered Dr. David R. Wasserman (1944 - ) broke through the barrier to become the second Jewish dentist serving the Las Vegas community. Over the following years, Dr. Wasserman built a sizeable following and immersed himself in the Jewish community of Las Vegas. Among his achievements is his participation and leadership in the formation of Las Vegas’ first Reform Jewish synagogue, Congregation Ner Tamid. He also would be active in the Jewish Federation. In 1992, as the HIV-AIDS epidemic affected dental offices throughout the nation, Dr. Wasserman saw an opportunity to get ahead of the infection. With the help of his wife Juanita Davis-Wasserman and his father-in-law Warren Davis, he developed, patented, manufactured and distributed a disposable tip for a treatment instrument commonly found in dental offices called a tri-syringe. This disposable tip brought sanitary options and great financial fortune to Dr. Wasserman and his family. In this oral history, Dr. Wasserman reflects on his joy of living in Las Vegas. He is a highly regarded dentist and leader in the Jewish community.
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Transcript of interview with Patricia Mulroy by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White, January 03, 2017
Patricia Mulroy served Las Vegas as the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District from 1989 to 2014. She served the state of Nevada as the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority from 1993 to 2014. Patricia helped to build the Authority, and saw the state through the devastating drought of the Colorado River. Patricia was born in Frankfurt, Germany on February 24, 1953. As a young girl, she lived in several different countries, but always felt that the United States was her home. Her experiences abroad fed her to develop a fascination with government work and state service. She arrived in Nevada in 1974 to attend UNLV. In 1989, Patricia became the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. She entered the field at a tumultuous time, facing the drought of the Colorado River and tension within the districts. She pioneered the Water Authority, which revolutionized Southern Nevada’s water rights system and allowed the districts to deal with the issue cooperatively. She worked with other Southwestern states and Mexico to support Las Vegas and Nevada through the drought. Patricia retired in 2014, but has chosen to remain active in politics and business. She is currently working with the World Bank in China on the World Economic Forum. She is also a nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute, a faculty advisor for the Desert Research Institute, and a board member of the Wynn Board of Directors.
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Myron Martin and Don Snyder interviews, November 30, 2017, December 06, 2017, and March 08, 2018: transcript
Part 1: Interviewed by Stefani Evans. Myron G. Martin, President and CEO, and Donald D. Snyder, Chairman of the Board of Directors, share their memories of the founding of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts from the first non-for-profit foundation formed in 1996. The second iteration led by Snyder in 1999 brought in Martin--former Director of UNLV Performing Arts Center--and created a sustainable business plan for a center for the performing arts that would be accessible geographically and culturally for all segments of Nevada society. Here, Martin and Snyder recall how land, funding, and legislation for The Smith Center depended on the ""power of the project"" and the Snyder-Martin team's ability to overcome skeptics in the public, the Nevada Legislature, the Clark County Commission, the Las Vegas City Council, and the Don Reynolds Foundation. Martin and Snyder satisfied the various requirements for each organization and earned unanimous approval at each stop--in fact, the $50 million donation to The Smith Center was the largest the Don Reynolds Foundation had ever granted largest. That the approvals came on three consecutive days from competing municipal jurisdictions makes the accomplishment even sweeter. Subjects: Las Vegas, NV; Cultural center; Performing arts; The Smith Center for the Performing Arts; The Smith Center; Not-for-profit;; Nevada Legislature; Clark County Commission; Las Vegas City Council; The Don Reynolds Foundation; Fundraising; Planning; Endowment; Part 2: Interviewed by Stefani Evans. Martin, who was the youngest of three boys raised in suburban Houston, Texas, likes to say that in college at the University of North Texas he played for the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers. So he did--as the organist. He earned a Bachelors of Music in piano, organ, and voice and an MBA from Golden Gate University. He came to Las Vegas after a fifteen-year career with the Baldwin Piano Company as executive director of the Liberace Foundation; he later became president of UNLV?s Performing Arts Center and in 1999 he became president of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center Foundation. Here, Martin and Snyder recall the process whereby they hired architect David Schwarz of Washington, DC, to create The Smith Center's ""timeless, elegant"" look; creating a ""shared vocabulary"" by visiting 14 performing venues in 5 European countries; the City of Las Vegas's RFP that resulted in hiring Whiting-Turner Contracting Company; the exterior art/artists, significance of the bell tower, Founding Fifty(seven), and the ability of the theater to adapt from staging The Book of Mormon to staging a community funeral for two slain police officers. Subjects: The Smith Center; The Smith Center for the Performing Arts; Architecture; Fundraising; Acoustics; Public private partnerships; Request for proposals; Whiting-Turner; Theater Projects Group; vocabulary; Part 3: Interviewed by Stefani Evans. Author Jack Sheehan, joining this third session on The Smith Center in his role as Don Snyder's biographer, explains the way he envisions the place of The Smith Center in the larger context of Las Vegas. Martin and Snyder provide names for the group that grew out of the Call to Action meeting and founded the original Las Vegas Performing Arts Foundation. They share anecdotes of a 2005 trip, wherein they were joined by Las Vegas City Councilman Lawrence Weekly, City of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, and consultant to the City of Las Vegas Dan Van Epp to visit City Place and the Kravis Center for Performing Arts in West Palm Beach as an example of a place where a performing arts center was a catalyst for revitalization in an area of underused and underutilized urban land. They discuss opening night, March 10, 2012, /From Dust To Dreams: Opening Night at the Smith Center For The Performing Arts/, which was produced broadcast live on national Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television stations, produced by George Stevens Jr. and directed and produced by Michael Stevens for The Stevens Company; hosted by Neil Patrick Harris; and featuring Jennifer Hudson, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris, Martina McBride, Carole King, Arturo Sandoval, Joshua Bell, Mavis Staples, Pat Monahan; American Ballet Theater dancers Marcello Gomes and Luciana Paris; also Broadway performers Brian Stokes Mitchell, Laura Osnes, Cheyenne Jackson, Sherie Rene Scott, Montego Glover, and Benjamin Walker. Martin describes how provisions of Nevada SB235--introduced March 6, 2017, signed into law by Governor Bob Sandoval, and became effective October 1, 2017--for the regulation of ticket sales to an athletic contest or live entertainment event affect The Smith Center ticket sales. They talk of providing 3,600 good construction jobs during the recession, of Discovery Childrens Museum, of future development plans for the entire 61-acre Symphony Park parcel, and of a second capital campaign to increase the endowment to $100 million to enable The Smith Center to be economically sustainable.
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Transcript of interview with Virginia Beckly Richardson by Claytee D. White and Carole C. Terry, November 5, 2009
Through her oral interview and the materials she provided, Virginia Beckley Richardson gives us a unique and fascinating look at both a pioneer family of Las Vegas and the early activities of the Service League, the forerunner of the Junior League of Las Vegas. Her personal recollections are an insight into life in the city's early years, and the biography of her father written by her brother, Bruce, humanizes a prominent figure in Las Vegas' history. The newspaper articles she made available enhance her descriptions of the Service League's activities. In addition, the article, "Merchant's Home Becomes Monument," describes her family home originally located on Fourth Street and relocated by the Junior League of Las Vegas in 1979. Her recollections clearly demonstrate her enthusiasm about her family's accomplishments and her involvement in the Service League
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Transcript of interview with Morris "Moe" Dalitz by Brenda Baxter, November 4, 1977-March 30, 1978
Interview with Morris "Moe" Dalitz by Brenda Baxter, on several dates in late 1977 to early 1978. In this interview, Dalitz talks about his business and career endeavors before coming to Las Vegas, which included a laundry service and military service. Dalitz partnered with Wilbur Clark and became a successful hotel and casino owner in Las Vegas, as well as a real estate developer with properties including the Boulevard Mall and Sunrise Hospital.
Moe Dalitz was born in Boston in 1899, and soon after his family moved to Detroit, Michigan and where his father started a linen supply company. In 1930, during Prohibition, Moe moved to Cleveland, Ohio and he became involved with the then-illegal liquor business. At the age of 41, Dalitz enlisted in the Army and was stationed at Governors Island. Moe was put in charge of laundries and dry cleaning because of his experience in the laundry business. He played an important role in creating mobile laundry units that were used in the front lines in North Africa. His ingenuity won him a non-combatant award for his "unusual interest, ingenuity and talents" applied during his service. At the end of war, Moe returned to Cleveland, where his partners were successfully carrying on their business. It was then that they decided to go into the casino-nightclub business, opening nightclubs in Ohio and Kentucky. A couple years later, Moe and his partners met Wilbur Clark and agreed to finance his inactive project in Las Vegas. Thus, in 1950, the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino opened, and Moe Dalitz ushered in a new era for the city. Moe and partners continued to elevate the sophistication of the Strip when they acquired the operating lease to, and later part ownership of, the Stardust Hotel and Casino. Moe was instrumental in bringing the French Lido de Paris show to the Stardust, which was considered the most spectacular nightclub show produced in Las Vegas at its time. In addition to his gaming industry ventures, Moe engaged in significant real estate development, along with partners Allard Roen, Merv Adelson and Irwin Molasky. Their projects included Sunrise Hospital, The Boulevard Mall and Las Vegas Country Club as well as La Costa Resort and Spa in California. At the time of the interview, Moe was involved with the construction of a downtown hotel and casino. Moe Dalitz was the recipient of the Humanitarian Award from the American Cancer Research Center, and supported the Variety Club and the Home of the Good Shepard, amongst other charities.
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Transcript of interview with Helen Smith by Emily Powers, March 4, 2008
Helen Smith, born and raised in New Jersey, came to Las Vegas in 1956. She intended to visit relatives for a couple of weeks, but ended up staying. Her aunt convinced her to interview at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital (SNMH) and Helen worked there for a year. She recalls three hospitals at that time: SNMH, the Eighth Street Hospital, and St. Rose de Lima in Henderson. Helen worked in the emergency room back east, so it was natural for her to start in the newly opened ER at Southern Nevada. She recalls treating many victims of accidents on the "Widow Maker", or route 95 to the Test Site, and compares the more advanced treatment and staffing back east with the Las Vegas small-town conditions. In talking about the medical advances she has seen over the years, Helen gives a detailed explanation of autoclaving, describes the duties of an ER nurse, and mentions the shifts that nurses used to work. She also discusses her own progression from relief nurse to day nurse to supervisor, and comparisons are made between hospital stays 30 and 40 years ago to hospital stays today. Helen refers to doctors and nurses that she worked with or knew of, talks about the types of things children were treated for, and shares several anecdotes and stories of patients and their treatment. She also expounds further on her work history at Sunrise Hospital, with her husband in their air-conditioning business, and as case manager for SIIS in workman's compensation. As Las Vegas grew in population, a process which started in the sixties, Helen notes that more specialists were attracted to local hospitals. She shares her own more recent experience as a patient and gives her opinion on the use of ERs for general care rather than true emergencies. Her closing remarks include descriptions of changes in nurses' responsibilities and comments on her husband's work with the Children's Shrine in telemedicine.
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Photographs of Riviera signs, Las Vegas (Nev.), 2002
Site name: Riviera Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Site address: 2901 S Las Vegas Blvd
Sign owner: Riveria Holdings Corporation
Sign details: The Riviera is another of the properties on the Strip which brought its borders to the street. It is one of the properties with an extensive collection of signs on its properties. The glass wall and block long facade, which incorporates infinity lighting and neon displays. A highly animated an reflective ceiling of the westernmost pedestrian element right along Las Vegas Boulevard also plays host to a continuously pulsing entablature of text and neon. The outer portion of the wall facing west is also adorned with raceways, backlit signs, neon stars, and a host of other signs as well. The northwest corner is a unique collection of fascia wall design and sculptural elements on the corner as well for the "Nickeltown" portion of the casino. Along the east end of the property, more Riviera logo/wall signs denote entrances, while the eastern most edge plays host to the massive Riviera Pylon. Various signs also reside on the eastern side of the property. Text signs are located in several positions among various structures. There is also a rather busily illuminated awning, which is lined with incandescent bulbs and text.
Sign condition: Structure 5 Surface 4 Lighting 5
Sign form: Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère
Sign-specific description: The main attraction to the Riviera is its mirrored round wall which serves as a multiuse billboard built around the neon advertisements for the Riviera's big show: Splash Front façade: The front façade of the Riviera is best described by starting with the giant glass well and heading north. The radius of the giant reflective extravaganza is in the general direction of the southwest so reflectivity is extremely good during the afternoon hours. The surface of the structurally integrated visions is surfaced with giant reflective mirrored panel which give way to the multicolored neon puzzle work of the Splash logo. The logo advertises for the show using iconography from the show itself represented with pan channel figures lined on the interiors with neon of corresponding colors for which they are painted. The text that spells "Splash" is painted red, with the circular raceway that sits in its background is painted yellow. The "Splash" text sits above the organic shapes of water shooting out from underneath the array of signage, painted blue and purple. The image of the female inside the logo text is graphically treated with the proper registration of illustrative quality. She is also lined with neon in the proper colors over the major outlines of her form. The entire array sits on a black background laden with incandescent bulbs. The neon is arranged so that as it progresses toward the ground the organic shapes radiate in a repeating pattern outward. The blue and purple neon radiate toward the ground while the red neon in the "Splash" radiates left toward the other side of the wall. Green channels spurt out of the top lined with green neon as well. On opposite sides of the radius wall, there are a series of signage that mirror each other. "Riviera" is written in channel letters filled with neon, and a series of internally lit, color cabinets, lined on the edges with incandescent bulbs. The middle portion of the wall is occupied with various sized stars, raceways, and incandescent bulbs found on extensions and diamond shaped faces. The stars are lined on the interior profile of the shape with blue and pink neon, as well as incandescent bulbs on the interior as well. The bottom of the radius wall is adorned with adorned with internally lit cabinets as well as various small neon creations. Moving north along the face of the building the façade the external elements are greatly supportive of the mirrored walls, and just as brilliant in their own right. The façade begins just to the south of the giant mirrored wall, with a section lined with vertical bars of neon animating in red, pink, purple, and blue neon. Riviera is written in cahnnel letters and filled with incandescent bulbs. The letters are outlined in red neon. On either side of the rectangular section, two small versions of the giant mirrored wall support green and blue wavy channels, lined on the interior edges with corresponding neon colors. Incandescent bulbs are present as well. The façade on the north side smoothly transitions into a wall of transparent plastic cubes, lit from the inside, with raceways running down the edges. This façade runs the entire length of the building, until the end is reached at the northwest corner and Nickeltown. Along the facade, internally lit cabinets surrounded by raceways occupy the vicinity of the lower portion of the sign. The faces are colored plastic and treated with graphics and text. Toward the end of the facade, a collection of small signs is fused together to create a single collection of busy signs. The entire structure is a chaotic vision of relief sculpture smashing into text and iconography, while bright, vibrant colors and neon, fight for attention. The majority of the sign is located on the body of the building, reaches down to touch the ground. Four fluted columns rise up from the ground to meet the bottom base of the massive wall sign. The columns rise up into a sculpted cabinet that is heavily crafted and adorned with ornate edges of hard-coated foam or fiberglass scrollwork. The swelling and swirling scrolls swell out in three dimensions. The entire border of the bottom section is turned into a detailed, organically shaped, cloud like shape. The scrollwork as well as the columns is finished white, with the recesses being toned a golden color. The effect accentuates the three dimensional nature of the design. The surface of this bottom portion is a diagonally crisscrossing pattern of white lattice- work on top of a golden surface. The center of the open surface is occupied by a giant pan channel, of the top three points at a purple, five-pointed star. Flanking either side of the star are small, steel, closed face cabinets, in the shape of squatty looking five pointed stars. They are varying sizes and are painted the three separate colors of purple, yellow, and green. The top point of the largest purple star rises through the top part of the bottom cloud section touching up into the massive collection of signs. This particular sign centers on a top logo reading "Riviera Slot Adventure" in channel letters in the style of action adventure movies such as "Indiana Jones." The first word is written in the logo style of the Riviera, and painted yellow on the interiors. The letters for the two words, "Slot Adventure" are bent with the force of motion and painted red, grading into an orange. Behind that, a circular cabinet, representing a globe, is painted blue in the center and fading to white. Flanking either side of the globe, associated more with the top portion of the globe, pairs of arching bronze colored cabinets slightly arch outward suggesting shining or an explosion. They are laden with incandescent bulbs. The remainder of the sign between the bottom star structure and the top slot adventure text, is occupied by a varied array of signage that can be designated between two halves of the collection. The left-hand side of the sign consists of three-dimensional sculptural elements, channel letters, relief elements. The far left side of the collection is rounded out by the three dimensional relief of crashing waves, creating a background for the three-dimensional structure of the mermaid. Red channel letters spell "Splash" above the mermaid, in white channel letters painted red on the inside. Neon lines the interior of the letters as well. Below the mermaid, more channel letters spell "Gardens" in red channel letters painted yellow on the interiors and lined on the interiors with neon. Above the crest of the wave a relief of a train shoots toward the north with a yellow and red circular cabinet above that with the text for jackpot junction. The train relief is also the designed with perspective to appear as if it is moving forward. Directly to the left of the train is set of yellow channel letters painted blue on the interior reading "Jackpot Factory," lined on the interior with neon. A purple backing cabinet is graphically painted on the face with images of gears. Just to the left of the text is the three dimensional sculpture representing a stack of coins. The space below the "Jackpot Factory" a purple cabinet with a colored face reads with graphics and text for "Valley of Games." Directly to the left of the "Valley of the Games" cabinet a three dimensional cherub is holding a large nickel, with a banner above that. The cherub is painted with the proper flesh tones, and the nickel is adorned with the proper details. The wings animate, utilizing two tubes of neon shaped as wings and in different positions to appear as flapping. A white arched steel banner, with blue text, reading "Nickel Heaven." Neon floats over the top of the letters. The right hand side of the entire collection is just as detailed and elaborate, if not ore than the left hand side. A white steel cabinet cut into the profile of the text, which is painted yellow with red outlines. The text reads 'Slot Frenzy' in two lanes. The red borders are lined with incandescent bulbs. The remaining negative space in the center of the sign is a painted slot handle with a circle of neon around the top of the handle. To the right of that, the surface of the board is created out of relief of faux rocks above what is a set of railroad tracks. A mine cart is on the tracks with giant diamond shaped gems residing in the interior space. A cabinet made of an arched banner and a square cabinet resides above the mine cart. The banner reads Double diamond in blue text, and "mines is spelled" in blue text on the rectangle. Further right the rocks give way to a portion of the cabinet, that reads "Jackpot City" in yellow channel letters, with yellow neon. Vertical raceways lined with incandescent bulbs shoot upward in the area of the text. All are supported on a multicolored flat cabinet, predominantly painted red. Nickel town: On the Northwest corner of the property three distinct images comprise the signage. The main marquee for Nickeltown over the entrance, a Riviera logo just to the right of that, and a large sculptural fountain, that dominates the corner with it's presence. Over the brass and glass doors for the entrance, a polished metal overhang radiuses above the door, and contains the words Nickel Town in channel letters. The two words are written horizontally in a line, and separated in the middle with a pan cjhannel star also lined with neon on it's interior. The star is centered with a channel number "5" which is filled with white neon. The star's neon colors are pink and blue, and are arranged as interior lining of the star. The underside of the awning, as the rest of the front facade, is adorned with the incandescent bulbs, placed neatly in the designated prismatic shapes. The neon rings also are present, running the pediment across the facade. Elements of the electric wall can be seen as well, with the metal diamonds supporting incandescent bulbs trailing upward from the awning up to the facade of the building behind it. Several different sizes of star rise up as well, they are identical in color and design shape. Since the interiors do not contain a channel letter, they contain a channel shaped star, lined with incandescent bulbs in the center. A different sort of star shape is present as well. This shape is an eight-sided shape, reminiscent of a snowflake. When I say snowflake, it is essentially a cross shaped piece crossed, with an "X" shape. The shape is designed out of a pan channel, filled with incandescent bulbs. White neon backs the channel. Directly to the right of the entrance, the mirrored facade reflects the entrance, as the reflective surface house vertical, neon bars as well. The three different colors are Blue, gold and green. Consuming the majority of the concrete expanse created by the small plaza, is the neon-laden fountain of light and steel, with a base of ceramic pool. The design is a circular pool, covered in 1"x1" ceramic tiles, and filled with water. Thee square poles are bent over, looking as if they are spraying up out of the fountain. They appear almost as if a bouquet. One is painted Blue, one gold, and the other red. These poles are striped with neon tubing of the corresponding colors. Internally lit cubes, of the same color scheme as the primary palette. Wrapping around the circumference of the top half of the plumage, is a silver pediment that radiuses around the fountain. The finish is polished metal, and matches the overhang presented in the Nickel Town signage. Raceways run along the top and bottom edges of the face, wile the internally lit advertisements occupying the open space of the pediment every so often. Riviera Convention Center: Directly to the east of Nickeltown, is the Riviera Convention center. Signage for the building is first evident when traveling west, looking at the east face of the building. Not far on the north side of the east face of the building, large channel letters hang denoting the building. The Riviera logo text is spelled in the signature text, outlined with red neon and filled with incandescent bulbs. Below that, a two lined text reads convention center in red channel letters, lined on the interior with red neon. On the south side of the building, two lines of text reads, "Royale Pavilion" and "Entrance" below that. These channel letters are red, and lined with red neon on the interiors. Tower: Along the north side of the main tower, "Riviera" is spelled with giant red channel letters, filled with incandescent bulbs, and lined with red neon. The rear entrance is shared for the hotel, and the convention center, and is denoted with signage, and an overhang. A large blockish overhang is cantilevered off of the side of the building and projects outward, toward the east. On the front edge, an arcade of arches is evident, which reveal five tube-like vaults that project the half radius all the way back to the building. All of the edges of the raceway, including the spaces on the underside, which separates the vaults, are lined with incandescent bulb lined raceways. The Riviera text spells "Riviera" across the front of the cantilevered structure. The channel letters are painted red, lined with red neon and filled with incandescent bulbs. Left of the cantilevered structure are letters, which spell convention center. They are channel letters with red plastic faces.
Sign - type of display: Neon; Incandescent; Backlit
Sign - media: Steel; Plastic; Glass; Fiberglass
Sign - non-neon treatments: Graphics; Paint
Sign animation: Chasing, flashing, oscillating
Notes: The incandescent bulbs inside the text reading "Paris" on the balloon oscillate rapidly.
Sign manufacturer: Federal Signal (fascia front glass)
Sign designer: Marge Williams/ Arch: Nikita Zukov (fascia design)
Sign - date of installation: 1988-1989
Sign - date of redesign/move: Pylon was moved to Convention Center Dr. and Paradise Rd. c. 1988
Surveyor: Joshua Cannaday
Survey - date completed: 2002
Sign keywords: Chasing; Flashing; Oscillating; Pylon; Fascia; Porte-cochère; Neon; Incandescent; Backlit; Steel; Plastic; Glass; Fiberglass; Paint; Graphics
Mixed Content