Mod Las Vegas: Good Things at Week's End, Pt. 1

Vegas is known for its architecture, but with its tendency to destroy buildings more than a week old, historic preservation is not the city's biggest priority. On the national stage it has a charismatic reputation, but Vegas is no Palm Springs or LA. Without the Vegas Strip and its signature casino glam and glitz, Vegas does not compare to many cities large and small when it comes to neighborhoods of distinctive architecture. Most of the city's early residential buildings never were much more than functional homes, and the signature styles of the 30s, 40s and 50s never took firm root in Vegas on the scale that they did in other cities.

In an attempt to bring attention and recognition to the modern architecture that the city does have, the Las Vegas Modern Committee will be having its first get together. Who is it for? . . .

"For Afficionados of
Classic Las Vegas Landmarks, Things To Do and See,
Mid-Century Modern Architecture, Rat Pack History,
New and Historic Neon Signs, and Vintage Vacation Kitsch"

The group was started by Paliau, a Henderson-based attorney, ". . . interested in pop culture from the 30s to the 60s including modernism, tiki culture, googie architecture, lounge music (Esquivel, Martin Denny, Arthur Lyman)." His goal, to give the worthwhile example of Vegas Mod its due. The inaugural event will be on April 22 at 7:00 PM at this Barnes & Noble in Henderson. Discussions will revolve around Vegas architecture, the books "Book of Tiki" and "Tiki Road Trip" and Vegas documentary producer Lynn Zook will talk about her movies, The Story of Classic Las Vegas and "The Women Who Built Las Vegas: a four part series. Check out the movie's trailer for a sneek peak at these great documentaries.


Locally public radio has touched upon residential areas of note. KNPR's State of Nevada dedicated the October 22, 2004 show to historic neighborhoods. The station's archived shows are now available in downloadable form (mp3) so those with the bandwidth can grab a show and listen whenever they care to.

But Las Vegas Modern Committee is not the only group in Vegas or Nevada with preservation in mind. Preserve Nevada and Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission make continuing efforts in the uphill battle to save and salvage city and state landmarks.