Las Vegas Review-Journal (Sunday)
A moment of architectural reflection
public in the historic buildings and the stories that exist here with those buildings in Las Vegas,” said Heidi Swank, executive director of the NPF. “There’s a myth that Las Vegas blows everything up, and we’re here to counter that myth by showing them all the fabulous things we have.”
The event consisted of two activities when it started in 2015 — a tour of eight to 10 homes and a martini tour cocktail party of an historic home — but was expanded after it was sold out in the second year. It has grown to 15 separate events, including lectures on architecture and other educational gatherings.
Swank said additional tickets have been added for some sold-out events.
This year’s event includes a double-decker bus tour taking people through the history of neon in Las Vegas. There will be a walking tour through Las Vegas’ first historic district, featuring popular styles of residential architecture from the 1930s to 1950s.
There will be a guided bike tour through two vintage neighborhoods of celebrity homes of the past and present, where people will learn about the midcentury architecture along with the lives of people who have lived in the homes.
There will be a double-decker bus tour of institutional architecture throughout the city. That includes churches, schools, banks and other civic buildings from the early and mid-20th century.
The signature event is a drive-yourself, four-hour tour, which will be held April 29. It will include
HISTORICAL
as many as 10 midcentury modern homes. Some are original and restored, and others are modernized and renovated. It costs $45.
There are new homes on the tour every year to keep it fresh, but this will be the first time a home seen in the first year will be repeated, according to Michelle Larime, the foundation’s associate director. It’s a 1940s traditional ranch-style home in the John S. Park historic neighborhood.
“We don’t repeat that often, but we feel like it has grown so much, and lot of people have caught wind of this in the past year who wouldn’t have seen those first homes,” Larime said.
The foundation sends out advertising via social media and through e-mail for homeowners to apply to be on the tour. Those interested fill out a brief survey and submit photos and officials do a walk-through of the home, Larime said.
“We’re looking to create a good variety and showcase multiple time periods of the 1940s through the 1970s and the different ways people live in the houses,” Larime said. “Some might be a time capsule with the original oven and old refrigerator. Some may have modernized on the inside and still showcase the midcentury way of living by not changing historically significant features, such as space planned and exterior materials. We choose the homes based on what’s going to be a good variety as well as what fits our mission.”
Larime said some of the homeowners who put their homes on the tour range from artists and designers to Realtors and everyday people who “just really enjoy living in historic neighborhoods.” They understand the architecture, she said.
“They may come from other areas of the country where preservation is a little more common and move here seeking older neighborhoods,” Larime said. “They already have an idea they want to live in an older home that has character of the past, (rather than) perhaps a new house in a different part of the city.”
Swank said the foundation has surveyed people who bought tickets to the event and discovered that many of them are surprised by the number of historic homes and