LAS VEGAS HAS ITS MID-CENTURY MODERN GEMS

To the editor:

In response to Geoff Schumacher’s Sunday column in which he supports the demolition of UNLV’s Maude Frazier Hall:

There was a time in the 1950s and 1960s when art deco and Victorian buildings were seen as ugly or passe, and they were torn down en masse. And it had been so in the 1980s and 1990s for mid-century modernism.

But now most cities with a rich midmod legacy, such as Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Scottsdale, etc., embrace modernism. The National Trust annual conferences over the past 10 years have had special tracts on the “recent past” to educate people who are unaware that modernism is worth preserving.

Here in Las Vegas, we have precious few remaining examples of commercial and civic modernism left, and the architectural critics all agree Maude Frazier Hall is one example to save. So lose your Victorian outlook and catch up with modern times, Mr. Schumacher.

Las Vegas will play host to the first Las Vegas Modernism Weekend next October with the Atomic Age Alliance, Neon Museum, Classic Las Vegas, Burlesque Hall of Fame, Vurb magazine and a host of other cultural entities participating. People will be flying in from all over the world to celebrate midmod Vegas. I think it’s an event Mr. Schumacher would like to attend and we’d love to invite him, but first he must agree not to pass judgment on things he does not quite “get” yet.

I invite Mr. Schumacher and anyone else interested in learning more about the mid-century modern gems left in Las Vegas to get a copy of our Mondo Vegas tour book or come to one of our monthly meetings. The Atomic Age Alliance meets every month on the second Wednesday, always at a different historic location. I would be happy to discuss this over a martini at our holiday party on Dec. 12, but perhaps Mr. Schumacher might prefer an old fashioned.

MARY-MARGARET STRATTON

LAS VEGAS

THE WRITER IS DIRECTOR OF THE ATOMIC AGE ALLIANCE, A VOLUNTEER GROUP DEDICATED TO CELEBRATING 1950S AND 1960S ARCHITECTURE IN LAS VEGAS.

Moving on

To the editor:

Travis Bowker’s Wednesday letter points out a very real problem in our schools: social promotion. It’s especially severe in the Clark County School District, which has a high transiency rate.

But most of the problems will not be solved by going to summer school or “sticking” a year — the really critical time is the progression from elementary school to a new middle school at the end of the fifth grade.

Let’s take the problem of the fifth grader who’s having real reading problems. We can have him repeat fifth grade, but it will not really help because he’s lacking stuff which he should have learned in the third grade.

As the student progresses, the problem changes. Now he contends with both grade-level promotion and course advancement. All too often there’s a kid taking geometry without mastering advanced algebra.

Unfortunately, most school districts, including our own, cannot afford a really effective program to combat premature advancement. Most parents cannot afford the expensive private tutoring which may be required. Other parents do not care.

But we must do better than we are doing now.

Kenneth Record

LAS VEGAS

Great race

To the editor:

I feel very sorry for Donald Schoengold who wrote the Tuesday letter, “Marathon creates a giant local mess.” I guess Mr. Schoengold has been out of town for the past three years, when the Las Vegas Marathon has been run previously.

The organizers of the race have done a terrific job of notifying the public about the road closings and times they would be closed. The race starts at 6 a.m. to cause as little difficulty for the public as possible.

The Las Vegas Marathon is run by many different kinds of people who live here in the valley. I was a volunteer the past three years and noticed that runners come from all over the United States and foreign countries to participate.

The camaraderie that exists among the runners is something to behold.

The majority of the people running could be classified as ordinary people, just like you and I. They want to improve their health and accomplish a goal and share the joy of running.

If Mr. Schoengold is inconvenienced for a part of one day out of 365 he might consider moving to the northern part of the valley, where they don’t hold the marathon. Then he can knock himself out by driving in any direction he would like — north, south, east or west.

I say the marathon is wonderful for the participants and the city. Keep on racing.

Charles Erreger

HENDERSON

No boycott

To the editor:

I found Rick Ainsworth’s Monday letter, “Olympic boycott,” very interesting, but I must disagree with him on his suggestion that we should consider boycotting next year’s Olympic Games in China.

Mr. Ainsworth believes that a boycott would serve as a form of retaliation for the recent treatment that the Chinese have seen fit to throw our way. The fact that the Chinese refused entry of three of our ships — two mine sweepers and the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk — into the port of Hong Kong is an insult to our Navy and to other navies around the world. But it’s hardly reason to boycott next year’s games.

I can well remember the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union and President Jimmy Carter’s decision to keep the American team at home as a protest against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. President Carter had several possible choices in terms of sending a strong message to the Soviets, but in the end he chose the easy way out politically. He kept our athletes at home when he could have easily cut off the sale of grain and spare parts to the Russians

In retrospect, the 1980 boycott by us achieved very little and actually brought about a Soviet boycott of the 1984 Los Angles games by much of the communist block. Also, the war in Afghanistan continued and the only group hurt by our boycott was our Olympic athletes.

There’s other ways to get the message across to the Chinese. Let’s hit them where it really hurts — in the pocket book. Let’s tighten down our trade policies with them and start treating them the way we treat much of the rest of the world in terms of trade. China enjoys favorite trade status with us. Let’s take a look at maybe changing that policy.

In short, let’s not sacrifice our amateur athletes before the throne of political ideology. Those athletes have worked long and hard to achieve their athletic status and deserve the opportunity to display their talent on the world stage.

Larry Burgess

HENDERSON

Growth problems

To the editor:

The report that Clark County’s population reached 2 million (Wednesday Review-Journal) is further evidence that the greatest environmental threat to Las Vegas and the world is population growth. Both can sustain a limited population at current levels of consumption. But increases in population beyond the sustainable level inevitably result in a deterioration in quality of life.

It is ridiculous to talk about environmental issues without acknowledging that any environmental improvements, such as improved car gas mileage, will be more than offset by increased auto use by an increased population.

Population growth is a taboo subject for environmentalists because they do not want to address the issue of immigration.

GEORGE MOSS

COLUMBUS, OHIO