Tour of historical homes set for May 7-8
May kicks off National Historic Preservation Month, and the Nevada Preservation Foundation has expanded its second annual Vintage Vegas Home &History tour to two days this year to be held May 7-8.
“We sold out of all 200 tickets last year, so we thought we’d expand it into two days this year and build it into a weekend event,” said Executive Director Heidi Swank.
On May 7, attendees can tour vintage Las Vegas signs at the Neon Museum at 10 a.m. with Nevada Preservation Foundation board members before visiting the Mob Museum to get a feel for how organized crime impacted Las Vegas history.
Self-guided walking tours of John S. Park Historic District at the corner of East Charleston Boulevard and South Eighth Street, Las Vegas High School District at 315 S. Seventh St., and Berkley Square, as well as a shopping trip to the Arts District, are also recommended, Swank said.
A classic cocktail meetup will be held at 6 p.m. at ReBar, a wine bar, pub and antique store that’s scheduled to open this June on South Main Street.
The main event begins at noon May 8 at The Smith Center, where attendees check in, receive a home tour guide and are welcomed by RetroRenovation blogger Pam Kueber, who will talk about vintage home upkeep.
At 1 p.m., 10 homes, including two midcentury apartment buildings, will open, and attendees have until 5 p.m. for the self-guided tour.
“The Rexford is one of the really cool stops on the tour, and it’s also where Liberace’s mother used to live,” Swank said. “They’ve kept those apartments and the building really nice and you can’t get in unless you know someone who lives there.”
Michelle Larime, director of Education and Advocacy for the Nevada Preservation Foundation, said the tour also includes stops at Skyline Villas, formerly Fleur De Lis Villas, a Huntridge cottage and the newest addition to the tour, Cinderella Ranch.
“While they’re modern inside, they tend to be very quaint and cute on the outside with ornate details, steeper roofers and wide overhangs,” she said of the Cinderella Ranch. “The style came from when Disneyland first opened in the 1950s and everyone thought Cinderella was so cute and pretty and it trickled down to architecture.”
Larime added that the tour boasts original homes as well as those that have undergone renovations.
“You’ll be able to see the differences and how you can live in a period-appropriate house or redo it to your tastes,” she said.
At 5 p.m., those who purchased a sold-out martini tour ticket will get the opportunity to tour the private apartment of former El Cortez owner Jackie Gaughan. He resided in the apartment until he died in March 2014.
“It’s all original, and many of the workers at the El Cortez haven’t even seen his apartment,” Swank said.
She added that attendees are encouraged to bring cameras to take photos along the home tour.
All proceeds will go to the foundation, which aims to educate the building industry and general public on economic, social and environmental benefits of historic preservation as well as work with local architects and trade organizations, and mobilized neighborhoods to obtain historic protections.
“People think that in Las Vegas we blow up everything and while we tend to on the Strip, 70 percent of our older buildings are still here,” she said. “It’s a great opportunity to see what historic Las Vegas used to be like and what it’s still like today.”
Home tour tickets are $20 for foundation members and $45 for nonmembers and can be purchased online at www.nevadapreservation.org or at the door for $10 more.
Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.
