Great Untold Stores Last Night

A big thank you to Eva Jensen, Dennis McBride and Donna Andress who were our panelists for last night's great Untold Stories: Revisiting St. Thomas.

The evening was very informative and filled with not just facts and figures but also lots of stories.  We all learned more about the area around St. Thomas, the history of the Native Americans, the history of the Lost City and lots of great info about the ruins.

Eva presented a great powerpoint on the history of the community and the ruins as well.

So thank you again to all involved and thank you to all those who turned out last night to learn more about Las Vegas History.

Next month, Untold Stories will look at the History of Helldorado!

For more information on that panel, click here 

Revisiting St. Thomas This Thursday evening

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St. Thomas was a thriving farming community in the Moapa Valley.  But, when Boulder (Hoover) Dam was finished, Lake Mead began to rise behind the Dam.

The community of St. Thomas had to be abandoned.  Its citizens packed up their belongings and left for the territory ahead.

Left behind were the buildings, fixtures, wells and the reminders of a once-proud Mormon community.  As the Lake rose, St. Thomas faded from view and from memory.

But as the drought continues and the Lake gets lower and lower, St. Thomas has risen from its watery grave.  The crumbling buildings once again bake in the hot sun and eerily reminds us of our past.

On Thursday, April 3rd, Untold Stories will look back at the history of St. Thomas and the history of the ruins.

Untold Stories:  Revisiting St. Thomas 

Panelists will include:

Eva Jensen, curator and historian for the Lost City Museum in Overton

Dennis McBride, curator and historian for the Nevada State Museum

Dr. Michael Green, professor of history, College of Southern Nevada

 

Thursday, April 3rd 

7:00 pm

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Admission $12

For more information on St. Thomas:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-blog/200

The Huntridge Theater- A reprieve for now!

 
Two weeks ago, Mr. Mizrachi told the crowd at the Save the Huntridge meeting that he wanted to save the property, find a viable tenant and make the property successful.  

He assured us he did not want to tear down the historic buildings.  He went to Carson City today to ask that the covenants placed on the building by the State be removed.  He offered to pay back the money, $1.5 million, that had been awarded to the previous owners in exchange for the removal.  This would have had damaging repercussions as it would have set a precedent nationally for owners of historic properties.

Word came late this afternoon that Eli Mizrachi's bid to have the state's two covenants on the historic Huntridge Theater overturned was turned down by the State's Cultural Affairs Commission.  They instructed their staff to work with Mr. Mizrachi to find viable tenants for the property. 

They said they would revist the situation when they meet again in September.

We applaud the Cultural Affairs Commission for refusing, at this point, to accept Mr. Mizrachi's offer.  We hope that a new tenant(s) can be found. 


To read our contributing blogger, Brian Paco Alvarez's take on the situation, follow this link:

https://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/historic-site-of-the-week/