From Dennis McBride at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas:

The April 24 opening reception for the Mid-Modern Las Vegas exhibit at the Nevada State Museum was a hit, drawing more than 130 people. The exhibit had been eagerly anticipated by Las Vegas’s community of Mid-Modders, as well as architects, historic preservationists, and realtors. The museum’s docents served a buffet from Mid-Century Modern dishware and several of them dressed the part. Many of those who attended the reception also dressed from the 1950s and ‘60s. Among the notable guests were realtor “Uncle Jack” LeVine; artist and Mid-Mod collector Diane Bush; Atomic Age Alliance founders Mary-Margaret and Carey Stratton, whose restored home in Paradise Palms was featured in the exhibit; Las Vegas Night Beat publisher Bill Schafer; realtor “Downtown Steve;” and curators from the Las Vegas Springs Preserve and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

In addition, Bill Mitchell, his wife, Barbara, and son Scott flew in for the reception from Florida and New Jersey: Bill is the son of Jay Florian Mitchell, whose historic photographs of Mid-Century Las Vegas compose most of the exhibit. Steve Cochran, grandson of Mid-Century Las Vegas designer and builder Lee Cochran, attended with his family. Lee Cochran’s 1964 Mason Manor home development is featured in the exhibit; homeowners from Mason Manor were also on hand to meet the Cochran family and talk about the history of their homes.

Scott, Barbara and Bill Mitchell

Ray and Steve Cochran

Mid-Century Modern Las Vegas is the last big exhibit the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas will present before its 2011 move into a new building at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve.

Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas Director David Millman and Mid-Century Modern buff