The Past Resurfaces

 

As the Lake continues to drop dramatically, all sorts of artifacts that have long been underwater are popping up in the mud and dirt of where the Lake once was.

One such place is St. Thomas.  Once a small Mormon farming community, St. Thomas was established in 1865.  It was near where the Muddy River flowed into the mighty Colorado.  Many of the Mormon families left St. Thomas in 1871 when a re-alignment of the state line placed St. Thomas in Nevada instead of Utah.    Some families stayed and others moved there.  St. Thomas thrived and became a well-known community on the edge of the Moapa Valley. 

The building of Boulder Dam, however, doomed the community.  In anticipation of Lake Mead rising behind the Dam, the federal government bought out the homeowners in St. Thomas beginning in the mid-1930s.  Some families tore down their homesteads that had been in their family for generations.  Others walked away with what they could carry leaving behind their possessions that were too large or burdensome to take.

On June 11th, 1938 the last resident, Hugh Lord, rowed away from St. Thomas forever.   Lake Mead soon engulfed and covered over St. Thomas.  The town became but a memory that old-timers talked about.  When a drought in the mid-1960s caused the Lake to drop, some of St. Thomas briefly reappeared.  But the drought soon ended, the snows returned to the Rockies and St. Thomas soon slipped back under the blue water of the Lake.

Today, the Lake has dropped so dramatically that St. Thomas has resurfaced completely.  Guided tours can be arranged through the National Park Service for those interested in exploring this wonderful piece of Southern Nevada history.

One of these days, the snows will return to the Rockies and the drought will end and the Lake will once again reclaim this fascinating piece of history. 

 Special thanks to RoadsidePictures for letting us use that photo. 

Lake Mead Marina moved

 

Lake Mead Boat Landing 1935

 

As the water began to fill in behind Boulder Dam, boat landings began springing up.  One of the first on Lake Mead was the aptly named Lake Mead Boat Landing.  It opened in 1935.  Thirty years later it had grown into a full-sized marina and renamed the Lake Mead Marina.
 
Due to a drought through-out the Southwest the last few years, the water in Lake Mead has been dropping.  Dramatically.  The Lake is at an all-time low, one hundred feet below where it was at its peak.  Because the Lake has dropped so low, the old boat landings such as Overton Landing have been closed.  Marinas such as Las Vegas Bay have been moved to Hemenway Harbor in order to literally keep afloat.

 

On Friday morning, Lake Mead Marina fell victim to the shrinking lake and was also moved to deeper water at Hemenway Harbor.  With boat owners and photographers looking on, the Marina began its slow move.  How do you move a marina, boats and all?  
 
Well, we hope these photos from RoadsidePictures helps explain it: 

 

 

Detached from land, Lake Mead Marina Feb. 8, 2008 

 

 

On its way out of the cove 

 

 

 

 

Making a wide righ turn  

 

 

 

The carp wonder what all the excitement is about 

 

If you haven't been out to see just how low the Lake is, we recommend you do so.  It is a once in a life-time opportunity to see just how dramatically the drought has affected the largest man-made lake in the country.  Islands and other debris that had been beneath a watery grave for over seventy years now dot the landscape of the lake.  But nothing quite prepares for you seeing in person the difference in level between the high water mark and the level of the lake today.
 

The Destruction of Downtown Homes

When I was a kid growing up in Las Vegas, the area around the original Las Vegas High School was rife with houses built in the teens, the '20s and the '30s.  These were some of the oldest homes in the Valley.  Across Charleston Blvd, where the Walgreens sits today, on the corner that intersects with Las Vegas Blvd. South, were some beautiful Tudor homes that were built by some of the pioneering families that had found and made their fortunes here.  They were all beautiful homes.

In the early 1970s, the Tudor homes on that sat on that corner were all torn down in the name of progress.  There was some outcry but not enough to save those homes.  For years that corner was a parking lot among other things.  The Nevada State Bar bought the old Cyril Wengert home and saved it.  It is still standing today.  UNLV moved the Kell Houssels home to their campus in an effort to save it.

The forces of progress moved towards the original Las Vegas High neighborhood.  Lawyers, hoping to save the homes, bought the homes in an effort to save them.  They were appplauded for their efforts.  The High School outgrew its 1930s building and moved to a newer facility.  Instead of tearing down the old High School, it became the Performing Arts Academy.

The Morelli House was saved from the destruction of the Desert Inn Country Club and moved across the street at 8th and Bridger.  A historical tour of the neighborhood was created by Dorothy and Frank Wright that highlighted many of the different architecture styles of the homes.  It was printed and distributed by the City of Las Vegas.  A book called Wildcat Country that included more homes and history than the walking tour brochure was published.

But that was twenty five years ago and much has changed in attitudes since then it seems.

A drive around the Downtown area will reveal just how little we care about our history.  On the street where the oldest house in Las Vegas once stood, there is an empty lot.  That little house was built in 1915.  Now before you start sharpening your pencils and telling me that the house is not old, I would remind you that Las Vegas was founded in 1905.  So, this house qualified as old.  Especially since we have torn down all the houses built between 1905 and 1915.  On the corner of 1st and Garces where the brick building that housed the first Harley Davidson company in the 1930s stood until just a few weeks ago, now there is a dirt lot.

The homes around the original High School, which are on the National Registry of Landmarked Places, the houses are being destroyed by a new wave of attorneys and business owners who feel that nothing says Confidence in your Lawyer like a McMansion Office.   I don't know how to break it to them but that doesn't say Confidence to me.  I would prefer a lawyer like Richard Segerblom or Amy Chelini who have their offices in old homes and don't feel the need to upgrade.

But that's just me.  I'm a history buff and I love Las Vegas history.  I'm just sad that there will be less and less of it to share with others as the years go on.

 

                                                              This house was built in 1915

 

                                                                That house as of 10/20/07

This house was built in 1926 

 

 

 Harley Davidson Building circa 1930s

 

 Same place as of 10/20/07

Ralph Purdy Home in the Las Vegas High School Landmarked Neighborhood

This is a great example of the size and architecture of the homes in this historic neighborhood.

 

The Law Office of Tomorrow 

This is an example of the size and type of business that is replacing our historic homes.

You have a voice!  Tired of seeing the continued destruction of our past?  Join the Friends of Classic Las Vegas today and help save our history! 

Thanks to RoadsidePictures for allowing us to use his photos! 

Preservation Alert: Federated Employees Building

Our good friends at the Atomic Age Alliance need your help in saving this mid-century beauty of a building.  Kristen Petersen, of the Las Vegas Sun, writes about it:

Speaking of Las Vegas' vanishing past, the Atomic Age Alliance, a mid-century modern preservation committee, has targeted its first "Urgent Action Issue": saving the old Federated Employees of Nevada building at 2301 E. Sahara Ave. The single story office building, a n example of Googie , or space-age, architecture built in 1962, is slated to become retail and restaurant space.

The owner and a representative were to go before Las Vegas planning commissioners Thursday night with requests to reduce the number of parking spaces and alter land buffers. A report states that owner Jay Dapper plans to demolish the building. Calls to John David Burke, project architect, were not returned.

Atomic Age Alliance, which has a local and national mailing list of 3,000 , has not contacted the owner, but plans to approach the city regarding the value it sees in the building.

"It is a very fine piece of architecture and we have very few remaining examples of mid-century modern architecture left in this city," says alliance founder Mary Margaret Stratton. "Our concern is that they tear it down and try to flip the land" for quick resale.

Stratton says the group would like to see the building saved on site or raise the money to move the building. Another option is that the owner could save part of the building's facade, she says.

In January , the group published a mid-century modern tour guide of Las Vegas and gave a formal tour in conjunction with a national conference. The book includes the Federated Employees of Nevada building.

For more infoon how you can help: please visit the Atomic Age Alliance website here