Mid Century Modern

Plan 8 - The Last Of The William Krisel Designed Models Of Paradise Palms

March 12th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

This is the last of the series showing the original 1963 sales brochures of the William Krisel designed homes of Paradise Palms.

I’m just intelligently guessing that about 300 of the 1044 homes in Paradise Palms were Krisel designs. Irwin Molasky’s Paradise Development Company developed the entire master planned community, and directly built the Krisel homes. There were other construction companies that built some of the “units” of Paradise Palms.

For example, in the first of the newsletters, we learned that the whole section north of Desert Inn, between Camelback Road and  Eastern Ave. were built by Miranti Homes. These 83 homes in Unit 11 were concrete block, ranch style homes with pitched roofs or flat roofs, and sunken living rooms.

The same article told us that “Unit 10” (which is the Tioga finger into the golf course), and “Unit 12” (the first few homes on the streets west of Spencer) were the work of Secrest Construction, who dubbed a group of 77 homes as the Americana Series. I think these were the ranch houses west of Spencer.  

I have no clue if Irwin Molasky’s Paradise Homes actually built the rest of the homes in his development. If anyone else has a clue or some history for me, please email or call me.

 

 

 

Plan 8 was the largest of the Bill Krisel Designs. It was 1900 square feet. The fireplace was the centerpiece of the home as it was an island which served as a divider between the family living room and the dining room. The other distinctive feature was the screened front courtyard in front of the kitchen window, which stretched over to the carport.

Almost all of the model 8’s have had the carport converted to garage. Unfortunately, many of them have had the screen walls removed. 

A good (bad – fixer upper) example of the Model 8C just sold as a foreclosure at 3419 Seneca, and a terrific well kept and beautifully painted example of the model 8B can be found at 3522 Pueblo Way, which is 3 or four houses west of the “Revision House”.  

I don’t recognize the 8A at all. I don’t recall any that have an extended facia providing shade to the bedroom windows. Nor do  I recognize the shadow block design on the left front of the house. Am I wrong?

There’s at least 3 people/couples that I know of who have been driving around Paradise Palms with these brochures trying to identify all the houses of each model. I wish I had the time to do it lesiurly as well. Perhaps one of them will spot an 8A that I’m not remembering.

 

The prices, which were rubber stamped onto the back of the brochures is a little harder to read on the the model 8, but they were:

Lot B $31,900 and

Lot C $34,500

Posted by Jack LeVine | Currently 3 Comments »

Restorable Mid Mod In The McNeil Neighborhood Vintage Las Vegas

March 2nd, 2010 Categories: Fun Features Found In Foreclosures, McNeil, Mid Century Modern

This is really a “fun features found in foreclosures” post.

This is a very restorable mid century modern home in Vintage Las Vegas. It’s a “desert modern” and one of the few in McNeil. Mostly McNeil is a neighborhood of “Ranch Modern”.  

McNeil was and is a middle class custom home neighborhood between Charleston and Oakey on the north and south and to the west of Rancho.

Hidden away behind all the over grown trees and shrubs, and the curved lava rock wall under the porte cochere is a really cool mid mod house.

This Mid Mod In Las Vegas is definitely a project house! It’s in one of the 3 cul-de-sacs of McNeil that can only be accessed going west off of Rancho Drive.  They’re the first 3 streets off of Rancho to the north of Oakey Drive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The listing pictures kind of miss the best part of the house which is the towering  rock fireplace that looms over the 3 foot deep sunken living room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The house has beamed ceilings, huge rooms, and plenty of mid mod flair to work with. It’s bank owned and priced at 235,700, and will require a healthy bank account to get it fixed up to it’s former glory.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The back yard landscape and pool seem to be salvageable but could definitely use some love from a new owner. The lot is a 1/3 acre – 12800 sf.

 

Currently, there are only 8 properties for sale in all of McNeil! They range from 180,000 to 420,000. This is the lowest inventory of available I’ve seen since the market peaks of ‘05 and ‘06.

Two of them are shortsales, this one we featuring today is the only bank owned one, and the other five are equity (or normal) sellers.

 

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The Home Of Walter Zick Featured In Paradise Palms Newletter From July 1963

March 1st, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

Where was I before the last week got lost?

It’s time for another volume – July 1963 – of the Paradise Palms Newsletters. This one contains a special treat, which we’ll get to on page 3. There’s also a lot of great hair, 2 tone shoes to match the dogs, and a real “leave it to beaver” moment!

 

 

 (UPDATE: regular VVV reader and client Anya just discovered that that’s her house in the bottom right photo of the Welcome Mat. She vows to not only do over the house, but to get the same haircut as Naida Ormond!)

 

 

 

Here’s our special treat. Old time readers will remember that we’ve been championing the cause of getting a school named after Walter Zick, the prolific modernist architect of Las Vegas.

Walter Zick is responsible for the Mint, and the “Pod Schools”. He designed UNLV’s Maude Frazier Hall, and Flora Dungan Humanities Building; as well as Clark and Valley High Schools.  We still have numerous banks, office buildings, a dozen or so houses. Walter Zick was the preeminent architect of 1950’s and 60’s. The body of work that still remains are some of the best examples of modernism in what we now call Vintage Vegas.

We did a bus tour of the Zick buildings last October, and a panel discussion with Alan Hess and Walter’s daughters Claire and Karen.

Walter and his family moved from Washington and Decatur to a new home in Paradise Palms in 1963.

Claire told us at the panel discussion that people always asked her father why they lived in a tract house when he was an architect. He told them there was nothing he could build that was better than the Bill Krisel designed home in Paradise Palms.

Turns out that Irwin Molasky, the developer of Paradise Palms (or at least his staff) had a lot of respect for Walter Zick, and gave him not only the article on page 4, but a full page of photos. Maybe we should re-think full wall, floor to ceiling draperies!

The house is a Bill Krisel design, Plan 8 which we’ll show you in a couple of days.

The article in the Paradise Palms Newsletter about Walter Zick is here on page four.

For the sake of the search engines…I’m re-typing the article, (syntax, grammar, punctuation, typo’s and all) though it can clearly be read in the scan to the left, which is a clickable thumbnail if you’d like to see it full sized at 8.5 x 11.

Walter Zick, a partner in the firm of Zick & Sharp, outstanding architects in Nevada, threw open the doors of his beautiful home to the staff of your community Newspaper, the Desert News.

The Zick home at 3614 Ottawa Circle is the object of many sparkling eyes, particularly those playing the Stardust Golf Course adjoining the home. Its beauty and landscaping blends rounding homes.

Zick first came to Las Vegas in 1945 as an associate architect for the Flamingo Hotel. Although scheduled to remain only for one year, he fell in love with the Las Vegas Valley and decided to make it his home. In 1948, he joined with Harris Sharp to form the firm that now bears the name, Zick & Sharp. Many of the finest homes and buildings in the area are the results of their creation. The Zick home decor is styled in contemporary with oriental influence. Pictures of the home and the furnishings are presented on page 3 of this issue.

The Zicks – Walter and Mildred – have two daughters, Karen and Claire, both of whom attended Las Vegas High School. They are avid and ardent horse women. Their room in the home is the only one with a western atmosphere, completely dominated with ribbons won as contestants, and statuettes of horses too numerous to count.

Zick’s partner, Harris Sharp, also is a resident of Paradise Palms., and is in the midst of decorating and furnishing his home at th present time.

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The June 1963 Paradise Palms Newsletters - Commercial Center In Urban Las Vegas Is Introduced

February 17th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

In today’s installment, we get introduced to “Commercial Center”, which is currently under construction and scheduled for an August 1963 Grand Opening. A must read article!

 “New concepts in the use of space and frontage design, based on architectural studies, create a feeling of activity which is essential to bringing traffic to a shopping area.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The “Welcome Mat” introduces us to Sam Melchionne and his family. Sam’s the band leader at the Desert Inn Sky Room.

A great piece of Las Vegas History in the tribute website. There’s some terrific pictures buried in it.

Lynn Zook at Classic Las Vegas also has a picture of Sam Mechionne with Robert Goulet in this post 

I want that Sunburst Clock!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s all about the “ladies”! And the HAIR!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch your speed. Sometimes I think they really struggled to fill the page. In retrospect, it’s still a fun read, though.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paradise Palms was the first Master Planned community in Las Vegas. It’s filled with what we now call Mid Century Modern homes. They deserve to be restored and collected.

Paradise Palms can be located on both sides of Desert Inn Road, between Maryland Parkway and Eastern Avenue. Some of the homes are on what’s now the “National Golf Course”. When the community was built, the course was the “Stardust Golf Course”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Retro Renovation’s Pam Krueber Makes A Mid Mod Video For ETSY

February 12th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern

Our favorite post war baby boom housing blogger made an important video that makes some important points.

Of course you should read Pam’s announcement at RetroRenovation, and follow the links to the original posting on the ETSY site, as well.

Before you watch it, I want to make a couple of points that I don’t say often enough.

Mid Mod, or Mid Century Modern is a CATCH PHRASE! It means lots of things. It’s an era in history. It’s a style, and an aesthetic, and much of it has become timeless. Some of it is just kitsch and camp now. Some of it is worth imitating, copying and collecting. Some of it just isn’t.

It’s real easy to get all caught up in what’s the most visibly “unique” about the “modern” houses of the era. Those are the few that I call “Desert Modern”. Pam calls it “High-Fallutin Modern” in the video. You’ll see when you watch that she has a clever little name for that which isn’t high-fallutin. The homes in Paradise Palms, for example with their unique shapes, outrageous roof lines, geometric designs ARE NOT THE NORM. They’re not even – by any stretch of the imagination - the majority (except in PP).

MOST of the Mid Mod houses in the world are actually “ranch homes” which is why I try to use the term Ranch Modern to describe them. Ranches are the vast majority of homes in VintageVegas. The desert moderns are scattered among the ranches, and do have a collectible rarity factor. Regardless of size, or whether they’re tract or custom, most mid mods are ranch.

Pam’s whole website is devoted to what’s become her new theme…”Love the house you’re in”. Both the desert modern and the Ranch modern share a couple of simple ideas that were the post war revolutionary “rethinking” of HOW WE LIVE IN A HOME. For example, the sliding glass door, the smallest version of the “wall of glass” was a defining element of modern during it’s heyday. It’s lived on as a staple of housing design. The kitchen as the central hub of the house – part of the living area, instead of being hidden away as a forbidden zone has not gone away. The patio as an extension of the living area into the outdoors – still there! Clean lines, lack of ornamentation, the use of natural materials, bright colors, were all staples of modern.

That era that we now call “Mid Mod” lasted from the end of World War II until roughly 70. That’s when housing started to change again. Popular decorating got more ornate, 2–stories took over; lots started getting smaller; and stucco and red tile roofs became the cookie cutter clutter of todays housing. The Mid Century Modern Heritage Of Las Vegas has one unique element, as well, that exists nowhere else. All of it is centralized to the extent of the size of Las Vegas in 1970. Past that and you’re out of Vintage Vegas and into the suburbs and the sprawl.

Pam’s “RetroRenovation” is the best starting point there is if you want to learn more about what to do with your “modern” house – regardless of if it’s desert modern or ranch modern. And then if you really get hooked….there’s a thousand books and magazines and websites to read. Sit back, make some popcorn, enjoy the show!

Tags: retrorenovation, pam+kueber, desert+modern, ranch+modern

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The Paradise Palms Desert News - Building Community In 1963

February 12th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

“Let’s keep Paradise Palms looking like paradise!!” — a motto worthy of re-embracing!

Here’s Volume 2 Number 5, the May 1963 newsletter of Paradise Palms.

 

 

This is how people networked back in 1963. Today, they’d just have a facebook fan page. Oh, they do! New fans welcome. New content welcome as well.

Of course, if it’s a real scoop, as these newsletters are, you should give it to me to publish first! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Welcome Mat introduces us to saxaphone legend Vido Musso, and lots of grass and a pine cone lamp.

We also meet The vice president of the Flamingo, a pair of pedal-pushers, and 2 pairs of flood pants.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Impala and a ?

Any of these names recognizable?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

Another plug for Vido Musso

Babette DeCastro of the DeCastro sisters.

Frances Faye 

Jack Nicklaus – you know who he is, so I didn’t link it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m hoping someone will uncover more of these newsletters.

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Plan 5 - The Tri - Level In Paradise Palms - A Mid Century Modern Neighborhood In Las Vegas

February 10th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

This one’s for you, Clay.

There’s no mistaking the Tri-Level design. They were only built South of Desert Inn, in Paradise Palms– the first Mid Century Modern Neighborhood of Las Vegas. You can’t miss them. There’s about a dozen or so of them all together spread out through the neighborhood. There’s still 3 or 4 of them that haven’t had additions or severe modifications or haven’t been stucco’d over.

Find the one on Pawnee Circle. It’s the best original.

They have some of the largest of the “Stone Screen” or “Sun Screen” privacy walls made out of the decorative concrete block that I’m so fond of. (that link will take you to the entire series that we spent all of last year on)

You’ll also note that they came with a zig zag of concrete panels that made up the steps from the street to the front door.

 

 

The line of shadow block in the chimney has always been inspirational.

 

 

 

 

The rubber stamped pricing isn’t very legible but the builder price is starting to really get up there in 1963.

Lot A = $27,950

Lot B = $25,950

Lot C = $31,550

A few (many) of you have been actually reading the amenities list. A few of them that have amused me, or caught my eye:

“ilsa imported Italian tile or glass tile walls around tub”

“Extra large Superamic tile counter top and splash”

“Wall to Wall Carpeting”  and a “Built-In TV outlet”

“full luminous ceiling with fluorescent tubing”

“6 foot built-in sloped mirrored medicine cabinet”

“Decorative block screen wall across entire lower level”

 

 

 

 

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Paradise Palms Was The First Master Planned Community In Las Vegas

February 7th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

Someone – quite wrongfully – suggested that I’m focusing too much attention on Paradise Palms. They asked me why I haven’t done anything on downtown lately….or McNeil or McWhatnot.

I’m just very happy to be back to consistent and regular blogging, and the “Revision House”, as well as these Paradise Palms newsletters and brochures from 1963 were just the thing to get me jump-started.

Another reader posed a good question recently. She did some driving around in Paradise Palms, noting that some of the properties – in fact, some of the blocks looked kind of shabby.

I explained that she’s quite right.  However, that’s true in neighborhoods all over the valley after the last 3 years of market decline, recession, and all that other bad stuff.

There’s dead lawns and peeling paint in Summerlin as well. The HOA there has more power to fight it than we do considering the budget constraints of the city and the county.

Never the less, there’s a TON of foreclosures that have been sold during the last 6 months. (AND A TON OF THEM BEING RELEASED AT THIS MOMENT – IF YOU HAVEN’T BOUGHT YET! The shadow inventory is starting to emerge.)

Most of the people who have already taken advantage of the low prices and the low interest rates have been putting their time and energy into fixing and repairing and redecorating the insides this winter. 

With Spring approaching, I think we’ll be seeing a torrent of outside activity among the many new homeowners.

First however, I think we’re going to see the biggest crop of weeds ever. It just might get uglier for a few months before the lawns and landscapes start to look good again. Of course, we needed the rain, and the logical (natural) outcome will be weeds.

So I’m taking a moment to start the appeal early. I saw my first little green shoots of growth this weekend. They were in the fringes of A NICE LAWN.  Whether you’re Downtown, or in McNeil, or Westleigh or Scotch 80’s or Fran Park, or EVEN in Paradise Palms….get an early jump on them, and stay ahead of them. Go talk to your neighbors. ENCOURAGE THEM to stay ahead of the weeds. Help a neighbor who might not be able to pull them. Your HOME VALUE will benefit. Lots and lots of those vacant properties are going to get new owners soon. The better the homes around them look, the more they’ll be fighting over the available ones. The FIRST thing they always do is pull the weeds at their new home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There wasn’t a lot of news in this issue of the Paradise Palms “Desert – News” – therefore the little essay above, but….

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do believe we should try to track down Fu-Fu.

Is she still around?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We know from a previous issue that the tennis courts were in the park that ran westward from Spencer along what’s now the South side of Chippawa Drive, and Chippawa Circle. I believe the pyramid roof house that shows in the background of the the top “tennis anyone” picture is at the end of the Commanche Circle Cul-de-sac.

The butterfly roof “clubhouse” in the bottom picture seems to be where Chippawa Circle is now. What a shame it’s now lost to us.

 

I’m trying to figure out EXACTLY when the association for Paradise Palms was dissolved. Does anyone know? Any details? Was there a fight over it? Was the community thrilled to lose it? Who led the different factions. I just know there had to have been a battle. Any of you original or extremely long time owners have any insight?

The ONLY clue I have at the moment, is that all 5 houses on Chippewa Circle were built in 1979, and are absolutely NOT part of the brochure series, as they are on the North side of Chippewa Drive. So I know it had to have been at least a year or two before that. But when? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow or Wednesday  – Plan 5 of the brochure series.

 

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Some Mid Mod Eye Candy In Preparation For Palm Springs Modernism Week

February 7th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern

 

Here’s “The Dragnet House”. Aptly named for Jack Webb – Lt. Friday – who built the house in 1960.

From The LA Times:

Palm Springs Modernism Week is coming Feb. 12-21, and to whet your appetite, we’ve got a Palm Springs house with a pedigree for you to examine. The home originally belonged to Jack Webb, best known as Joe Friday on “Dragnet.”  He had it built in 1960, just after the show’s eight-year run came to an end.

The current owners — snowbirds from Illinois — hired Palm Springs decorator Christopher Kennedy to help them get a look that is true to the house’s Modernist roots, but doesn’t look like a paint-by-the-numbers Palm Springs abode.

Read Barbara Thornburg’s full story on the home, or check out our extensive photo gallery, which will have you wishing the snowbird owners would invite you over for some mellow desert stargazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Plan 4 - The Original Sales Brochures For Paradise Palms - The Mid Mod Neighborhood Of Las Vegas

February 6th, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

 Both The 4A and The 4B models are easy to spot when you drive around in Paradise Palms.

Again, many of the carports have been changed to garages, or living area.

There have been many changes and modifications (some/too many of them being absolutley horrible) to the houses, especially the part of Paradise Palms north of Desert Inn – which even in 1962 and 1963 was the lower end, “starter home” part of the neighborhood.

Many of the 4B’s still maintain their rooflines and clearstory windows. Many of the A’s are now unrecognizable.  

I’m real happy that we can put these out there as a resource for the future new homeowners.

 

 

Any of our Paradise Palms readers who live in 4’s care to comment?

 

 

 

 

The rubber stamp says:

Lot A = $24,950

Lot B = $26,050 

Lot C = $28,650

 

This is the first of the brochures to give us clue that there was different pricing for different lots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the brochure, the street is obviously along the right side of the drawing. It really makes more sense like this, when you can picture the driveway cutting across the front of the house with a side entry carport as it shows in the elevation drawing.

 

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February 3rd, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

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Here’s our second installment of the Paradise Palms Desert-News from 1963!

Each page is clickable if you want to read it in it’s full sized 8.5×11. 

 

Walter Winchel, Tony Martin (?) and Ray Bolger get nods as “Top Stars” of the entertainment world, and golfers Gene Littler, Mike Souchak all get nods as endorsing the Stardust Golf Course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The bottom left photograph in the Paradise Palms Welcome Mat from this March 1963 edition is none other than Maisie and Garland Ronnow. Maisie is who provided us with this treasure trove of material from 1963.

Garland went to the property every day while it was under construction. Maisie told me this little story when I met her. He noted that the studs in the walls weren’t always “exactly” 16 inches on center, so he measured and and filled a notebook with the exact measurements of the difference between each stud before they got sheet rocked.

 

I’m not recognizing any of these kids names as adults. Surely they didn’t all move away from Las Vegas.

Anyone recognize any of them? If you do, make sure to direct them to VeryVintageVegas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The DOTS…AND—–DASHES column tell us about a “package from heaven” and a new “Jr. Prom Queen”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really hope you are all getting a kick out of these the way I am. Comments? Feedback? Back Story? Current Updates on people who are named? Click on the comments link just below.

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The Paradise Palms Brochures Are The Work Of Architects Palmer And Krisel

February 3rd, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

Below you’ll find Plan Three of our series on the group of houses in Paradise Palms that were commissioned by Irwin Molasky. They were designed by the famed architectural team of Palmer and Krisel. NOT all of the houses of Paradise Palms are Palmer and Krisel’s however. The series we’re running now are, though.

Next week is Palm Springs Modern week. I’m still working out the details, but I’m planning on attending the premiere of the new Documentary on William Krisel. It was filmed by JG Gorst, and Design OnScreen. The documentary series they’re doing is about noted regional architects of the Modern Era. This is one of them  It’s being shown for the first time on Sunday Night the 14^th as part of Palm Springs Modern Week.

If you recall, last March, we contributed to the film with a major segment on the Palmer and Krisel houses of Paradise Palms in Las Vegas. I’m told that I didn’t make it to the cutting room floor, and that the interview with me is several minutes of the film.

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s the trailer for the film.   

 

William Krisel, Architect from Design Onscreen on Vimeo

 

Model 3 in our series has me confused at the moment. I recognize the floorplan, but not the front elevations.

I’m going to do a drive around and see if I can remember which houses I’ve been in that have that floorplan, and compare the fronts.

Plan 3A seems similar to one that I know that has a soaring vaulted carport

I don’t ever recall seeing a 3B that would have the butterfly roof with 5 sets of clearstory windows to the left. Or maybe my memory isn’t what it used to be.

3C is even more perplexing.

Anyone else able to help on this mystery?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The Paradise Palms Brochures From 1963 - The Most Important Mid Century Modern Housing Tract In Las Vegas

January 31st, 2010 Categories: Mid Century Modern, Paradise Palms

One of the coincidental outcomes of the ReVision House (the deep green retrofit that was done for last weeks International Homebuilders show) was that I got to meet a few of the original Paradise Palms owners on Pueblo Drive. One of them made me an incredible offer.

Maisie Ronnow, and her late husband Garland bought their Palmer and Krisel “Jet Age” Modern house in 1963. The Ronnow family were the owners of Superior Tire.  

During her tour of the ReVision House, she told me that she had all the original floor plan brochures from 1963!

I now have them in my possession and am busy busy scanning them for you. Here’s plan number 1. Previously, we had some photo copies of an abreviated version that we had published one of them here. Alan Sandquist had a few of them on his flicker page, but they are no longer there, and I can’t remember why I was requested to not show them.

But now we have our own set of originals so they’ll be permanantly archived for everyone during the next few weeks.

But wait! There’s more. I also have 8 of the original Paradise Palms Community Newsletters that were part of the marketing of the neighborhood. The were handed out to potential new homeowners, and mailed to the existing owners. They’re full of fun pictures of Mid Century Modern furniture, hairdo’s, clothing styles, as well as a TON of previously lost knowledge about the Paradise Palms community of Las Vegas.

These are clickable thumbnails. They’ll open in a new window, at their full 8.5×11 size. You’re welcome to Save As or whatever you’d like. If you have friends in Paradise Palms that are regular readers of VeryVintageVegas, I hope you’ll share these with them as I publish the whole set.

One of the most interesting things about the floor plans, and why it’s so easy to believe that there’s actually dozens of different models is because of the multiple elevations and roof lines. Besides that, some of the models could be turned 90 degrees left or right and then combined with a different roofline.

That is the same floorplan could get built with the front door facing the street, or turned with the door facing to the side. Depending on that, you alway got the rear living room wall of glass  facing the side the back of the house. Depending on the rotation of the house, the fireplace wall and the glass wall were interchangable.

So there really are dozens of variations thru out The Mid Century Modern Neighborhood of Paradise Palms.

 

 

 

 

One of the Plan 1A’s is the shortsale listing of mine (it’s already sold) at 1977 Caballero.

Now, armed with these brochures, I’m going to go find us 1B and 1C.

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The Las Vegas McNeil Mid Mods That Most Mesmarize Me

November 22nd, 2009 Categories: McNeil, Mid Century Modern

There’s 2 of them. Side By Side. Neglected and forlorn.

I had a chance to get inside the Mid Mod to the north a few years ago. The tenant had the place on a lease option and said he was going to restore it. Nothing ever changed from the outside. Now it’s abandoned. I have no idea as to what the inside is now like, or what it’s current status is.

The home was built by Tom and Wilma Panos in 1962. The Panos were restraunteers who ran the coffee shop at Nellis AFB and from 1941 to 1961 owned the Melodie Lane coffee shop at 3^rd and Fremont. They were leaders in the Greek Orthodox Community, and the church hall off of Jones and Hacienda is named for them. A brief history of them is in an article in the Summerlin View from June 20, 2003. There’s no mention of the house, however.

 

 

 

 

Las Vegas Mid Mod In McNeil For Sale

The other most intriguing Mid Century Modern home in McNeil, came on the market this weekend. It’s on the corner of Mason and Rancho in McNeil. You’ve driven by a hundred times and wondered, as I have. Kirsten Shafer of Realty One Group has the listing. I don’t yet have permission to show the interior pictures i took, and there’s none in the MLS. I’ll update if I get permission.

Trust me, the walls of glass, triangular clerestory windows, and folded plate ceilings are killer! It’s been added onto several times in the 1980’s. It appears to have originally been a 2 bedroom and 2 bath. Now it’s just shy of 3000 sf, on a 16,500 sf lot. The folded plate roof only exists in a very few homes in Vintage Vegas. There’s a few in Paradise Palms, one on Maria Elena, and this one.  There’s some loving that’s needed, but architecturally…It’s a mid mod gem. $150,000, subject to short sale.

McNeil is one of the favorite middle class neighborhoods of Vintage Vegas. It’s boundaries are Rancho, Charleston, Cashman and Oakey.  One of the funny things about McNeil is that the 1/3 and 1/2 acre custom homes in McNeil are labeled as “McNeil Tract”. There’s another part of McNeil on 8000 to 10000 foot lots that are labeled “McNeil Estates”.

Most of the homes are Ranch styled Mid Mods. But there’s also some great “Desert Modern” such as the 2 I’ve mentioned today, especially in the 3 cul-de-sacs (Laurie, Llewellen and Karli) that are accessible from Rancho. There’s also some really nice desert modern along Ashby Drive. There’s many dozens of posts that I’ve done over the last few years that mention McNeil, or that feature various homes, decorative block walls and privacy screens, and other great things about McNeil. You can see them all here.

I’m truly hopeful that both of these homes can once again be beautiful examples of the best of Las Vegas’s Mid Century Modernism.

 

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Morelli House 50th Anniversary OPEN HOUSE

October 20th, 2009 Categories: Mid Century Modern

The OTHER opportunity (besides the Mark Twain Lecture event on Thursday) to see the Morelli House is this Saturday, October 24^th from 10am to 3pm. 861 E. Bridger at the corner of 9th

The Morelli House is THE ICONIC Mid Century Modern Preservation project in Las Vegas. It’s the 1959 home of Antonio Morelli, the fabled house band leader from the Sands Hotel.

There’s plenty of pictures and lots history on the house and Antonio Morelli himself on the Junior League Of Las Vegas website.

 

Here’s the text of the historical overview from the Junior Leage website and a few pictures I’ve taken during my many visits:

The Morelli House, a classic example of Las Vegas mid-century residential architecture, was built in 1959 at 52 Country Club Drive in the prestigious Desert Inn Country Club Estates that overlooked the world-class Desert Inn Golf Course. In September 2001, Junior League moved the house to a parcel at Ninth and Bridger Avenue in order to save it from demolition so it could become a community historical cultural resource and the headquarters for the organization.

This was funded with the assistance of the State of Nevada Commission for Cultural Affairs and by generous community and member support. The Morelli House is listed on the State and City Registers of Historic Places and has been awarded the State Preservation Award(2007), the City Preservation Award(2007) and the Mayor’s Urban Design Award for Historical Preservation (2008).
Antonio Morelli, original owner and builder of the house, was the former Sands Hotel’s orchestra conductor and musical director. As a classically trained musician, he brought classical music to the area. He organized the first pops concerts in the early 1960’s and in 1969 initiated the “Antonio Morelli Friends of Music Scholarship” to assist UNLV music students, As the music director at the Sands, he came into contact with the top entertainers of the day including the famous Rat Pack. It has been reported that singers like Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Nat King Cole rehearsed in Morelli’s music room at the house.

Antonio Morelli chose a mid-century modernistic design for the house. He approached the Sand’s carpenter foreman, Richard Small, with his ideas. Together, over the course of two years, the two men designed and built the house. Las Vegas architect, Hugh E. Taylor, was engaged to draw the plans.

Mr. Kay G. Glenn purchased the home in 1978 from Antonio’s widow, Helen Morelli. Glenn had been Howard Hughes’ press secretary from 1951 until the millionaire’s death in l976. Mr. Glenn made only two changes to the house in the 22 years he owned it, and that was to change the paint color in two places. His excellent care and preservation of the home in its near original condition created a perfect historically unaltered example of mid century residential architecture.

On July 25, 2000, the Junior League had been in the midst of preparing to relocate and restore the historical Whitehead House to land it had purchased through state grants when it was burned down to the ground by vagrants. The League was then given a period of time to find another suitable historical structure before it had to sell the land and return the funds to the state. Knowing about the Junior League’s dilemma, Steve Wynn, who was buying the homes on the Desert Inn Country Club to make way for his new Wynn Resort, had The Molasky Group contact the Junior League about the Morelli House. The Morelli House had been identified by the UNLV School of Architecture as the house most worthy of saving in the Desert Inn Country Club Estates due to its classic mid century architectural design, superior workmanship and materials and historical provenance. The Junior League accepted the Morelli House donated by Mr. Glenn and it was moved to the land at 9th and Bridger that was originally purchased for the Whitehead House on September 30, 2001.

Over the course of several years, the Junior League raised more funds to rectify an expansive soil problem and settle the house on its new foundation and also applied for and received a final grant from the Nevada Commission on Cultural Affairs to complete the restoration. Once most of the critical and cosmetic repairs were made, the League held a public debut of the Morelli House on April 9, 2007. In January 2009, the League officially completed the restorations in accordance with the US Secretary of the Interior’s historical preservation requirements.

The Junior League provides public access to the Morelli House through pre-arranged group tours and through public open house and educational events throughout the year. For more information call (702-822-6536 or email jrleagueoflv@aol.com

 

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