Mesquite Club Petitions For Historic Property Designation

The Mesquite Club is seeking Historic Property designation for its clubhouse at 702 St. Louis Ave.

The first step in the process is a presentation to the Historic Preservation Commission for the City of Las Vegas. The Commission meeting is January 28,2008, 12:15 pm. The meeting is in the Development Services Building at 731 S. Fourth Street. 

Established in 1911, the Mesquite Club is the oldest non-profit women’s club in Nevada. The club’s formal debut took place just six years after the emergence of early Las Vegas on building lots put up for auction by the railroad in 1905.

The Mesquite Club took it’s name from the indigenous mesquite trees which, at that time, provided most of the shade for the Southern Nevada desert. Once established, the club immediately set to work addressing the civic, cultural and general welfare needs of the community.

Over the years the Mesquite Club has participated in numerous projects and is credited with many “firsts”.
Beginning with its first major project, which entailed the planting of 2,000 cottonwood trees (to provide additional, much needed, shade to the desert community), the club can also claim credit for its involvement in the following projects:
Forming a USO Club during World War II.
Helping to start the Secret Witness Program (known today as “Crimestoppers”).
Establishing a Memorial Endowment at U.N.L.V. for the purchase of children’s literature.
Donating to the Judy Bailey Theatre.
Establishing the first library in Las Vegas.
Establishing and helping to maintain the Rose Garden in Lorenzi Park.