Brian Paco Alvarez Speaks His Mind About Culture In Las Vegas

Brian Paco Alvarez was interviewed this week at our favorite Las Vegas history blog – Classic Las Vegas.

Paco’s one of my closest friends, and he’s taken up the mantle of blogging all things cultural in Las Vegas –  Enculturate Las Vegas. Besides, VeryVintageVegas, these are the other two local blogs that you should be reading regularly.

The interview with Brian Paco Alvarez is far reaching, with questions about culture in general, the myth of “there’s no culture in Las Vegas”, the neon museum, the arts district, and the question that’s most important to us at VVV:

4) Aside from a core group of supporters, Historic Preservation still feels like it is under-rated and under supported not only by the City and the County but by the residents of Las Vegas as well.  What suggestions do you have for making historical preservation more important to the local municipalities and the community at large?

The solution is very simple, “education.” The preservation groups must be willing to step forward and work closely with our community leaders to educate them about the treasures in which we as a society have been entrusted to care for. Las Vegas is a new city therefore we must find novel ways of explaining to the public that the buildings that were built 40 and 50 years ago are relevant to history because of the context in which they were built.

This community has a spectacular ephemeral past and we must use those collections whether they are from UNLV Special Collection, the Nevada State Museum or the Las Vegas News Bureau to educate the public about preserving our past. Unfortunately we do not have many large commercial buildings left to preserve but we have thousands of historic homes in dozens of historic neighborhoods that we should be preserved. Demonstrating to the public the importance of preserving these neighborhoods is key, not to mention it helps sustain property values. We must demonstrate to the public the economic value of historic preservation. Economics always resonates with the American public no matter what community you may live in.

Please take a moment to read the entire interview. It’s short, but full of insight into creating a better Las Vegas through culture.