Viva Las Vegas

[Doug Kerr]

Carla and I spent last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada, attending her 55th high school reunion.

We'll start with the school building itself.

The original Las Vegas High School was built in 1931 at [South] 7th Street and [East] Bridger Avenue, today just a few blocks from the famous Fremont Avenue entertainment center. The residents at the time wondered why it was built so far out of town.

The building, hailed as a triumph of the Aztec Moderne subclass of the Art Deco design style, was called "The Jewel of the Desert". It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building construction is stucco over reinforced concrete.

In 1993, Las Vegas High School moved into a new modern campus east of town. The original building became the centerpiece of the newly established Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts, a "magnet" high school.

The builidng has recently received a complete exterior refinishing in handsome earth tone colors. Here's my favorite shot, of the central entrance bay, in the form of a stylized Mayan arch:

Douglas A. Kerr: The original Las Vegas High School, The Jewel of the Desert​

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Best regards,

Doug

 

[Doug Kerr]

Many loops can close - or cross - at a class reunion.

This year, Carla's class reunion (class of 1956) and several others were accompanied by an all-class reunion dinner dance.

At it, Carla and her best friend from her high school days, Mary, went over to the class of 1953 table to see if they could find a certain guy - a senior when they were freshmen. They did.

Here we see (l) Carla, (r) Mary, and (c) John, Carla's first steady boyfriend and Mary's first husband, looking pretty pleased with himself!

Douglas A. Kerr: Carla, John, and Mary​

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Best regards,

Doug

 

[Bob Rogers]

Hi Doug,

Beautiful colors in the first shot. I'm curious why you didn't choose a more square -- straight-on approach.

Never been to Vegas. Looking forward to more.

Bob

 

[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Bob,

Beautiful colors in the first shot.

Yes, I like the new livery.

Here's how it looked in 2005 and 2006:

Douglas A. Kerr: Original Las Vegas High School, June, 2005​

I'm curious why you didn't choose a more square -- straight-on approach.

Oh, I took lots of those (I'll be showing some shortly). But I thought this might be more interesting.

Best regards,

Doug