CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE FORHISTORIC PRESERVATION

Winter 2009 Preservation News Volume 24, Issue 1

Published in Las Vegas, NMby the Las Vegas Citizens’ Committeefor Historic PreservationPO Box 728 / 116 Bridge StreetLas Vegas, NM 87701Phone 505 425-8803Fax 505 425-7202E-Mail historic@cybermesa.comWebsite www.lasvegasnmcchp.com

Board of DirectorsErnest Quintana, ChairRudy Laumbach, Vice-ChairDeborah Barrera, SecretaryDoyle Daves, TreasurerBarbara FeldmanMartha JohnsenMartha McCaffreyChris NajarTony RoybalCarol Ditmanson, Executive Director

Mission StatementTo protect, preserve and promote thecultural landscape and historic build-ings of Las Vegas and to develop asense of community and connectionto the past.

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CCHP PHOTO

In 2008 CCHP, in cooperation withthe City of Las Vegas, completedwork on the first phase of what will

hopefully be an ongoing project to placeinformational plaques on historic buildingsthroughout the community.

For the first year it was decided to part-ner with Las Vegas MainStreet and focuson structures within the MainStreet Corri-dor. Applications were solicited frombuilding owners and 22 buildings werefound to meet the criteria. Building own-ers provided information on the back-ground of their structures that provided astarting place for research into a more de-tailed history. In some cases, new informa-tion revealed that some of what wasthought to be known about a building wasin fact erroneous. For example, the town-houses on Douglas Avenue, known histori-cally as “The Flats”, were thought to havebeen designed by the architectural firm ofRapp & Rapp but it now appears that wasnot the case.

Installation of the plaques will beginwith the return of warmer weather. In themeantime, the plaques will be on display atthe CCHP Office.

In addition to the building plaques, aninformational sign commemorating theconsolidation of the Town of West LasVegas and the City of Las Vegas was pro-duced. The idea for the sign was an inspi-ration of former Mayor Henry Sanchez.CCHP is working with the City of LasVegas to secure a location for installationof the sign. Incidentally, a number ofcopies of Dr. Lynn Perrigo’s definitivework on the Consolidation story, titled LaReunion, were donated to CCHP and are

on sale at the office. The consolidationplaques is also on display at the office.

Our thanks to Dennis Ditmanson,Debby Barrera, Doyle Daves, DonnaOkinga-Nathan, Cindy Collins, MarcusGottshalk, and Elmo Baca for their hardwork on this project.

And, we’re not done yet! We’ve re-ceived word that funding for a secondphase has been awarded through a Certi-fied Local Government Grant from theCity of Las Vegas. Assistance is particu-larly needed in researching building histo-ries so if you are interested in poring overold records and photo’s please contact theCCHP office at 425-8803.

Plaques Will Grace Historic Buildings

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People and Places Past • Winter 2009 • LVCCHP Page 2

The CCHP Annual AwardsDinner was held Nov. 21,2008 in the dining room of

the Montezuma Castle of the UnitedWorld College with a sell-out crowd ofover 150 people.

Guests were greeted by UnitedWorld College coeds wearing the tradi-tional Harvey Girl aprons and bow tiesof the early twentieth century as theyentered the beautiful dining room re-plete with its magnificent Chuhulychandeliers and impressive table set-tings featuring the Harvey Girl themeof the evening. The Harvey Girls andtheir costumes made especially for theoccasion by CCHP volunteers, GraceBetty Detterick and Louise Drlik, addedjust the right touch for an evening of re-membering the past and celebratingcommunity efforts to restore and main-tain significant buildings of early LasVegas.

The setting was awesome, the dinnerwas delicious and the program was im-pressive; all in all a festive and heart-warming occasion for celebrating ourheritage.

Perennial Mistress of Ceremonies,Nancy Colalillo presided. UnitedWorld College President Lisa Darlingwarmly welcomed everyone andthanked the community for supportingthe college and its students and provid-ing opportunities for students to con-tribute to community activities. CCHPChairman Ernest Quintana, recalled thecritical contributions of the Plaza ViejaPartners who, in the 1980s, undertookto spearhead the restoration and revital-ization of the Plaza and Bridge Streetdistrict of Las Vegas. The efforts ofthis far-sighted pioneering group havebeen sustained and augmented over theensuing years. Carol Ditmanson,CCHP Executive Director, reviewed theactivities of 2008, the most important

of which was the sale of the building at127 Bridge St. and the relocation to 116Bridge St. She also highlighted our in-creasingly successful lecture series pre-sented in cooperation with Fort UnionNational Monument and the expansionof Heritage Week activities occurring inAugust.

Special recognition awards werepresented to the Plaza Vieja Partners.Elmo Baca spoke for the group in ex-pressing appreciation for the recogni-tion of the efforts of the partnership.Elmo also praised efforts of the LasVegas MainStreet group, which is cur-rently working on major revitalizationprojects. Awards for residential restora-tions were presented to Greg and Victo-ria Apodaca for 1811 New MexicoAvenue and to Virginia West for 927Third St. Awards for residential reno-vations were presented to Marti andTom Nash for 1023 Seventh St. and toPatrick Alarid and Jeanne-Marie Crock-ett for 920 Sixth St.

A keynote address, The Harvey Girlsof the Southwest, presented by RichardMelzer, president of the Historical So-ciety of New Mexico, took the guestsback to a era of travel and dining basedon train transportation. Today it is hardto imagine the railroad as the centralfeature of Las Vegas and many othertowns. Dr. Melzer reminded us that ourCastenada Hotel was directly adjacentto and facing the tracks. He presentedmuch history of the recruitment, train-ing, housing and supervision of HarveyGirls who waited on traveling cus-tomers who needed a quick lunch dur-ing brief train stops and also servedguests at elegant resort hotels like theMontezuma Castle once was.

A silent auction and a live auction ofrail and airline tickets and resort get-away stays fit nicely with the other ac-tivities of the evening. The verysuccessful event is testimony to thestrong community support for CCHPand its efforts to celebrate and preserveour heritage.

CCHP Annual Dinner — Bigger and Better Than Ever

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The home was empty and in disrepair prior to Virginia buyingit several years ago along with the cottage in back, which werepart of one title. The entire home inside and outside was reno-vated, updated and painted to restore the home once again to itsfull beauty.

This wonderful home, just across from the Court House in OldTown Historic District, is a "Victorian Adobe”, an adobe withhigh 10-12 foot tall ceilings. Over the past ten years, since theApodacas have been living in the house, Greg has single-hand-edly repainted and repaired both exterior and interior spaces,carefully restoring the exposed original stone lintels. The homewill be open to the public on Aug. 1, 2009, with the Places with aPast tour.

The Nashes purchased this historical home just a year ago,knowing that it needed repairs, renovations, and “TLC”. Thehome is a “classical revival cottage” built in 1898. The Nashessaw it as a diamond in the rough. They quickly went to work andthe results are stunning. The home will be on the 2009 PlacesWith a Past Tour, Aug. 1, 2009.

This beautiful old stone home was formerly a livery stable forthe Mueller home. Jeanne-Marie Crockett and Patrick Alaridhave carefully rehabilitated the building for their residential use.The exterior stonework was re-pointed, the foundation stabilized,wood trim restored and the interior spaces were completely reno-vated into a two bedroom, two bath home. Notable are the re-stored gardens and fruit trees in the front of the property.

People and Places Past • Winter 2009 • LVCCHP Page 3

2008 Preservation Awards

Residential Restoration AwardVirginia West for work on 927 3rd St.

Residential Renovation Award Marti & Tom Nash for

1023 7th St, the Harris House

Residential Renovation AwardPatrick Alarid and Jeanne-Marie Crockett for

920 6th Street

Residential Restoration AwardGreg & Victoria Apodaca for

1811 New Mexico Avenue residence

Every year CCHP gives special recognition to individuals and businesses that have made sig-nificant improvement to their buildings. This year, in addition to the special recognition to the

Plaza Vieja partners, individual awards were presented.

People and Places Past • Winter 2009 • LVCCHP Page 4

The La Plaza Vieja Partnership,Ltd. was recently honored at theannual awards banquet of the

Las Vegas Citizens Committee for HistoricPreservation which was held in the his-toric castle on the campus of the UnitedWorld College.

La Plaza Vieja and its general partnershave contributed to the miracle transfor-mation of Old Town Las Vegas. This ismore evident to those who left 50 yearsago and are now returning to retire. Theycan remember the old run down boardedup buildings of the fifties and are im-pressed by the new viable commercial dis-trict Bridge Street has become.

This change was brought about for themost part by the vision of the La PlazaVieja Partnership which was established in1984. It was created by a group of LasVegas business people who thought thatthe rehabilitation of run-down buildingswould encourage investments and they didit without displacing the local owners andbusinesses.

In addition to the Partnership’s invest-ments and additional private investors, theCity of Las Vegas provided supportthrough the investment of an Urban Devel-opment Action Grant funded by the U.S.Housing and Urban Development Depart-ment. Today, instead of being 80% vacant,

Old Town is over 80 percent occupied.The partnership renovated over 60,000square feet of property for about $45 persquare foot.

The members of this visionary groupwere: Manuel, Emma, and Elmo Baca,Manuel Jimenez, Fenicia Trudell Ordonez,Sammy and Lily Martinez, Antonio A.Sanchez, John Burns, Jose C’de Baca,Michael Coca, John Harrison, John Hill,and the developer William L Slick. Fromthis group Manuel Jimenez, Antonio

Sanchez, and Sammy and Lily Martinezhave passed away.

On October 27, 1994, the La PlazaVieja Partnership received a highly com-petitive National Honor Award from theNational Trust for Historic Preservation attheir annual conference in Boston. TheCitizens’ Committee for Historic Preserva-tion was proud to honor the accomplish-ments of this group as they had never beenrecognized locally.

La Plaza Vieja Partnership Recognized

The Annual HolidayHome Tour held bythe Las Vegas Citi-

zens’ Committee for HistoricPreservation (CCHP) was heldSaturday, December 13th, from3pm through 7pm.

There were eight historic,festively decorated homes onthe tour this year including twohistoric adobes on South Pa-cific, Victorian homes onCarnegie and Lincoln Parksand several others new to the

tour. Good cheer aboundedmarking what has become oneof the community’s favoritetraditions with the HolidayHome Tour.

Homeowners who openedtheir doors and hearts for thetour were George and DebbyBarrera, Louie Trujillo, Johnand Anne Bradford, MelissaGreene, Troy Dennison andTony Roybal, Roy Montibonand Julie Trumblety, Martha

Johnsen, John Gamertsfelderand the main sponsor, the PlazaHotel. Committee membersDonna Okinga-Nathan,Melissa Greene and Troy Den-nison did a great job of coordi-nating this year’s event. Thankyou to each and all!

The generous sponsors forthis year’s Holiday Home Tourwere the Bank of Las Vegas,Alta Vista Regional Hospital,Las Vegas Board of Realtors,

Franken Construction, Terri-torial Title of Las Vegas, thePlaza Hotel and Community1st Bank.

The Las Vegas Citizens’Committee for Historic Preser-vation is dedicated to preserv-ing and promoting the historicbuildings and culture of LasVegas. The Holiday HomeTour celebrates the historichomes and continuing culturaltraditions of Las Vegas.

Holiday Home Tour Festive Success

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People and Places Past • Winter 2009 • LVCCHP Page 5

Partners in PreservationWe appreciate your support.

Name:___________________________________________________

Mailing Address___________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Phone:___________________________ E-Mail______________________________

Level of Support $_________________________________________Please send your tax deductible contribution to: Las Vegas Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preservation, PO Box 728, 116 Bridge Street, Las Vegas, NM 87701

Please check below all that apply:

[ ] I would like to receive the newsletter

[ ] I would like to get an e-mail for up-coming events at CCHP

[ ] I would like to volunteer, please contact me to discuss

Thank you,Las Vegas Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preservation Board of Directors A non-profit 501(c) 3 organization

CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE FORHISTORIC PRESERVATION

LAS VEGASLVCCHP

Fort Union GlimpsesFrom the Past Series

Join us at 116 Bridge Street for fun, informativetalks and presentations about the history of FortUnion and the Las Vegas area. These talks havebrought audiences to laughter and tears, and oftenare a standing room only event.

The past Cowboy Poets, archeology of Tecolotepueblo and interpretations by United World Col-lege Drama students have been a large draw.CCHP is so pleased to host the series initiated byFort Union National Monument and looks forwardto hosting many more memorable evenings. Checkit out!

Join us every Third Thursday throughout the yearat 7 pm. Call CCHP at 425-8803 for further infor-mation and topics.

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Preservation takes many forms.The CCHP newsletter will be going digital with a limited number of printed copies available.

We want to make sure you continue to receive your newsletter. Please provide us with your

e-mail address by sending it to: historic@cybermesa.com; enter

Newsletter signup in the subject line and hit send!

Thank you very much for your help in preservation!

LAS VEGAS

POSTAGE PAIDNON-PROFITORGANIZATIONPERMIT 147

LAS VEGAS, NM 87701

PO Box 728116 Bridge StreetLas Vegas, NM 87701

This newsletter is partially funded by the City of Las Vegas with CLG funds, project #35-08-21736.12, from the Historic Preservation Division, State of New Mexico, 228E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe, NM 87501. This newsletter has been financed in part with federal funds from the National Parks Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior. The contentsand opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dept. of Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Depart. of the Interior strictly prohibit un-lawful discrimination in federally assisted programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discrimi-nated against in any program activity or facility operated by a recipient of federal assistance should write to: Director, Equal Opportunity Program, U.S. Dept. of theInterior. National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127.

CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE FORHISTORIC PRESERVATION

LVCCHP

Happy New Year!

I want to start off bysaying thank you to allof you who recently re-sponded to our annualyear-endmembership/contribu-tion letter. Your supportof preservation is greatly appreci-ated.

As you can see from the articlesin this newsletter, we have held sev-eral fun, educational and successfulevents to help us with our mission. Ilook forward to working with manyof you for new opportunities in2009.

Please help me in welcomingour new board members: ChrisNajar, Martha McCaffrey, TonyRoybal and Barbara Feldman. It is agreat start to a new year to have afull board and also newly revisedbylaws to get even more work done.

One of our projects this year is toincrease our walking tour operation.We are looking for folks who wouldlike to be trained to be tour guides.If you are interested in volunteeringfor this service please get in touchwith us.

The new year is looking to be afull and exciting time for Las Vegasand the surrounding area for preser-vation projects, cultural educationand the arts.

It is exciting to see the activity inOld Town. Congratulations to thefar-sighted individuals who are in-vesting in our town. I admire theircourage and creativity in purchasinga historic building and bringing itback to life.

I look forward to continuing towork with our many partners: Main-Street Las Vegas, Fort Union Na-tional Monument, Rough Riders

Museum, the Santa Fe Trial Na-tional Scenic Byway Alliance, Artsand Culture District members, theCity of Las Vegas, the Chamber ofCommerce, and others. A new yearalways brings renewed energy! Be apart of the careful growth of LasVegas and think about volunteeringthis year in one of the many organi-zations in town.

Keep CCHP on your calendarsand watch for our events:

• 3rd Thursdays - Glimpses of the Past programs • 1st of August - Places with a Past and Heritage Week• November-Annual Awards Dinner• December - the Holiday Home Tour.

Thank you all for your continuedsupport of CCHP.

—Carol DitmansonExecutive Director

Happy New Year and Thanks for Community Support

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