T.R. Witcher
Growing by Fractals
The beloved Trifecta Gallery moves to a bigger and better space
During the last five-plus years, gallerist Marty Walsh has had chances to move out of her tiny 256-square-foot gallery, Trifecta, tucked into the rear of the Arts Factory downtown. She always refused.
Read More »We Don’t Need New, We Need Next
What some of the world’s oldest cities can teach one of its youngest
When you’re in a city famous for its simulacra of other cities, it’s reassuring when you actually check in on some of those other cities. The Luxor may be able to beam a light into outer space, but the pyramids—you know, the real ones—have been standing for more than 4,000 years.
It might have been the sheer newness of Las Vegas that recently drove me to visit Athens, Cairo and Istanbul—three of the longest-running shows on earth. And the cities did not disappoint, with their intoxicating blends of people, culture and history.
Read More »Fresh MEET
Downtown events center aims for special niche
The real work of closing big deals at conventions is usually done off-site, away from the hoopla, banners and noise of other vendors, in a conference room or ballroom where companies can host private receptions or entertain favored clients. But these spaces have their own distractions—especially in Las Vegas—they’re not terribly exciting, and they tend to come with plenty of regulations. (Vendors aren’t allowed to repaint the walls, for one.)
Read More »Fifth Street Shakeup
City preparing to hike rates at downtown cultural center Since it re-opened two years ago, the renovated Fifth Street School has become what Mayor Oscar Goodman had hoped: downtown’s “cultural oasis,” regularly hosting lectures, recitals and events such as the Vegas Valley Book Festival. The building is home to the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs, the Las Vegas offices of the American Institute of Architects, the Downtown Design Center of UNLV’s School of Architecture and the Nevada School of the Arts. Read More »
All Eyes on Arizona
Could a similar immigration law be part of Nevada’s future? Pending court challenges, it’s the law of the land in Arizona that police can check a person’s immigration status in the course of a lawful stop if they have “reasonable suspicion” the person is in this country illegally. For supporters of the law, it is a long-overdue tool to help law enforcement curb illegal immigration. Detractors see it as an open invitation to racially profile Hispanics in Arizona—and to detain both resident aliens and legal immigrants who don’t have the right paperwork on them. Read More »
Still Banking on Downtown
Developer Cherry not discouraged despite ‘tough couple of years’ For developer Sam Cherry, it’s been “a tough couple of years, extremely tough.” Cherry was just 26 when he ushered in the short-lived era of condo living in downtown Las Vegas. He built two high-rises during the boom, Soho Lofts and Newport Lofts, and scotched a third as the economy was tanking. He admits that we’re not likely to see new condo projects of that scale for years to come. Read More »
Mission Music
Bands come and go, but this song space remains the same It was in 1994 that musician Kirk Moll turned a dumpy, Spanish-style office building near downtown into the Alamo Rehearsal Studio—back when “no one took Vegas seriously as a musical destination.” Since then he’s seen, by his guess, more than 500 bands and thousands of musicians pass through his 30 rehearsal studios, including notables such as Killers’ drummer Ronnie Vannucci. Read More »
Neon Green
In honor of Earth Day (April 22), writer T.R. Witcher looks for sustainability progress behind our city’s (mostly) misleading façade. When land and resource economist Josef Marlow was preparing a study about Las Vegas earlier this year, the title of his report, “Growth and Sustainability in the Las Vegas Valley,” had his colleagues in the Tucson, Ariz., office of the nonprofit Sonoran Institute shaking their heads. “People were asking whether it was an oxymoron,” he says. It’s a fair question, even for those of us who live here. His answer? “On the surface it looks like one of the most unsustainable places on the planet. But there’s a lot of stuff under the surface.” Read More »
A Growing Idea
Professor shows Las Vegas the way to cheap, safe food through blossoming community garden program Before she became one of the top gardening experts in Las Vegas, Angela O’Callaghan was a social worker in a rough stretch of Boston, helping single homeless women and AIDS patients. She was 44 when she went back to school to get a master’s degree and Ph.D. in horticulture from Cornell. Soon after she finished, she learned that the University of Nevada, Reno was looking for someone with experience in both horticulture and social work. Her second career was born. Read More »
Our Delicate New Icon
The Ruvo building smartly and gently fits into the fold downtown When Larry Ruvo was ready to bring his Alzheimer’s research center to life, he was upfront about his ambitions. He wanted a name architect to design his building—because that would attract attention, interest, support and money. Ruvo got what he wanted—Frank Gehry, the most famous living architect in the world. Now Las Vegas will see if it gets what it wanted—an iconic piece of architecture—when the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health fully opens in May.
Gallery: Lou Ruvo Center
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