Historic preserve proposed

Ken McCall

Friday, June 27, 1997 | 11:17 a.m.

IMAGINE this: 180 acres of Southern Nevada's most historic land -- located smack in the middle of the Las Vegas Valley -- and it never gets bulldozed, paved or imploded.

Impossible, you say?

Maybe not. A group of county officials and historical preservationists is pushing a plan to create a Mojave Desert preserve/museum on the Las Vegas Valley Water District's North Well Field along Valley View Boulevard.

The site, between U.S. 95 and Alta Drive, contains the oasis that first drew humans -- from prehistoric tribes to Paiute Indians to Spanish travelers to Mormon settlers to railroad engineers -- to the Las Vegas Valley.

While the site was ranched by settlers and has been used for water production since before Las Vegas was founded, much of the land is relatively undisturbed. Archaeologists believe the site could yield evidence of human occupation going back thousands of years.

Preserve backers -- including County Commissioner Lance Malone and water district General Manager Pat Mulroy -- caution that the idea is still in the brainstorming stages, but they talk enthusiastically of creating a community treasure along the lines of the Sonora Desert Museum in Tucson, Ariz.

The preserve would include a visitors center, a native species arboretum and an elaborate trail system with historical, environmental and archaeological exhibits throughout the 180-acre site.

Mulroy and her staff are planning to pitch the concept Tuesday to the Clark County Commission, which acts as the water district board, and seek approval for further study.

"This is probably the only place in the Western states where you have this much space in the center of a city with so much historical, environmental and cultural significance," Mulroy says.

"That's the birthplace of Las Vegas and this town doesn't have anything like it. If you want to take kids somewhere to teach them about history, there's nowhere you can do it."

The district has been mulling options for the property for years, Mulroy says, but it took the threat of the U.S. 95 widening project to spark the current push.

It began when Malone came to Mulroy wanting to know why the highway shouldn't be expanded onto district property.

"I said, 'Let me take you into the North Well Field and show you what's there,'" Mulroy says.

Malone was impressed with the historical and environmental value of the site, but, he asked, is the district or anyone running any tours there? Does the public have access?

Says Mulroy: "I said, 'No. But you're absolutely right. We talk about this great resource, but we never let people in to see it.'"

So the brainstorming began.

The district brought in UNLV architecture Professor Mark Hoversten to do a conceptual drawing of the preserve.

The possible exhibits and attractions include:

* A visitors center including a cafe, gift shop and adjacent outdoor amphitheater.

* An enlarged demonstration garden/arboretum that could include cactuses, sculpture and butterfly gardens.

* Exhibits on water production, weather and several active archaeological digs.

* Historical exhibits including a prehistoric Anasazi encampment, a Paiute camp, a Mormon exhibit, a restored ranch house on its original foundation, and even an underground mining exhibit.

"This is going to be an area where you can learn the history of Nevada," Malone says.

"As you walk along this path, you'll see live archaeological digs in progress. Then we'll be able to put the artifacts on display."

Malone talks enthusiastically about the mining, Mormon history and botannical exhibits. He also talks hopefully about lining up sponsorships from the resort industry.

At the commissioner's request, the district has begun talking to neighbors whose back yards abut the eastern edge of the site. So far the reaction has been positive, Malone and district officials say.

The preserve would remain secured and closed at night, and access would be off Valley View rather than Alta.

Now is the time to act, he says. There have been all sorts of proposals for the site, including an office park and a nine-hole golf course.

"It's a very, very expensive piece of property that we can use as a learning facility," he says.

"This is an excellent opportunity to show visitors and residents alike how Nevada came to be. I'm envisioning lots of school buses going there."

Hoversten, who has been working on a resource inventory of the property, says the site is unique.

"If you talk to biologists and archaeologists," the architect says, "they tell you (the site) is more important than the sum of its parts."

Mulroy says the district has no idea how much such a preserve would cost, or how long it would take to realize.

If the County Commission supports the concept, Mulroy's staff will begin work on a master plan for the site. The district, she says, would likely be looking to put the preserve in the hands of a nonprofit foundation, so rate-payer dollars wouldn't be involved.

"Personally, I think this would really catch fire," Mulroy says.

"You're right in the middle of the heart of the city. What a wonderful place to put something that says this is the real Las Vegas.

"You could give the community a sense of roots. This is where it all began."