Thursday, July 27, 2000 | 9:21 a.m.
What: Liberace Museum.
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays; 1 p.m.-5 p.m., Sundays.
Where: 1775 E. Tropicana Ave.
Cost: Adults, $6.95; seniors and students, $4.95; free for children under 12 when accompanied by an adult.
Information: Call 798-5595.
Liberace is getting a face-lift.
Thirteen years after the death of the man some people believe was the greatest showman of the 20th century, the museum that bears his name will be given a younger, hipper facade.
The $1 million nip and tuck is scheduled to get underway in late August and isn't expected to be completed until the end of the summer 2001.
Because much of the surgery is cosmetic, the facility will remain open to the public throughout the yearlong operation -- which is part of a plan to pump new life into Mr. Showmanship, who died of AIDS in 1987 at the age of 67.
"Liberace is representative of Vegas in a lot of ways," said Sandra Harris, executive director of the Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts (which operates the museum). "He is a piece of history that is very unique to this city. He deserves to have a good package and good presentation."
Architect Francis Xavier Dumont, with the Leo A Daly engineering firm, designed the new look that will turn the plaza on the southwest corner of Tropicana Avenue and Spencer Street into an edifice more in keeping with the flamboyant personality of the entertainer -- who never met a rhinestone he didn't like.
"What we are trying to do," Dumont said, "is to get more of the man into the building."
The new design reflects Liberace's love of music, and some of his eccentricity.
"Basically, it is music made into design," Dumont said. "Music will be made into a tangible, human experience. "Curvilinear shapes and bold forms will represent written notes on a flowing musical score, and piano keys will playfully dance across the facade.
"Everything is very innovative. Because he was unusual, we want everything to be unusual -- and interesting."
The Daly firm is upgrading the entire plaza, which is owned by the Liberace Foundation and includes two separate museum buildings (located across the parking lot from each other). The center also includes foundation offices, a gift shop, a restaurant and property rented to outside interests.
There are 50,000 square feet of floor space in the plaza. The museum occupies about 15,000 square feet but another 6,000 will be added during the renovation, increasing the total to more than 21,000 square feet. The added space will allow for the display of more exhibits and increased activity.
The Tropicana entrance into the mall will be closed permanently to decrease the amount of traffic between the two museum buildings, making it safer for pedestrians in the parking lot -- which will be redone and landscaped.
An outdoor entertainment plaza and cafe will be added to the center, the gift shop is being expanded and a "walk of fame" will be created to recognize scholarship recipients who achieve success in their careers.
"We want to make it a more active place ... more amenable to a variety of interactive uses," Dumont said.
To that end, the make-over will result in an "experiential environment which combines architecture, landscape, video, exhibits, dining and periodic live entertainment," according to a statement released by the foundation.
Dumont said that the museum is the most-visited attraction in Las Vegas Valley, outside of the Strip.
Harris said that when she became the foundation's executive director two years ago her goal was to increase the space, create a new look and turn the showcase into more of a traditional museum to increase its appeal to the public.
"I wanted the ability to offer some different things, especially to locals," she said. "We are adding a gallery, which will bring in traveling exhibits and shows of different sorts so we can appeal to a broader audience."
The first such show/exhibit will be "Red, Hot & Blue: A Salute to American Musicals," produced by the Smithosonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services. It will be here Aug. 11-Sept. 10.
"We're looking at bringing in things that fit within our foundation (image), which is performing and creative arts," she said.
Empty space at the center soon will be rented to UNLV for graduate art students. It will serve as their "working studios."
"We are going to become more of an arts center," Harris said.
The museum -- a repository for many of Liberace's costumes, pianos, cars, antiques and stage jewelry -- opened in 1979. It is a major funding source for the foundation, which has awarded about $4 million in scholarships since its creation in 1976.
Before Liberace's death, between 150,000 and 200,000 people visited the museum each year. Harris said that the number has declined to about 100,000 as memory of the glitzy entertainer fades.
The challenge, she said, is to appeal to new and younger audiences who never had a chance to see Liberace.
"When Liberace was alive, this was run by him and his family," Harris said. "It focused on his career and his fans ... but we're at a phase of our history now where a lot of the audience we are getting, or want to get, never saw him perform and don't know much about him.
"So we're facing that time where we have to decide: How do we repackage it and talk about Liberace in new ways to appeal to these other people? ... We want to make him more relevant to today's audiences."
Jerry Fink is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at [email protected] or 259-4058.
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