National museum long shot for Vegas

David Strow

Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman says he'd like to convince the Smithsonian Institution to open its first Western museum in Las Vegas as a new jewel for downtown.

But a Smithsonian official says such plans could take a very long time -- about 15 years, if past efforts are any indication.

"It would take an act of Congress to create a new Smithsonian museum," said Mary Combs, spokeswoman for the Smithsonian. "It's been a very long time since a new Smithsonian museum was created. It's a very time-consuming process that takes years."

Still, Las Vegas shouldn't rule out seeing the Smithsonian in town, as the national museum is now negotiating to bring exhibits to two Las Vegas museums.

Proposals to launch new Smithsonians aren't anything new, Combs said. In years past, many cities have unsuccessfully attempted to lure what's referred to as the museum of the American people. San Francisco once suggested Smithsonian could take up permanent residence at the Presidio.

But to date, the Smithsonian has permanent museums in just two cities -- Washington, D.C., home of 14 of the 16 Smithsonian museums, and New York City, which hosts two.

But a Smithsonian presence in Las Vegas isn't out of the question. In fact, one Las Vegas foundation has already signed a deal to bring pieces of the Smithsonian collection to Las Vegas, while another museum may soon follow.

The "Smithsonian Affiliations" program is a two-year to 10-year loan of Smithsonian items to museums and nonprofit organizations. The Smithsonian currently has 50 such displays in cities across the United States.

"This program ... is basically designed to get the collections to the American people," said Margaret Pulles, deputy director of the affiliations program.

One such site will be in North Las Vegas, at the Nevada Atomic Testing History Institute. By late 2001, the Smithsonian will contribute artifacts from the Cold War era and nuclear age to the institute.

That may be followed by the Las Vegas Art Museum, which has had preliminary contact with the Smithsonian about displaying items at its west Las Vegas location. The art museum has yet to formally apply for affiliation status, but both sides are optimistic a deal could be struck.

"We've been given considerable assurances by them that we'll be able to work out an arrangement," said James Mann, curator at the art museum. "We would like to have a couple of dozen works, but we won't count our chickens before they're hatched."

If approved, the art museum would then work with an individual Smithsonian museum to identify which art pieces could be temporarily displayed in Las Vegas, Mann said.

Both facilities, however, are located far from the traditional tourist centers of the Strip and downtown. Few public or private facilities near the Strip or downtown could host a large Smithsonian collection because of space issues, said Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority Chief Executive Manny Cortez.

"I think that type of a traveling collection or museum can only be hosted by one of the resort properties," Cortez said. "I don't know if there's an individual venue that can host one, because our space is limited.

"I suspect they'd look at 90,000 square feet and up. There's not enough space right now."

That space constraint extends to the Las Vegas Convention Center as well, Cortez said.

"We don't have space right now," Cortez said. "Hopefully in 2002, we'll have enough space to host customer requests (when the convention center adds 1 million square feet)."

Art exhibits at casinos aren't anything new for Las Vegas. The Bellagio currently hosts a collection from the Phillips Collection of Washington, D.C., while the Venetian will create a free-standing gallery for collections from the Guggenheim Museum of New York and the State Hermitage museum of St. Petersburg, Russia.

Unlike those organizations, the Smithsonian can affiliate only with nonprofit organizations, and Smithsonian officials say no contact has been made with any Las Vegas gaming property. Still, Pulles said, a deal with a hotel-casino should not be ruled out.

"I'm not saying it's something we can't explore," Pulles said. "(A hotel-casino) might create a not-for-profit (organization) ... that's a very possible situation as well.

"It's a flexible program. We'll do whatever is possible to help."