Postcards from the edge of demolition

Jennifer Knight

Friday, May 30, 2003 | 4:10 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION: May 31, 2003

Before firefighters tried to save the Moulin Rouge from burning Thursday, a group of historians was already trying to save it from fading away.

Andrew Kirk, an assistant professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, along with people from Preserve Nevada, had identified the Moulin Rouge as one of 11 endangered historic sites in the state.

"It's incredible news about the Moulin Rouge," Kirk said. "I guess it really was endangered."

The Moulin Rouge, 900 W. Bonanza Road, was featured on a set of postcards sent out by UNLV and Preserve Nevada to highlight the need to preserve the historic sites.

The hotel, open for less than six months in 1955, welcomed both blacks and whites and came to symbolize racial integration during a time of strict segregation in Las Vegas.

It was hoped the postcard of the hotel would draw attention from people who could step forward and help restore its decaying remains.

"Some of the sites we picked have an active threat against them, which means that they are going to be bulldozed," Kirk said. "Some have a passive threat where they are in a small town and they are decaying."

Now there are 10 remaining sites to focus on, preservationists said.

"We won't be doing anything to select a new 11th (historical site) to replace the Moulin Rouge," said Richard Bryan, the former governor and ex-U.S. senator who sits on the board of Preserve Nevada. "We will just have to wait for next year."

Bryan said the fire was a tragedy.

The Moulin Rouge "is an irreplaceable part of the community's history," he said.

Other endangered sites featured on the postcards include the historic railroad cottages in Las Vegas, the Mineral County Courthouse in Hawthorne, the Stewart Indian School in Carson City and the Virginia Street Bridge in Reno.

The postcards are not being sold but are given to lobbyists, legislators and others in a position to help. The postcards aren't available to the public.

"It was just so that people can see what these properties looked like at the time," said Mary Wammack, deputy director for Preserve Nevada, which was formed in 2002 to push for the conservation of historic cultural resources.

While the Moulin Rouge was destroyed, another landmark of local history is in danger of extinction -- the Las Vegas railroad cottages.

The cottages, located downtown near the county courthouse, are some of the only remaining houses of one of Las Vegas' earliest settlements.

"People really didn't think Las Vegas developed until Bugsy Siegel came to town in the 1940s and decided to build a casino," said Joe Thomson, a UNLV doctoral candidate in U.S. Western History who studies Las Vegas history. "All of that is untrue."

In 1904 the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad began developing the area, building what was then considered upscale housing for railroad employees.

Twelve of the cottages are still standing in their original locations. At least three remain in their original condition. Many of the others, Thomson said, were bulldozed to build parking lots for law offices. And more are at risk of vanishing.

This is the second year the organization has released a list of endangered historical sites. On last year's list was a 1927 hotel in Reno slated for demolition. Just as a demolition permit was issued, a private developer stepped in and offered up a plan to convert the building into artists' lofts.

"In virtually every case (where we issued a postcard) there was a dramatic improvement in the structure," Kirk said. "This is something we plan to do every year."