Survey to detail Fremont Street’s social evolution

Friday, June 29, 2007 | 7:21 a.m.

Call her the relentless historian.

Documentary filmmaker Lynn Zook has been responsible for collecting more than 130 oral histories from Las Vegas residents dating to the 1920s and her Classic Las Vegas archive has scanned about 2,000 photos and other memorabilia from those interviewed.

She created the documentaries, "As We Knew It: The Story of Classic Las Vegas" and "The Women Who Built Las Vegas," and her group has organized forums and discussion groups led by longtime residents.

Now she is involved in another project - a decade-by-decade survey of life on Fremont Street between Main and Eighth streets.

Unlike architectural surveys of that area, the Historical Fremont Street Survey will focus on social and architectural changes - families who lived on the street, mom-and-pop store owners and how Fremont Street "went from being the heart of the community to Glitter Gulch to Fremont Street."

Citing Union Park developments and POST Modern, Zook, director of Classic Las Vegas, says a lot of changes are coming to Fremont Street: "Before it changes, we want to document the street in a way it's never been done."

But all this digging into the past takes time and money and so Ben Litvinoff is forming Friends of Classic Las Vegas to raise funds. The group is seeking nonprofit status and plans to help finance and participate in oral history projects, public discussions and the Historical Fremont Street survey.

The survey will be built on oral histories, phone books, old postcards and old photographs.

As with the other projects, Zook has a personal interest in the area: "When I was a kid, everything we did was on Fremont Street."

Details: www.classiclasvegas.com

Arts commissioner? You?

Wanna be part of Las Vegas' official arts programs? Now is your chance.

The 12-member Las Vegas Arts Commission is taking applications for two openings . The positions are open to the public and will be filled by the Arts Commission.

The group meets monthly and advises the Las Vegas City Council. The commission is also involved in public art projects through its Art in Public Places Committee and oversees local and national artists' registries and public/private partnerships. Commission members include artists, art advocates, gallery owners, government employees and residents appointed by the council. Three members are appointed by the mayor.

Details: www.lasvegasnevada.gov/lvac