October Paradise Palms Social Club & Post Tour Day Wrap Party

Paradise Palms Unit 15 – Unknown Builder Unmasked

02/23/64

Continued research at the Nevada State Museum has at long last revealed one of the last large 1960’s tract builders in Paradise Palms.  Consisting of 115 homes on approximately 32 acres, Paradise Palms Unit 15 is located in the northwestern most portion of Paradise Palms, bounded by Golden Arrow Drive to north, Sombrero Drive to the south, La Canada Drive to the west and Pawnee Drive to the east. 

These 32 acres were dubbed Fontainebleau Estates by their builder, Eastern Enterprises.  Two models were available, both with French-inspired names.  The Marquis model features 1,800 square feet of living space for $31,300 – or $236,000 in 2013 dollars, while the Parisienne model encompassed 1,900 square feet of living space starting at $32,000 – or $241,000 in 2013 dollars.  Interestingly, only two models were offered; however, a wide variety of exterior elevations ensured buyers that ‘your Fontainebleau home will be distinctive in appearance, unlike your neighbors, yet moderately priced.’  

Fontainebleau Estates Location Map

Fontainebleau Estates Preview Ad 03/01/64

Grand Opening Ad 03/22/64

04/17/64

Models were located at the northwest corner of Pawnee Way and Sombrero Drive.  Historic aerial photographs and building permits reveal that most likely those were the first two homes fronting Sombrero Drive.  Along with elevation choice, buyers could choose between oversized two-car garages or carports, while kitchens offered pantries, Gaffers & Sattler built-ins (Gaffers and Sattler appliances were folded into Magic Chef in 1969), extra-large garbage disposals and dishwashers, Jensen hoods and spice racks and full luminous (wall-to-wall fluorescent) ceilings.  Living areas offered fireplaces, sunken living rooms, all-nylon carpeting, double front entry doors, built-in clothes hampers and well-thought out spacious foyers. 

Homes located along the east side of Pawnee Drive, north side of Sombrero Drive, both sides of Silver Mesa Way and the south side of Raindance Way were completed in 1964; homes located along the south side of Sombrero Drive, north side of Raindance Way and both sides of Golden Arrow were completed in 1965.  These homes would mark the last of the major tract-built homes in Paradise Palms, as the Las Vegas economy entered a recession that year.  A few custom homes in Paradise Palms popped up between 1968 and 1972, and it wasn’t until 1973 that the lots along the north side of Viking and west side of Spencer between Viking and Twain were constructed, followed by the last major tract on the former community park in 1979. 

Model Home Bedroom 08/16/64

Marquis Model Interior 08/23/64

Fontainbleau Estates Marquis Model

Fontainebleau Estates Parisienne Model

Fontainebleau Estates Parisienne Model

Fontainebleau Estates Marquis Model

Fontainebleau Estates Marquis Model

Fontainebleau Estates Marquis Model

Paradise Palms DOCO MOMO Open House Day October 5th, 2013 Noon-4:00 PM

The 2013 Paradise Palms DOCO MOMO Open House Day is coming up on October 5th, 2013.  Five private mid-mod homes will open their doors for the tour plus several for-sale homes will be open as well.  Registration for the tour starts at 11:45 in the lobby of the Las Vegas National Golf Club (1911 East Desert Inn Road) and runs until 4:00. The first house opens at Noon. Tickets are just $5 per person, no RSVP needed.

Don’t forget to join us for a Paradise Palms cocktail party 4:00 – 6:00 PM at the Rat Pack Bar and Grill at the Las Vegas National Golf Club Clubhouse. Drink specials will be offered for all tour participants! We look forward to seeing all our friends and fans on this special mid-mod tour day.

September Historic ‘Hoods Bowling Challenge: Paradise Palms vs. McNeil Estates

September 27^th marked the second of three Historic ‘Hoods Bowling Challenges issued by Paradise Palms.  This time our opponents were McNeil Estates, our mid-century neighbors to the west near Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive.  Many of the regular Palmers were out of town, injured or otherwise unavailable; however, we had a dozen faithful bowlers and quite a few cheerleaders.  It was great to meet the McNeil folks, make some new friends and bond over beer pitchers.  Despite a somewhat mellow tone to the evening, lots of gutter balls and about as many strikes, the Palmers persevered to narrowly defeat McNeil Estates and claim victory.  Final score:  McNeil 103.5, Paradise Palms 105.1.  Congrats to the Palmers!

Paradise Palms Unit 13 – Mystery Builder Identified & First Look Inside Original Models

03/08/64

Research at the Nevada State Museum has finally solved the mystery of the builder behind Unit 13 at the far southern end of Paradise Palms.  About half of the lots in the western portion of Unit 13 were custom-built one or two-of-a-kind homes from the late sixties and early seventies; however, the eastern half of Unit 13 encompassing Omaha Circle, Hoopa Lane, Pima Lane, Delaware Lane, the west side of Eastern Avenue between Viking Road and Mohigan Way, and Mohigan Way between Eastern Avenue and Omaha Circle all appeared to be built by the same builder. 

This builder has now been identified as D.L. Bradley Development.  Marketed as luxury ‘originals’, D.L. Bradley Development had acquired 45 lots in Paradise Palms and dubbed their new venture Stellar Greens.  Nine different floor plans with nineteen different elevations were available for 'the sophisticated home buyer'.  Priced between $37,000 and $50,000 – or $279,000 to $377,000 in 2013 dollars – Stellar Greens was marketed as ‘the last word in expensive elegance’ with ‘dignified richness and grace never before offered for the selective homebuyer’ and featured ‘no detail …overlooked in providing an aura of refined property for the discriminating.’  

Stellar Greens Location Map

Inaugural Stellar Greens Advertisement, Las Vegas Review-Journal, 02/02/64

First look inside the Stellar Greens Empire Model, Las Vegas Sun, 02/09/64

Uniting the exterior of these houses together were distinctive architectural characteristics that included the use of projecting beams, stone or brick accents and a unique design balance that incorporated both ranch and contemporary styles.  Homes featured sunken roman tubs, built-in vanities, large bedrooms, stone terrazzo flooring, sunken living rooms, standard two-car garages and sundecks on two-story models.  Kitchens offered such conveniences as NuTone countertop food centers and built-in can openers and toasters.  Homes were ‘Balanced Power’ houses featuring ‘the best of modern gas and electricity, efficiency and economically.’  This was a first for Paradise Palms, as all other tract builders offered their homes as ‘Gold Medallion – Live Better Electrically’ homes. 

  

Buyers flocked to Stellar Greens and were impressed and intrigued by the outstanding quality and elegance offered by these homes.  With the initial presentation of these homes occurring in late winter of 1964, all 45 properties were sold by the fall of that year.  43 of these unique homes are left today with one being severely endangered due to fire damage and owner negligence. 

Las Vegas Sun, 05/10/64

Las Vegas Sun, 03/22/64

Stellar Greens Model Home, Las Vegas Sun, 04/25/64

Stellar Greens Model Home, Las Vegas Sun 05/10/64

Stellar Greens Empire Model

Stellar Greens Home Once Owned by Donald Sutherland

Stellar Greens Home

Stellar Greens Home

Paradise Palms Appreciation Party - Hosted by Jack LeVine of Very Vintage Vegas

As the Las Vegas National Golf Club was closed for it's annual September reseeding, Jack LeVine of Very Vintage Vegas offered to throw a Paradise Palms Appreciation Party at his downtown home on the night we would've had our golf social.  Thank you Jack for your generosity & welcoming of Paradise Palms into your home.  What a great community we've built.

1964 Paradise Homes Newspaper Ads

02/02/64

In 1964 a majority of the construction activity at Paradise Palms begun to wind down, and in an attempt to capture new buyers Paradise Homes modified their advertisements to some new formats.  These included the use of a generic ‘billboard family’, nonspecific sketches depicting fictitious living environments, and simple black & white text.  Also, the Paradise Palms and Paradise Homes fonts seems to have changed a bit, with the Paradise Palms lettering no longer using the signature lower case a’s and i’s, while the Paradise Homes font now begun using both uppercase and lowercase letting for it’s name in various ads. 

The family admiring the billboard is seen once again, this time staring at a billboard advertising the Palm Terrace section of Paradise Palms.  Other builders had made their way into the Paradise Palms community and each sought to differentiate themselves from one another, and the original Paradise Homes was no exception.  

02/02/64

03/08/64

Advertisements also begun to hype up the new Parkway Mall (due in 1968), renamed The Boulevard Mall by opening day, which was Nevada’s first regional mall.  The Parkway Mall was to feature over one million square feet of shopping and retail space in air-conditioned comfort with parking for 6,000 cars, and nationally prominent stores Sears and The Broadway as anchors.  Potential home buyers were posed to consider, “Think what this will do for property values.” 

04/25/64

05/10/64

Also featured in this series is a rare look inside one of the original Palmer & Krisel model homes with interior design by C. Tony Pereira.  The home seen in the photograph is a Model 1, with the photo taken from the kitchen looking into the dining and living rooms.  Windows and sliding glass doors to the backyard or patio space are to the right of the photo; early models featured the fireplace in the interior corner of the living room (as shown), while later models placed the fireplace along the window wall shared with the dining room and kitchen (as shown on the floor plan within the sales brochure).  Featured in the May 10, 1964 Real Estate section of the Las Vegas Sun is the Model 14h, noted as the Hawaiian elevation.  The original Plan-O-Ramic Model 14h is located on Seneca Drive, just south of Desert Inn Road.  

Model 1, 02/23/64

05/10/64

Model 14h on Seneca Drive