GOALS AND HISTORY
To Learn More about Preserve Nevada's Goals, History, and Emblem scroll down.
GOAL 1:
Preserve Nevada promotes networking and information resources that foster careful stewardship and conservancy of our cultural resources. One of the most pressing needs in our state is to provide a central clearing-house for statewide preservation information. Groups across our state often face complex preservation situations with little outside help. It is vital to establish an easily accessible state network to support those preservationists who work out side Nevada’s primary urban centers.
The Kiel Ranch, located in North Las Vegas, contains one of the oldest historic adobe buildings remaining in southern Nevada. One of two buildings still standing on the former divorce ranch, the adobe structure was purportedly built by the Kiel around 1880. The property surrounding the ranch has been sold off, piece by piece, to development, and this long-neglected building is still under major threat. Along with other historic adobe buildings such as the EI Sombrero Restaurant in Las Vegas, this structure is among the few examples that remain of this popular building material.
HISTORY
Preserve Nevada was conceived in 2001, and has 501c3 nonprofit status. This status comes from a relationship with the UNLV Foundation. All of the funds raised by Preserve Nevada are managed by UNLV through the Office of Sponsored Programs.
As a 501c3, Preserve Nevada thrives with a modest budget while generating new sources of external funding for research and educational activities with support all across the state. A history graduate student runs Preserve Nevada as the Deputy Director, and works with board members and a faculty director to help preserve Nevada’s cultural, historical, and archeological heritage. Student collaboration with Preserve Nevada fosters an environment to work with community leaders and board members. Preserve Nevada provides an opportunity for students to develop their academic expertise and research outside the university in service of the state.
The Vision of Preserve Nevada is for Nevadans to understand and appreciate the irreplaceable value of historic buildings and places and their relevance to modern life in our diverse and growing state. We encourage Nevadans who promote careful stewardship and active use of these diverse resources and recognize the economic and social benefits of preservation. We aid communities where new development complements and reinforces thriving main streets, downtowns, mining districts, and historic neighborhoods, contributing to a healthy and enriched human--and humane--environment.
THE PRESERVE NEVADA EMBLEM
The Preserve Nevada emblem is an interpretation of two art deco sculptures called the “Winged Figures of the Republic” at Hoover Dam, created by artist Oskar J.W. Hansen. Hansen considered Hoover Dam to be a building genius of the United States, describing the dam as a monument “exerting itself in community efforts around a common need or ideal.” Hansen created the 142-foot flagpole flanked by two winged figures to celebrate the construction of the dam. The winged figures, formed from sand molds, are 30 feet high with shells that contain over 4 tons of statuary bronze. The base is made from black diorite, an igneous rock. In order to place the sculptures on the base without damaging the polished finish, blocks of ice were used to guide the sculptures into place as the ice melted. After the sculptures were in place, a flagpole was dropped into a predrilled hole in the mountain.
According to Hansen, the sculptures represent “the immutable calm of intellectual resolution, and the enormous power of trained physical strength, equally enthroned in placid triumph of scientific accomplishment.” Hansen described the shape of the sculptures as “an inspirational gesture… that symbolizes the readiness for defense of our institutions and keeping of our spiritual eagles ever ready to be on the wing.”
Besides thinking that the “Winged Figures of the Republic” would look cool as our emblem, it also conveys the mission of Preserve Nevada: to defend our historical heritages through networking, educational outreach and heritage education, and the creation of vibrant communities through preservation incentives and advocacy.
For more information about the statues at Hoover Dam, please refer to the Department of Interior, Bureau of Reclamation.
