Las Vegas High School is one of the finest examples of Art Deco (Not to be confused with moderne) left in Las Vegas. It stands in the heart of the valley on the corner of 7th Street and Bridger. It was designed by George A. Ferris and son of Reno architects. It's original incarnation included three buildings. The two story main building, a smaller academic building which was demolished in the 50's, and the gymnasium.
The original buildings are adorned in concrete friezes representing vegetation and animal life. Snakes, squirrels, owls, and many other watch from the vines that surround the entrances. Above, connected wreathes line the upper border of the building. Multicolored medallions add color high above the main entrance just under the Las Vegas High School signage.
Many Las Vegas natives attended school here, including former Senator Richard Bryan. One hit wonder Toni Basil attended Las Vegas High School and can be seen wearing a Las Vegas High School cheerleading outfit and jacket in her infamous music video for "Mickey".
(Yes we have a giant picture of her on here. We're HUGE fans!)
Today, Las Vegas High School is the Las Vegas Academy for the Performing and Visual Arts. The exterior elements are all preserved and the building still holds a magnificent presence in the heart of the neighborhood named after it. The interior has been modified extensively.
UPDATES:
Over the summer you may have noticed a giant white tarp over the main building of the high school. They repainted! We'll put this one in the Nice Try/Half Assed file. The intent was to restore the building to it's original color scheme. Only three reliable colorized postcards attest to the actual colors, two of which are on this site, and the black and whites clearly show the tones. Even the old-timers aren't convinced by the new shade of dark dark burgundy/sienna/brown/red/whatever you want to call it; especially accented by the bleached friezes. Oh well. Maybe next time guys! At least they tried.
