18b changes to include revamping of roads, sale of buildings

Since the 18b Las Vegas Arts District was founded in 1998, the only constant has been change, interrupted by occasional periods of relative stability. The last year has been a particularly tumultuous one, and the district is poised for more changes.

At the ceremony on April 16 for 18B Day at Boulder Plaza, 1047 S. Main St., many of those changes were announced. One of the biggest is a project slated to turn a large section of the roads through the Arts District one way.

The city of Las Vegas project has already begun, with construction underway south of Las Vegas City Hall, 495 S. Main St. When finished, traffic is set to split at the corner of Main and Commerce streets. Southbound traffic will follow the section of Commerce Street that is currently little more than an access road for warehouses and light industrial buildings.

The plan calls for the road to cross Charleston Boulevard, with new lights and crosswalks to control traffic, and continue to Oakey Boulevard before turning east and rejoining Main Street, where two-way traffic will resume. Main Street is set to become one way northbound between the two junctures.

The change will allow the sidewalks to be widened and create room for a bicycle lane. It is also likely to change the nature of Commerce Street, which is dominated by light industrial, bail bonds locations and storefront churches. A few stand-out businesses are south of Charleston, including Artistic Iron Works, Rick’s Restorations and Blackbird Studios. The plan is likely to expand the range of galleries and art-related businesses to Commerce Street, much of which is beyond or bordering the 18b boundaries.

The question of boundaries has become less of an issue recently as the 18b board of directors has begun to think of the arts district as a growing cultural entity and not a strictly defined location, according to board member Roz Knight.

“We’re concerned with all the art in the area,” said Knight, founder and executive director of City of the World, a nonprofit gallery and art education entity at 1229 S. Casino Center Blvd. “The Smith Center is so close, and obviously it’s an arts location. Places like Blackbird Studios aren’t inside the boundary, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be included in discussions about the Arts District.”

First Friday Las Vegas, the organization that puts together the monthly arts event downtown, is expanding its definition of where it operates, too.

At the 18b day event, Joey Vanas, managing partner for First Friday Las Vegas, announced the upcoming themes for the year, including May’s, set to celebrate cultural diversity and dubbed One World Through Art. He explained that the festival wasn’t limited to the original venues.

“First Friday doesn’t just happen in the Arts District,” Vanas said. “It started here, and this is the hub, but it happens on Fremont East and everywhere in between.”

He added that the theme for June is set to be Music is Beautiful, with performers at many venues downtown vying for a spot at the Life is Beautiful Festival.

Among the more obvious changes are for-sale signs on a large portion of the buildings. In many cases, the signs don’t indicate a business closing, but rather long-shuttered or underutilized spaces going on the market.

“I’ve been on top of the area since 2004, but I got drawn off for a while,” said Michael Park, who is a broker for several buildings that are for sale in the Arts District. “In 2007, when the end of the world hit and prices came back to a more realistic neighborhood, I started to take a look at it again. I figure that if I’m going to live here, I want a cultural district, and I want it to thrive.”

Two notable properties that are on the market are The Arts Factory, 107 E. Charleston Blvd., and the Funkhouse, 1228 S. Casino Center Blvd. The former is the anchor of the Arts District and predates the district’s designation, and the latter is a long-running antique store owned and operated by Cindy Funkhouser, one of the founders of First Friday. The founders sold the event in 2011 to the Downtown Project, which formed an LLC that operates it. Funkhouser is looking to downscale her business and spend more time with her family.

The district has added several new businesses and amenities in the last year, including many antique and collectables stores on Main Street, primarily between Charleston Boulevard and Imperial Avenue. Makers & Finders Urban Coffee Bar, 1120 S. Main St., Suite 110, opened in December, bringing a long-awaited coffee shop return to the area. Hop Nuts Brewing, next door in Suite 150, opened in February, adding to the growing number of drinking and dining options in the 18b Arts District. Others are in the works.

Several galleries have been moving out, in or have shifted locations inside The Arts Factory. Arts District pioneer Dray returned to the area and opened Dray Studio & Gallery, while 17 Moons Art Studio moved from a small, easy-to-overlook location upstairs to a larger, centrally located space downstairs. Trifecta Gallery closed at the end of January, and its space is now occupied by Jana’s Red Room, which had previously occupied a small space across from Trifecta.

“I’m just in awe over this space,” owner Jana Lynch said. “We have so many talented artists in town, and I’ve got over 200 of the best represented here. I’m so happy to be able to connect people with art and let the artist make money.”

In the small space, Jana’s Red Room was covered with hundreds of small works of art. In the larger space, the small works have been limited to one side of the gallery. The other side includes rental walls, and the large, main gallery, which is for more hung shows curated by Lynch. When she is away from the gallery, it is staffed primarily by young female volunteers whom Lynch has dubbed her Gallery Girls, such as native Las Vegas artist Cyn Lemon.

“To me, it feels like every month there’s something different, in a good way,” Lemon said. “It’s progressing, which I like. The foot traffic is just going up and up and up. Instead of going to the Strip, they’re coming downtown, which I like to see.”

Some of that traffic may be due to one of the gradual changes that has taken place in the Arts District: the addition of businesses and galleries looking beyond the monthly First Friday events, opening for regular hours five to seven days a week. In addition to the galleries, The Arts Factory boasts a restaurant and bar, a collectors toy shop, several clothing and accessory boutiques, a skate shop, a comic book store and an art therapist.

Across Boulder Avenue, Art Square has galleries, a film and video production company, Art Square Theatre, a bar with a performance space and the offices of the new owners, including Park, who purchased the building in February.

Park said that plans for the property are to further develop the area as a cultural center.

“It’s a labor of love to make the Arts District happen, and I think a lot of people are laboring,” Park said. “It’s a passion project for a lot of stakeholders, and I’m not averse to working hard and paddling upstream. I thought I’d throw my hat into the ring and reach out to a few developers who are willing to be a bit of pioneers.”

At the 18b Day event, Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman presented Marty Walsh, former owner and operator of Trifecta Gallery, with a proclamation declaring Marty Walsh Day, in honor of her part in developing the Arts District. Walsh, who plans to move to her husband, Pete’s, ancestral lands in Ireland, addressed the crowd of residents, artists and dignitaries.

“If we look at the broad picture, Las Vegas Art District is unfolding exactly as it should,” Walsh said. “Passionate doers rotate in and out, bringing new skills and fresh senses of adventure each time.”

She added that when she pondered what makes the Las Vegas arts scene different, she realized that it was this revolving door of artists and their expertise that was its strength.

“I ask you to embrace change and expect change and respect change,” Walsh said. “This is how we grow together.”

To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.