Study about creative communities pegs Sunrise Manor as a city

According to a study, Sunrise Manor is vying for the title of bottom of the heap as far as creativity and culture are concerned, but that comes as a surprise to some of the artists and otherwise creative people who live there.

A map and graphic recently posted on the Washington Post website, headlined “The biggest cluster of creative class cities is not where you might expect,” listed the top 20 such places, which it defined as including artists, scientists and other highly educated professionals. Topping the list was Cupertino, Calif., followed closely by nearby Palo Alto, Calif.

The bottom 20 included fairly well-known depressed areas, including Compton, Calif., and Trenton, N.J., and coming in 14th from the bottom, the “city” of Sunrise Manor.

“I don’t get it,” said Patrick Gaffey, cultural program supervisor for Clark County. “It’s the dumbest thing I ever saw.”

The mayor of Sunrise Manor could not be reached for comment because the position doesn’t exist. Sunrise Manor is an unincorporated township, one of seven in the valley. It isn’t governed independently, has no separate guiding government, and for many of its residents, its existence as a place is vague at best.

A five-person advisory board meets twice a month to hear requests for building variances. It passes its recommendations along to the County Commission, but it has no authority to govern, a point that Mike Anthony Dias, current chairman of the advisory board, was clear about.

“The town board just deals with land issues,” Dias said. “I can’t see how they would verify a study like that.”

Gaffey speculated that the study may be based on U.S. Census information. The census lists Sunrise Manor as a Census Designated Place.

The article attributed the information to author Richard Florida and the Martin Prosperity Group. Neither Florida nor the group could not be reached for comment, so the criteria for the areas chosen for the study could not be determined.

“How can they call it a city?” said Chris Giunchigliani, county commissioner for District E, which includes most of the township. “Sunrise Manor doesn’t fit that in any way. It’s not just mixed residential. It has quite a few rural neighborhood preservation areas, with large lots and animals; you’ve got goats there; you’ve got chickens.”

Florida is the author of several books, including “The Rise of the Creative Class,” “Cities and the Creative Class” and “The Flight of the Creative Class.” His books espouse his view that in order for an urban area to grow, evolve and thrive, a large number of members of the creative class is necessary. His definition of the term includes technology workers, artists, musicians and gays. The study indicates that 15.8 percent of the Sunrise Manor population falls into one or more of those categories.

“It’s bad science,” Giunchigliani said. “If you’re going to compare cities, you should have a city. If you take Las Vegas as a whole, I think we would have been near the top of the list.”

The area has artists, but they say they can’t think of any major cultural institutions there.

“We may be living here, but there’s no galleries or public art that I know of,” artist Jan Harris Arduini said. “The mural artist Fernando painted on a wood panel at my house and left it here because it was too heavy to transport, so we put it on up on the (outside) wall of our house, so I guess that’s public art. If we want art, it’s just a short drive to the 18b (Arts District) and the Winchester Cultural Center.”

Arduini could name at least five artists who live in Sunrise Manor, not far from her, including Roberto Rico, who lives across the street and is a member of several art groups.

“This is where we live, but I don’t think we’re lacking culture just because we have to drive a little way to get to the galleries,” Rico said. “This is a quiet place — where we live and sleep and make our art. When we want to gather, we just go down the street a ways.”

Sunrise resident, artist and educator Gabbie Hirsch pointed out that the Las Vegas Artists Guild has had shows at the Sunrise Library, 5400 E. Harris Ave., and the Winchester Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive, a few minutes from her home.

There are county recreation centers in Sunrise Manor, including the Parkdale Recreation Center, 3200 Ferndale St., the meeting place for a group of woodcarvers and a group of painters. The recently renovated center also has resumed offering piano lessons. The Robert E. “Bob” Price Recreation Center, 2050 Bonnie Lane, has recreation and cultural specialist Dion Lee on staff, but he said there is more physical activities than cultural ones there.

“We do more children’s activities and arts and crafts projects here,” Lee said. “We do have dance programs, including jazz, hip-hop and ballet.”

Sunrise Manor resident Sandra Huntsman and her husband, Steve, are creative in several ways. The pair are musical theater performers, run a production company from their home and are working on a production of “Tarzan: The Musical” that is set to be performed in August at Spring Mountain Ranch State Park.

Steve Huntsman is also a visual artist, and Sandra Huntsman is a costumer and sings in the local country music group Ghostlight. They believe they may be the only members of “the creative class” in their neighborhood. Sandra Huntsman said the study is not surprising.

“I don’t do anything performance- or art-wise in that part of town,” said Huntsman. “There’s nowhere to perform. I can’t even think of any bars with live music.”

The couple’s children are also creative, but Sandra Huntsman bemoaned the fact that the only arts program at Von Tobel Middle School, 2436 N. Pecos Road, was a mariachi one.

“They are teaching the basics of music there, and my daughter is learning violin, but I wish there was a wider range of music programs available,” Huntsman said.

Huntsman has performed at Sam’s Town, 5111 Boulder Highway. The casino is on the southern edge of Sunrise Manor, and it is there that the township’s most obvious cultural centers exist. David Strow, spokesman for Boyd Gaming, the parent company of Sam’s Town, takes issue with the study’s view of the township’s cultural profile.

“We dispute that assertion because we do believe that this neighborhood is a very culturally rich and diverse community,” Strow said.

Strow added that the casino hosts events and live entertainment and has a movie theater.

Boulder Station, 4111 Boulder Highway, another major casino in Sunrise Manor, has hosted several unusual cultural events, including the annual Massive Spectacular, a major belly-dancing event. It is also the home to the monthly Boulder Blues series.

“The Railhead at Boulder Station was our company’s first foray into live entertainment,” said Lori Nelson, vice president of corporate communications for Station Casinos. “It quickly became a popular entertainment destination — not just for the locals seeing the shows but for the entertainers who love the intimacy of the showroom.”

Sunrise Manor stretches from Sam’s Town to Nellis Air Force Base and from and from Frenchman Mountain to Fremont Street.

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