Skip to main content

Las Vegas Burlesque Hall of Fame Deals with Hwy.15 Widening and Eminent Domain


Photo of Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend, 
Sat. June 2, 2012, by Cory of Blue Hair Media
The Burlesque Hall of Fame just wrapped up its 22nd edition of the Weekend Festivities in June, only to be informed soon thereafter that their storage facility is smack dab in the middle of a Hwy.15 expansion here in Las Vegas, Nevada. The deadline ends August 31, 2012. A heated campaign fundraising is under-way at Indigogo to help accommodate the rarities that are housed in storage, and to take the opportunity to move to a more expansive space.

A mission statement on the BHOF website (BurlesqueHall.com) states clearly what the Non-Profit organization -of which the museum is only a part- is all about. "The Burlesque Hall of Fame is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. Our mission is to inspire, educate and entertain the public, fostering an appreciation for and understanding of the unique history and heritage of vintage American Burlesque–including but not limited to the art, artifacts and personal histories of the art’s biggest names and brightest stars".

The Burelsque Hall as an organization has experienced a lot of reorganizing and a little drama in 2011 and 2012, not unusual for Non-Profit organizations where there is not one person in charge, but many. In 2011 according to Seven Vegas's Jason Scavone many long-time supporters had a heated split, including California's notable Satan's Angel who participated in a competing event the same time-slot as the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend 2011, entitled The Dixie Evans Burelsque Show, run by the woman responsible for keeping the Burlesque Hall of Fame going when friend and founder Jennie Lee could no longer do so. (Read it here). In 2012, Dixie Evans (Behind the Burly Q) was not in attendance at the new Weekender's location, the Orleans Hotel May 31 - June2, 2012.

The museum is being run by Interim Director Dustin Wax, who is leading the organization of the move. Dustin was unavailable for comment at the time of this article but told Geoff Carter on Aug. 23, 2012 “By upgrading our space, we’ll be able to acquire new material which will turn up in exhibits over time—and to make better use of some of the older pieces that need a lot of loving care to be made ready for exhibition,” Wax says.“I wouldn't say the situation is dire, though it’s a lot of work to do in a short period of time.” I'll say, and he didn't mention that it's been an average of 106 degrees here in Vegas for most of August, which is the hottest month of the Valley's Year.

You see, it's not a very big space that the museum has for storage, or for it's display (which are in two different locations). The historic Downtown area of Las Vegas houses the small display museum in the Emergency Arts building (a very snug spot), while the warehouse is across town apparently in the way of the Hwy.15 widening project (See about Hwy.15).

The Burlesque Hall of Fame is many things to many people. It started as a grass-roots effort to revive and preserve the art of American Strip Tease, and its artifacts in all their glory (previously Miss Exotic World, Helendale, CA.). It's a place for Legends to connect with up-and-coming current Strip-Tease and Burlesque Performers. It's an annual pageant, a party, an awards show, and a museum, but whatever it is to you, the bottom line is that it's time to dig-in and give a little, to upgrade the space to preserve the art collection. I did. No matter who you agree with, or what side of the politics you find yourself on, there is one thing everyone can agree upon: no where else on earth but at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum in Las Vegas can you see a colorized, autographed, photo of Mata Hari.

Burlesque Hall of Fame Site http://www.burlesquehall.com
Article by Frankie Tease

Popular posts from this blog

Frankie Moreno is 'Damn Sure Here to Stay' - Las Vegas Interview and Show Review

Tony Moreno, Frankie Moreno, photo credit: Mark Knopf This article was originally published in "The Best of Frankie Tease Magazine Vol.2" during 2013, via iTunes, Amazon, Nook. Frankie Moreno (35) is a Father, brother, and musical star who is becoming a household name in Vegas and around the world. His talent is on showcase four nights a week, one show a night, at the 300 seat remodeled showroom atop the Stratosphere Hotel. The showroom has a lot of booths and feels spacious. The 1148 ft. hotel (9th tallest free standing structure in U.S., tallest in Vegas) has just celebrated with Moreno the show's one year anniversary Nov. 19. The success of the show is a milestone and followed the release of his self-titled album Sept. 19. 2012 is proving to be a big one when you add his spectacular three minute appearance on Dancing with the Stars (ABC) Oct. 9th. Moreno garnered a whole new group of music fans when he performed his own song "Tanger...

My First Vegas Show Preview Will Be of a Protest, Not a Show...

Photo by tripsavy.com As some of you might have heard there are record numbers participating in a protest movement called Occupy Wall Street. I've written a small synopsis and it is a bit lengthy but pretty interesting, and you should go ahead and read it so you can explain it to your neighbor, because this is going to be very large news.

Singing Chanteuse of Vegas & Burlesque Star of World-Renowned Absinthe, Melody Sweets Interview

The Frankie Tease Magazine Interview with Melody Sweets of  Las Vegas Absinthe took place by phone from backstage to Frankie's home studio. What a fun gal she is. The singing star of a show at Caesars Palace, Melody Sweets was the first live interview Frankie conducted on the strip. This is her second interview and she discusses her new contract with the show and how it toured through Australia and New York first, before becoming the current smash hit in town. Melody Sweets!