By John Przybys
REVIEW-JOURNALClose your eyes, let your imagination wander, and it’s not difficult to picture Antonio Morelli and the guys – Frank, Dino, anybody else who wanted to unwind after the show – sprawled around the copper-topped fireplace in the living room before crowding into the kitchen’s dining nook for an early morning bite.

Then, when you’re finished doing that, open your eyes and allow yourself to revel in the retro, lounge era-steeped cool of Antonio and Helen Morelli’s home.

Morelli was orchestra conductor and music director at the Sands during the ’50s and ’60s and lived in a home at the now-deceased Desert Inn Estates. Now, thanks to the Junior League of Las Vegas, everybody can catch a glimpse of how not only the Morellis, but Las Vegas’ hip crowd in general, lived back then.

Since 2001, the league has purchased, moved and then restored the Morelli home, which now serves as the group’s headquarters. On Monday, the Junior League was scheduled to officially open the restored Morelli house to the public.

For those with an interest in cool architecture, nostalgic baby boomers or students of Las Vegas’ entertainment history, the house is nothing less than a time machine.

The home was built in 1959 at Desert Inn Estates. Back then, its rear windows looked out on the Desert Inn Golf Course’s second hole, while the Morelli’s pool was situated in the front yard. According to architecture historian and author Alan Hess, the home is a classic example of midcentury modern architecture.

Midcentury modern, born in the years following World War II, reflects the buoyant, optimistic mood of the time, Hess said. “There was the baby boom. There’s prosperity. People are sitting down and starting their lives, starting their families, starting their businesses, and they had such a sense of optimism. The future was wide open.

“So people, especially in new cities like Las Vegas and Phoenix and Los Angeles, chose an architecture that was equally new, fresh, looking to the future. And that’s basically what midcentury architecture is about.”

A midcentury home “did not look like any traditional house,” Hess said. “It did not look like a Tudor or an American colonial house. That was absolutely essential.”

But it did look “like it was made by a machine,” Hess continued, with sharp lines, flat roofs and concrete block ornamentation.

Another hallmark of the midcentury style is an open, airy interior layout.

In the Morelli home, “the living room and the entry are all open, all together in one big room,” Hess said. “They flow together and, also, the view flows right outside through these huge glass (windows).”The fresh, clean newness of midcentury modern was its primary appeal back then. Today, that remains its primary appeal, particularly throughout parts of the West.

“It really provides an alternative in the housing market for people who are looking for something different. That’s the main thing,” Hess said. “But, then, it was originally good architecture and, sooner or later, good architecture will be rediscovered and re- recognized.”

After Morelli’s death, Helen Morelli moved back East and the home was purchased by a new owner who made no significant alterations to it. The home was slated for demolition when the Junior League purchased it, moved it to its current site at Ninth Street and Bridger Avenue in 2001 and then spent the past several years restoring it.

Janet R. White, an assistant professor of architecture at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the Morelli house is significant for both its architecture and because of Morelli himself, who “was a major contributor to the culture of this town.”

Sherry Colquitt, Morelli house project director for the Junior League, said the restoration was challenging. Fortunately, she added, “every time you were down and out and there was just no way this was going to work, someone has popped up and said, ‘I’ll do it.’

“That’s the way it’s gone. Every time we thought we were down for the count, somebody brought smelling salts around.”

Hess said the Morelli house has “all of the basics of midcentury modern – that open plan, a lot of the glass exposed, natural wood. The fireplace is quite grand in a modern way. It’s stone and it’s really a showpiece, a focal point.”

But, he said, “the thing that kind of impressed me or really struck me about the Morelli house was how homey it was.”

The couple had at least a considerable hand in designing the home, and Hess suspects Helen Morelli “had a lot to do with making it comfortable. It’s not severe. It’s not austere.”

The home features touches that would be familiar to any baby boomer, as well as a few that would be considered unusually hip even today. For instance, what looks like a TV cabinet in the kitchen is actually a bar: Just swing the console away from the wall, flip up a shelf and mix up martinis with abandon.

And, the living room curtains open and close with a touch of a button. To the side of the bed in the master bedroom are switches that control lighting throughout the entire house.

Dedee Nave, Junior League assistant project director, notices that the Morellis “thought about storage like you wouldn’t believe.” Throughout the house are touches designed to maximize storage space via well-placed or hidden nooks or cubbyholes.

In the living room, a fireplace with a sweeping copper head swoops to the ceiling, while panes of horizontal glass situated between the top of interior walls and the ceiling take maximum advantage of sunlight and help to create a modernistic vibe, too.

Off of the master bedroom, two hallways offer closet space – the slide-out drawers and tie rack weren’t common back then – and lead to the master bathroom, which features a dramatic sunken tiled shower and a separate raised sink for the tallish Morelli. The faucets are monogrammed, and on the bathroom mirror is the space- ageish clock the Morellis installed there.

The living and dining rooms feature serpentine sofas, a nimbus table, a barrel chair and other pieces designed and donated to the project by Vladimir Kagan, known, Colquitt said, as “the father of midcentury modern furniture.”

Kagan came to Las Vegas last summer for a furniture show, Colquitt said. “We went down to talk to him, told him about the house, and said, ‘Would you like to see it?’

“He walked in and said, ‘Ladies, you have no idea what a jewel you have with this house. Will you allow me to be your lead designer? I will contact my manufacturer to donate furniture.’ ”

“That,” Colquitt marvels, is “incredible.”

About 35 community donors also have contributed to the restoration. Eventually, their names will be listed on a plaque at the front entrance made out of appropriately futuristic black Lucite.

Hess said he’s “heartened” by the Junior League’s efforts to save the Morelli house and hopes the project will help to “reawaken Las Vegas’ awareness of its heritage, because there are other houses of this style out there all over the place.”

“I don’t think they’re very well-known, but they are there,” he added. “And once you shine a spotlight on the Morelli house, other people will say, ‘I didn’t know I lived in a midcentury modern house.’ ”

Maybe even more importantly, Colquitt thinks the Morellis would approve.

Considering the care and attention they invested in their home, she said, “I know how happy they’d be to have someone else see it.”

TOUR THE HOUSE

The Junior League of Las Vegas is accepting appointments for tours of the Morelli house at 861 Bridger Ave.

The tours will be conducted by Junior League volunteers and highlight the features of the home, its furnishings, and the life and times of Antonio Morelli.

People and groups may reserve tours as much as three months in advance by calling 822-6536. There is no charge, but donations will be accepted.

Depending upon availability, groups also may have a meeting at the house following their tours. The house can accommodate meetings for as many as 30 people.

In addition, the Junior League has scheduled a special public debut and free guided tours from 3 to 5 p.m. May 19. Reservations must be made by calling 822-6536.

(c) 2007 Las Vegas Review – Journal. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

“Not Lautner specifically,” said set decorator Cloudia Rebar. “It is a compilation of many of the elements of mid-century architecture.” Don’t look for any deep meaning between the surroundings and Logan’s rather timid character. “Mid-century is very chic right now and a timeless design concept. This was meant to be a long-time family home.”

Rebar shrugged off suggestions that Logan doesn’t seem the type to have a lipstick red sofa in his house. “That would be the First Lady’s influence,” she said, referring to the character played by actress Jean Smart. “Without the First Lady, the President’s taste would definitely be more to the neutrals, along with his equestrian interests.”

The “retreat” is actually a football field-sized soundstage that features nine venues. Meticulous attention to period detail was given to everything from the wall coverings to the horizontal pane windows. There are no hardwood floors though, for sound considerations. “We try to use the real mid-century pieces – since even the reproductions don’t have the same feel.” Rebar, whose film set credits include “Vanilla Sky,” noted that reproduction wood is slightly thicker – and doesn’t have the 40-year-old hue of aged-coloration. Still, when originals can’t be found, Rebar turns to Modernica, manufacturers of mid-century reproductions, which allows her the luxury of picking her own palette.

The First Lady’s suite is entered through wood doors with frosted glass cutouts, notable from either direction, and designed by Set Designer Joseph Hodges. Warm and soothing earth tones are energized with the lipstick red couch while an Eames chair and ottoman provide understated, tony elegance. In the living room, Barcelona chairs in dark caramel, and George Nelson lighting are scattered throughout. The pool and patio, featuring Smith & Hawkens teak furniture and Hodges-designed verdigris metal Arabian horses, are visible from the President’s office and living room.

From concept to shoot, Rebar may only have hours to find and assemble the necessary items. And, with only little more than a quarter of the series shot, chances are “24″-watchers will continue on our tour of mid-century modern classics.

Mid-Century modern is a design term applied most frequently to residential (and some commercial) architecture, interior design and furniture. Related to the Space Age, the International style and Googie, mid-century modern translated the ideology of Modernism into a sleek, cool, yet accessible lifestyle. Mid-century modernism was more organic in form and less serious than the International Style. Scandinavian and Finnish designers and architects were very prolific at this time, with a style characterized by simplicity, democratic design and organic shapes. They had an influence on Mid-century modernism in the rest of the world, including the US. Mid-century modernism has become popular in recent times, and has influenced contemporary modern design profoundly.

Well-known designers of the mid-century modern era include: Alvar Aalto, Harry Bertoia, Charles and Ray Eames, Craig Ellwood, Edith Heath, Arne Jacobsen, Louis Kahn, Paul McCobb, George Nelson, Richard Neutra, Isamu Noguchi, Harvey Probber, Eero Saarinen, Rudolf Schindler, Raphael Soriano, Hans Wegner, Russel Wright, and Eva Zeisel.

Mid-Century modern (1940-1970)

“Interior design for the space age”

If one is unfamiliar with Mid Century Modern style, try to imagine the sleek futuristic interior of the 21st century (atomic age) home of George and Jane Jetson. Or vision the ultra cool, high end sophisticated ‘rat pack’, standing in front of the sweeping entranceway of Las Vegas’ Sands Hotel (designed by architect/designer Wayne McAllister) of 1952.

In the pre-World War II period, modern architects designed revolutionary buildings which boldly rejected applied ornamentation and took their inspiration from the organic world and the machine age. Los Angeles became a magnet for many of these visionaries.

Following World War II, new technologies enabled architects to experiment with a palette previously unavailable to them. Modern buildings built between 1940 and 1970 tend to have clean, simple lines, a minimum of decoration, lots of glass, a flat or angled roofline and use materials such as Formica, aluminum, stainless steel, flagstone, or terrazzo. Signage often used neon and plastics with unique typefaces. Resins, plastics, metal alloys, laminates, and other new materials merged for the first time, creating some of the most astonishing and innovative design and architecture ever.

Parking their finned automobiles in sleek carports, modern postwar families moved into tract homes and high art model homes with indoor/outdoor living spaces, open floor plans, exotic landscaping, and abstract furnishings. Wartime sacrifices were blown away, along with most walls, revealing a brighter, fresher, better world of tomorrow.

The cool futuristic sparse interiors of these space age homes are the very essence of Mid Century Modern.