Zick & Sharp

Zick & Sharp, formally identified as Walter Zick & Howard Sharp, was an American architectural partnership based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The practice operated from 1949 until Walter Zick’s retirement in 1980 and became associated with the rapid institutional and commercial development of postwar Southern Nevada. Its work covered a broad range of building types, including schools, university facilities, military housing, shopping centers, banks, civic buildings, hotels, and casino-related properties. The firm was established in November 1949 by Walter Frederick Zick and Harris Perry Sharp. Zick brought substantial professional experience to the partnership. Born in New York City in 1905, he studied architecture at the University of Southern California, receiving a Bachelor of Architecture in 1928 and a Master of Education in 1932. He had operated an architectural office in Alhambra, California, by the late 1930s. In 1945, he moved to Las Vegas to work for Richard Stadelman & Associates, whose workload had expanded during the Flamingo project. Although Zick initially expected the engagement to last only about a year, he remained in the Las Vegas area and eventually established his own practice with Sharp. Sharp, born in El Paso, Texas, in 1919, received architectural training at the University of Arizona, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Architecture in 1943. Before joining Zick, he worked for several architectural offices and became a partner in the Las Vegas practice of A. Lacey Worswick in 1947. He left Worswick’s office in 1949 to form the new partnership with Zick. Zick & Sharp’s portfolio reflects the physical transformation of Las Vegas and nearby communities during the middle decades of the twentieth century. Its educational work included elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, and buildings at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The firm also designed projects at Nellis Air Force Base, including housing and educational facilities. In the commercial and hospitality sectors, its commissions included the Moulin Rouge Hotel, Twin Lakes Shopping Center, The Mint casino, and bank and savings-and-loan buildings in central Las Vegas. Civic work included the Clark County Courthouse, designed in association with Welton Becket & Associates. The partnership ended as an operating practice when Zick retired in 1980. Sharp continued the business under the name Harris Sharp & Associates, which later produced projects including B. Mahlon Brown Junior High School in Henderson and the Nevada Savings Financial Center in Las Vegas. Zick died in 1990. The firm is no longer active, but many of its surviving buildings remain part of the architectural and civic record of Southern Nevada. Other works, including the Moulin Rouge Hotel, Maude Frazier Hall, and the former Clark County Courthouse, were demolished. The available record identifies the practice primarily through its built work and the careers of its two partners rather than through consumer-facing brand activity.

Walter Frederick Zick and Harris Perry Sharp established their architectural partnership in Las Vegas in November 1949. The firm emerged during a period when the Las Vegas Valley was expanding rapidly, creating demand for new schools, military facilities, commercial properties, financial buildings, hotels, and civic infrastructure. Walter Zick was born in New York City in 1905 and studied at the University of Southern California. He completed a Bachelor of Architecture in 1928 and a Master of Education in 1932. By the late 1930s he had established an office in Alhambra, California. His move to Nevada followed work with Richard Stadelman & Associates, a Las Vegas firm involved in the Flamingo project. Zick joined that office in 1945, initially expecting a short-term assignment, but remained in the region and made Las Vegas his professional base. He left Stadelman in 1948 and formed the partnership with Sharp the following year. Harris Sharp was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1919. He attended the University of Arizona, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Southern California, where he received his architecture degree in 1943. His early professional experience included work for L. L. Jone, Kenneth Wayne, and the W. C. Kruger Company. In 1947 he became a partner in the Las Vegas office of A. Lacey Worswick, a prominent local architect. Sharp departed that practice in 1949 to establish Zick & Sharp with Zick. The partnership’s work illustrates the range of architectural requirements generated by mid-century Las Vegas. Its educational commissions included Lomie G. Heard Elementary School at Nellis Air Force Base, Hyde Park Middle School, Boulder City High School, E. W. Clark High School, and Valley High School. The firm also designed Maude Frazier Hall, Archie C. Grant Hall, and the Flora Dungan Humanities Building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Its military portfolio included Capehart Housing at Nellis Air Force Base. Commercial and hospitality projects included Twin Lakes Shopping Center, the Moulin Rouge Hotel, and The Mint on Fremont Street. Financial and civic commissions included the First National Bank of Nevada Building, the Nevada Savings and Loan Association Building, and the Clark County Courthouse, the latter undertaken with Welton Becket & Associates. These projects connected the practice to both the everyday public infrastructure of the region and the distinctive casino and tourism economy for which Las Vegas became known. Zick remained a partner until his retirement in 1980. The practice was then succeeded by Harris Sharp & Associates rather than continuing under the original partnership name. Later projects attributed to the successor practice included B. Mahlon Brown Junior High School in Henderson and the Nevada Savings Financial Center in Las Vegas. Zick died in 1990. The original firm is therefore defunct, while its architectural legacy survives unevenly: some projects remain in use or were adapted, while others—including the Moulin Rouge Hotel, Maude Frazier Hall, and the former Clark County Courthouse—were demolished.

• 1980

  Zick retires and original partnership ends

  [1]Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org

  Walter Zick retired, ending the original Zick & Sharp partnership. Harris Sharp continued through Harris Sharp & Associates.

• 1961

  Clark County Courthouse project

  [1]Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org

  Zick & Sharp worked with Welton Becket & Associates on the Clark County Courthouse in Las Vegas.

• 1955

  Moulin Rouge Hotel completed

  [1]Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org

  The firm designed the Moulin Rouge Hotel on West Bonanza Road in Las Vegas.

• 1949

  Zick & Sharp founded

  [1]Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org

  Walter Zick and Harris Sharp formed their Las Vegas architectural partnership in November.

• 1945

  Walter Zick moves to Las Vegas

  [1]Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org

  Zick joined Richard Stadelman & Associates in Las Vegas, initially in connection with work associated with the Flamingo project.

A regional architectural practice focused on the design of practical, modern buildings for the expanding communities and institutions of postwar Southern Nevada. Its work positioned the partnership as a versatile local firm serving public agencies, schools, military facilities, financial institutions, retailers, and Las Vegas hospitality operators.

• Hospitality architecture · 1955

  Moulin Rouge Hotel

  A Las Vegas hotel project completed in 1955 at 900 West Bonanza Road. It was among the partnership’s notable hospitality commissions and was later demolished in 2010.

• Casino architecture · 1957

  The Mint

  A casino property on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, completed in 1957 and associated with the firm’s work for the city’s entertainment and gaming sector.

• Retail architecture · 1955

  Twin Lakes Shopping Center

  A Las Vegas shopping center completed in 1955 at 1048 North Rancho Drive, representing the firm’s contribution to postwar suburban commercial development.

• Educational architecture · 1952

  Educational facilities

  The partnership designed a substantial group of schools and university buildings, including Lomie G. Heard Elementary School, Hyde Park Middle School, Boulder City High School, E. W. Clark High School, Valley High School, Maude Frazier Hall, Archie C. Grant Hall, and the Flora Dungan Humanities Building.

• Civic and commercial architecture · 1961

  Financial and civic buildings

  The firm designed or co-designed several prominent institutional and financial properties, including the Clark County Courthouse, First National Bank of Nevada Building, and Nevada Savings and Loan Association Building.

1. 1Zick & Sharpen.wikipedia.org