Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
The Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health opened on May 21, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is operated by the Cleveland Clinic and was designed by Frank Gehry.
History
Keep Memory Alive was founded by Larry Ruvo, senior managing partner of Southern Wines and Spirits, in memory of his father, Lou Ruvo, a victim of Alzheimer's disease, together with his wife Camille, Mirage Resorts CEO Bobby Baldwin, and Bobby Baldwin's wife Donna. KMA supports the mission of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and has held several star-studded galas, attended by celebrities and notables from around the world. It has become one of Las Vegas's most important charity initiatives and a key participant in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.Since its inception, the event has raised more than $20 million towards achieving its goal – the realization of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Funds committed by such supporters as the Spector Family Foundation, the Roland and Terri Sturm Foundation, Steinberg Diagnostics, the Hard [Rock Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas)|Hard Rock Hotel and Casino] and America Online were utilized for the construction and continued operation of this state-of-the-art facility. The center has become a national resource for the most current research and scientific information for the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, multiple sclerosis, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease); also focusing on prevention, early detection, and education.
Design
The ceremonial groundbreaking of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health occurred on February 9, 2007. Dignitaries who attended the groundbreaking ceremonies for the $70 million project included founder Larry Ruvo, Frank Gehry, federal Senators Harry Reid and John Ensign; federal United States [House of Representatives|Representatives] Shelley Berkley, Jon Porter and Dean Heller, Governor Jim Gibbons, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, former Governor Kenny Guinn, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kevin Spacey, and John Cusack.The Gehry design was described as "riotously sculptural" with opposing sections that allude to "the classic left-brain, right-brain dichotomy." Others, however, suggested that it was an example of modern architecture unmoored from aesthetics, a "city unto itself" and "hideously awful." It was described as the "most distinctive" building in Las Vegas in 2018.