A snowstorm that began covering Los Angeles the previous day arrived in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 10, 1949. Las Vegas saw an official accumulation of 9.7 inches of snow over three days.
UNLV Digital Collections image. (not circa 1930s)
UNLV Digital Collections has this postcard photo of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, NV as it looked on a snowy Jan 13, 1937. One of the prettiest photos of downtown Las Vegas.
Work progressing on the floor of the Colorado River in front of what would soon be the Hoover Dam as it looked on Jun 3, 1933. UNLV Digital Collections image.
This picture of the Hoover Dam still under construction was taken looking upriver on May 29, 1934, one year before the final bucket of concrete was poured. UNLV Digital Collections photo:
Three years ago today, on Mar 21, 2020, I rode my bike down to the Fremont Street Experience to take a couple of photos of its eerie emptiness.
#COVID19
This picture of the Hoover Dam still under construction was taken looking upriver on May 29, 1934, exactly one year before the final bucket of concrete was poured. UNLV Digital Collections photo:
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip opened on Jan 1, 1992.
UNLV Digital Collections has a set of six photos taken during its construction.
The unincorporated township of Paradise City, NV was formed on Dec 8, 1950 mostly to prevent annexation of the Las Vegas Strip by the City of Las Vegas. As most know, the Las Vegas Strip is not technically in Las Vegas.
After attending the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at MGM Las
#Vegas
, Tupac Shakur was shot four times while a passenger in Suge Knight's car at the corner of Flamingo Rd and Koval Lane in Las Vegas, NV on Sep 7, 1996. Shakur passed away six days later.
After their concert at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas on Apr 12, 1987, the band U2 headed down to Fremont Street in downtown Las
#Vegas
and filmed the video for their hit "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." VID:
UNLV Digital Collections has this postcard photo of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, NV as it looked on a snowy Jan 13, 1937. One of the prettiest photos of downtown Las Vegas.
The unincorporated township of Paradise City, NV was formed on Dec 8, 1950 mostly to prevent annexation of the Las Vegas Strip by the City of Las Vegas. As most know, the Las Vegas Strip is not technically in Las Vegas.
Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino opened in Stateline, NV (now called Primm, NV), in Clark County on May 14, 1994 with 592 rooms. The famous Desperado roller coaster would follow later that same year on Aug 11.
In early hours of Nov 27, 1966, billionaire Howard Hughes, then age 60, arrived in Las Vegas, NV by private Union Pacific train. He moved into the top floors of the Desert Inn, which became his private residence for almost exactly four years.
The first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas, NV, the $3.5M Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino opened in West Las Vegas on May 24, 1955. It's flame burned bright and short. The Moulin Rouge closed in Nov 1955, and declared bankruptcy in Dec 1955.
The Caesars Palace Grand Prix Formula 1 race was first held on a temporary track at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV on Oct 17, 1981. Alan Jones won the race. VID:
Note: Formula 1 returned one more time for this race in Sep 1982.
More than a year before the first concrete was poured, this is an image of Black Canyon, site of what would be the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River taken Apr 8, 1932. Image via
#UNLV
Digital Collections.
UNLV Digital Collections has a great photo of what would be Hoover Dam taken on Jun 10, 1935, less than a year from formal completion and two weeks after the last concrete was poured.
This Jul 26, 1935 photo shows almost the entire height of the intake towers behind Hoover Dam as Lake Mead is being filled. UNLV Digital Collections photo.
Image of the construction of Hoover Dam in Black Canyon from Sep 11, 1933. The concrete was poured into blocks, called lifts, because building the dam with a single pour would take 125 years for the concrete to cool.
More great Hoover Dam photos here:
Michael Gaughan, and partners, including his father Jackie, opened the $11.5M Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino on the Las
#Vegas
Strip on Mar 2, 1979. It would later become Bill's Gambling Hall, and currently, the Cromwell.
Jerry Tarkanian coached his final game for the
#UNLV
Runnin' Rebels on Mar 3, 1992. The Rebels finished 26-2 that year, but were not eligible for the NCAA tournament due to NCAA penalties. Tarkanian's record at UNLV: 509 wins, 105 losses over 19 seasons.
The 10th episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons entitled "Viva Ned Flanders" first aired on Jan 10, 1999.
Homer takes Ned to Las
#Vegas
, NV to loosen up. VID:
My favorite part is the casino marques when they arrive.
Kirk Kerkorian opened the first MGM Grand Resort, then the largest in the world with 2,200 rooms, on Dec 5, 1973 on the Las
#Vegas
Strip. It's now Bally's Las
#Vegas
.
Michael Gaughan, and partners, including his father Jackie, opened the $11.5M Barbary Coast Hotel and Casino on the Las
#Vegas
Strip on Mar 2, 1979. It would later become Bill's Gambling Hall, and currently, the Cromwell.
Harrah's Entertainment announced the acquisition of the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip for $370 million on Aug 22, 2005. It was renovated and rebranded as The Quad Resort in 2012, and became the Linq Hotel and Casino in 2014.
After five years as coach at Long Beach State in Long Beach, CA, Jerry Tarkanian became the 5th ever head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team on Mar 23, 1973.
Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal left a restaurant on East Sahara in Las
#Vegas
, NV in the evening of Oct 4, 1982. When he got inside his Cadillac in the parking lot at Tony Roma's restaurant, nearMarie Callenders, the car exploded.
The Golden Gate Hotel and Casino was opened by John Miller as Hotel Nevada at 1 Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas on Jan 13, 1906. It was the first concrete hotel structure in Las Vegas. Most rooms were 10' x 10' and room and board was $1.00 per day.
The Antonov AN-225 Mriya, the world's largest airplane, once landed at McCarran International Airport to deliver a 160-ton electric power transformer to the El Dorado solar energy plant near Boulder City.
Great image of the Landmark Hotel and Casino with the old Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV as they looked on Dec 23, 1967. UNLV Digital Collections:
Note: The Landmark was the tallest building in Nevada at the time.
Howard Hughes completed his acquisition of the unfinished Landmark Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 17, 1969. Hughes would complete the project and open the Landmark in Jul 1969.
These are canvas covered transport vehicles to carry workers from Boulder City to the "Lower Portal" at the construction site of what would be Hoover Dam as they looked on Jan 7, 1932. Each truck carried 48 workers. UNLV Digital Collection:
Nuclear Test "Simon" was detonated on Apr 25, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site. With a higher than expected yield, the Atomic Energy Commission setup roadblocks on Hwy 93 in Nevada to test cars for radiation.
Fallout reached Troy, NY.
A snowstorm that began covering Los Angeles the previous day arrived in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 10, 1949. Las Vegas saw an official accumulation of 9.7 inches of snow over three days.
UNLV Digital Collections image. (not circa 1930s)
Led by coach Chris Ault and quarterback Chris "Magic" Vargas, the University of Nevada Reno Wolf Pack completed the greatest comeback in NCAA football history on Nov 2, 1991 at Mackay Stadium in Reno, NV. Down 49-14 in the 3rd quarter, the Pack won 55-49.
Opened in 1958, the Stardust Hotel and Casino on the Las
#Vegas
Strip closed its doors forever at noon on Nov 1, 2006. It would be imploded on Mar 13, 2007.
Built between 1931-35, the Hoover Dam in Black Canyon on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona was added to the National Register of Historic Places on Apr 8, 1981. PDF: Note: It was also designated a National Historic Landmark in 1985.
Another image of the construction of what would be Hoover Dam in Black Canyon. This one was taken on Dec 27, 1933. The scaffolding stairways on the face look too haphazard and intense for me. UNLV Digital Collections:
Elvis Presley and Ann Margret started three days of filming at Lake Mead on Jul 24, 1963 for their movie "Viva Las Vegas." The movie would be released the following Spring on May 20, 1964.
The 23,000+ acre Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Amargosa Valley in Nye County, NV was established on Jun 18, 1984, "where the desert springs to life."
Note: Their new visitor center opened in 2015.
Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino opened in Stateline, NV (now called Primm, NV), in Clark County on May 14, 1994 with 592 rooms. The famous Desperado roller coaster would follow on Aug 11, 1994.
The most lopsided NCAA title game ever, the
#UNLV
Runnin' Rebels destroyed Duke, 103-73, in the 1990 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament final on Apr 2, 1990 to win UNLV's first and only national championship.
Former UNLV coach David Rice was on that team.
TWA Flight 3 departed Las
#Vegas
, NV at 7:07pm on Jan 16, 1942 on the last leg of a trip heading for Burbank, CA. The plane leveled off at 8,000'. Unfortunately, they were six miles off course, and Mt Potosi, southwest of Las Vegas, rises to 8,517'.
Built in 1876, the Ward Charcoal Ovens by Ward, NV, south of Ely in White Pine County, were added to the National Register of Historic Places on Sep 28, 1971. PDF:
Note: I've been there at least three times and each time I was the only person there.
The Doors' Jim Morrison was arrested in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 28, 1968, for public drunkenness, vagrancy, and failure to possess sufficient ID at the Pussycat a' Go Go at 11:50pm.
His friend, author Robert Gover, was also arrested.
Las Vegas resident, "lead investigator" on Travel Channel's Ghost Adventures, and Haunted Museum curator (600 E Charleston, Las Vegas, NV), Zachary "Zak" Bagans was born on Apr 5, 1977 in Washington, DC.
The Doors' Jim Morrison was arrested in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 28, 1968, for public drunkenness, vagrancy, and failure to possess sufficient ID at the Pussycat a' Go Go at 11:50pm.
His friend, author Robert Gover, was also arrested.
Four
#UNLV
Running Rebels were selected in 1991
#NBA
Entry Draft in New York on Jun 25, 1991 with three in the first round:
#1
Larry Johnson Charlotte Hornets.
#9
Stacey Augmon Atlanta Hawks.
#12
Greg Anthony New York Knicks
#29
George Ackles Miami Heat.
The first car to arrive in Bodie, CA, a ghost town near the Nevada border, took 9 hours to cover the approximately 100 miles from Carson City, NV on Jun 12, 1905.
Jay Sarno's Caesars Palace Hotel & Casino opened on the Las Vegas Strip on Aug 5, 1966.
Andy Williams headlined the gala opening that evening.
First image via UNLV Digital Collections here:
A five block segment of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas, NV was formally closed to vehicle traffic on Sep 7, 1994 to implement the Fremont Street Experience project.
Actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were married in Las
#Vegas
on Jan 29, 1958 at the El Rancho Vegas in owner Beldon Katleman's suite. They were still married when Newman passed away in 2008.
Howard Hughes completed his acquisition of the unfinished Landmark Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 17, 1969. Hughes would complete the project and open the Landmark in Jul 1969.
The Colorado River flowing through Black Canyon looked pretty amazing before we put a dam in there. This is Black Canyon on Apr 12, 1922. UNLV Digital Collections:
Former bellman at Caesars Palace and Gold Coast Hotel-Casinos in Las Vegas, NV, and front man for Las Vegas-based band The Killers (2001-present), Brandon Flowers was born on Jun 21, 1981 in Henderson, NV.
The 10th episode of the 10th season of The Simpsons entitled "Viva Ned Flanders" first aired on Jan 10, 1999.
Homer takes Ned to Las
#Vegas
, NV to loosen up. VID:
My favorite part is the casino marques when they arrive.
#Dupes
Actors Bruce Willis and Demi Moore eloped to Nevada and were married in their suite at the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino in downtown Las
#Vegas
, NV on Nov 21, 1987.
After almost 44 years, the famous Sands Hotel Casino on Las
#Vegas
Strip officially closed on Jun 30, 1996. The site is now occupied by the Venetian Resort.
Opened as the Peppermill Inn Coffee shop & Lounge in 1971, the Peppermill in Reno, NV expanded into gaming, opening a small casino and motor lodge on Jun 20, 1980.
Nuclear Test "Simon" was detonated on Apr 25, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site. With a higher than expected yield, the Atomic Energy Commission setup roadblocks on Hwy 93 in Nevada to test cars for radiation.
Fallout reached Troy, NY.
After five years as coach at Long Beach State in Long Beach, CA, Jerry Tarkanian became the 5th ever head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team on Mar 23, 1973.
Great image of the Landmark Hotel and Casino with the old Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV as they looked on Dec 23, 1967. UNLV Digital Collections:
The Landmark was the tallest building in Nevada at the time. (h/t
@JamesHo03148924
)
US President Abraham Lincoln was shot at Ford Theater in Washington, DC on Apr 14, 1865. There, a 36-star US flag, the "Lincoln Flag," was used as a cushion under his head.
Lincoln died on Apr 15, 1865. He proclaimed Nevada the 36th state in Oct 1864.
In his first live performance in at least eight years, Elvis Presley made his official debut at the International Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Jul 31, 1969 in a sold-out 2,000 seat showroom.
Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino opened in Stateline, NV (now called Primm, NV), in Clark County on May 14, 1994 with 592 rooms. The famous Desperado roller coaster would follow later that same year on Aug 11.
It seems the casino is open, but not the hotel.
The first formal migrant party to cross what's now Nevada's Great Basin en route to California left Independence, MO on May 8, 1841. They arrived at the base of Mt Diablo in California on Nov 4, 1841. The first of many undocumented Americans in Mexico.
Former Texas mobster, bootlegger, and convicted murderer, arrived in Las Vegas in 1946, and opened the Westerner and Binion's Horseshoe Club on Fremont Street in Las Vegas, NV, Lester Benny Binion was born on Nov 20, 1904 in Pilot Grove, TX.
In early hours of Nov 27, 1966, billionaire Howard Hughes, then age 60, arrived in Las Vegas, NV by private Union Pacific train. He moved into the top floors of the Desert Inn, which became his private residence for almost exactly four years.
The first formal migrant party to cross what's now Nevada's Great Basin en route to California left Independence, MO on May 8, 1841. They arrived at the base of Mt Diablo in California on Nov 4, 1841. The first of many undocumented Americans in Mexico.
Cool night picture of construction progress of the Hoover Dam bypass bridge, later named the Mike O'Callaghan–Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge, from below on Nov 24, 2009.
This is part of a set by photographer Jamey Stillings, MFA.
The Forum Shops at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip opened on Jan 1, 1992.
UNLV Digital Collections has a set of six photos taken during its construction.
On Sep 27, 1991, Wayne Gretzky's LA Kings defeated the NY Rangers 5-2 in an outdoor exhibition game at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV. 13,000 attended the game which had an outside temperature of 85°F at the start. VID:
After their concert at the Thomas & Mack Arena in Las Vegas on Apr 12, 1987, the band U2 headed down to Fremont St in downtown Las Vegas and filmed the video for their hit "Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For." VID:
The Doors' Jim Morrison was arrested in Las Vegas, NV on Jan 28, 1968, for public drunkenness, vagrancy, and failure to possess sufficient ID at the Pussycat a' Go Go at 11:50pm.
His friend, author Robert Gover, was also arrested.
After five years as coach at Long Beach State in Long Beach, CA, Jerry Tarkanian became the 5th ever head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team on Mar 23, 1973.
US President John F Kennedy became only sitting US President to visit the Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas, NV on Dec 8, 1962. He inspected the Nuclear Rocket Development site at Area 25.
Nevada Lieutenant Governor Rex Bell cut the ribbon for the opening of the "Tiffany of the Strip," the Tropicana Hotel and Country Club on the Las
#Vegas
Strip on Apr 4, 1957, after a preview opening the night before.
Image via UNLV Digital Collections.
Another photo of construction of what would become the Hoover Dam looking upstream, this one from Sep 15, 1933. You can see the Colorado River impacted at the top of the image. UNLV Digital Collection:
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team won the Big West Conference Tournament with a 95-78 win over Fresno State on Mar 10, 1991. The Rebels entered the 1991 NCAA Tournament with a perfect record of 30-0.
This Jul 26, 1935 photo shows almost the entire height of the intake towers behind Hoover Dam as Lake Mead is being filled. UNLV Digital Collections photo.
AP photo of Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas, NV on Sep 4, 1951, nine days before Sinatra would make his Las Vegas debut there.
Jerry Tarkanian coached his final game for the
#UNLV
Runnin' Rebels on Mar 3, 1992. The Rebels finished 26-2 that year, but were not eligible for the NCAA tournament due to NCAA penalties. Tarkanian's record at UNLV: 509 wins, 105 losses over 19 seasons.
Great photo by photographer E E Hertzog (b 1932) looking north at the Hoover Dam from just downriver as it looked on Aug 8, 1967. UNLV Digital Collections.
John F Kennedy attended the Rat Pack show in the Copa Room at the Sands Casino in Las Vegas, NV on Feb 7, 1960. There, Sinatra introduced him to Judith E Campbell who became a Kennedy mistress into 1962. Allegedly.