The Lost World

Las Vegas in the 1940s-50s and 60s.

Old Vegas is shown on various websites.

A fascinating and complex town that went from a tiny whistle stop to a large town in WW-II and later into a gambling and entertainment mecca.

Old Vegas hands will recognize some names here below.

First The Rat pack:

Reportedly called that by Lauren Bacall the wife of Humphrey Bogart when she saw them all drunk at Bogart's house.  Great story at this link

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/sfeature/sf_book_02.html





Courtesy of:

https://iams.pbworks.com/w/page/26411758/B2%201940s%20De%20Zwaan



Hotel Apache Reportedly prostitution on the 2nd floor

El Dorado Club then later the Horseshoe first floor

Facing west on Fremont street

Then courtesy of:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/downtown-history/?currentPage=4

The Pioneer club

Scherer and his partners opened the Pioneer Club in 1942.

In a smart move in 1951, the Chamber of Commerce approached Young Electric Sign Company about designing and building a neon cowboy for thePioneer Club.  Vegas Vic was to become the icon of Fremont Street.  Myths over the years having various designers being responsible for Vic and many others purported to be the model.  Vic was designed by one of Yesco's Salt Lake City designers, Patrick Denner.  Vic was 75 feet tall, had one moveable arm with a glowing cigarette in one hand and the other arm moved back and forth.  He had a voice box that proclaimed "Howdy Podner" every 15 minutes.  Vic stopped talking in 1966 when Lee Marvin and Woody Strode, tired after a day of working on location in the Valley of Fire for the film "The Professionals", were kept awake by Vic's friendly greeting.  Taking a couple of bows and arrows from the prop department, one night they commenced shooting at Vic from their hotel rooms across the street at the Mint Hotel.  City Fathers decided that perhaps it was best if Vic stopped talking.  Vic has an older brother of sorts, Wendover Will located fittingly enough in Wendover, Nevada.  He, too, was designed by Patrick Denner

The Golden Nugget (eastern corner of Second and Fremont):

This originally was a two story Post Office.  Robert Griffiths was the postmaster in 1926.   Next to the Post Office was the Majestic Theaterwhich may have been owned by Ernie Cragin before he built the El Portal. Cragin and Pike Insurance had an office upstairs above the Theater.  The Post Office and Majestic Theater gave way to the Mission Bar.  It was only in business a short while before it became the Kiva Bar.  The Kiva gave way to the Golden Nugget.

Reputedly a complete photo history at:

http://inoldlasvegas.com/

1950



Ladies enjoying their "Fun in the Sun" Las Vegas vacation at the fifth major Strip casino-hotel,
The Desert Inn, which opened in 1950 across from The Last Frontier. This location is currently the site of 
Encore Hotel - (near the eastern edge of its casino, where it leads into the walkway-mall to The Wynn Hotel).




A look at the Dunes Hotel-Casino in 1956. The year 1955 brought four new hotels to the Las Vegas Strip.
The Royal Nevada, Riviera, Hacienda and The Dunes. Opening on May 23rd, 1955 - Dunes was basically 
a low-rise motel-casino, topped by a fiberglass statue of a sultan. It was located diagonally across from 
The Flamingo on the site currently occupied by the lake-fountains of Bellagio. 
The Dunes would undergo a major expansion in 1964.



When I arrived the Strip 1963