June 16, 2017
“ATOMIC LIQUORS”
by Christina Angelina
Originally opened in 1945 as Virginia’s Cafe, Huffington Post reports it didn’t take Joe and Stella Sobchick long to realize they’d rather be selling alcohol than food. At the same time the U.S. Army was starting to test nuclear weapons 50 miles away, so in 1952 the Sobchick’s received Las Vegas’ first ever tavern license—#00001—and renamed their establishment Atomic Liquors. On clear nights folks would grab their Atomic Cocktail and climb to the roof to watch for mushroom clouds. Regularly frequented by Barbara Streisand and the Rat Pack years ago, the resurgence of Downtown Las Vegas has once again put the iconic Fremont Street bar in the spotlight. In 2014 around the same time she was painting a similar design for Murals and Girls—highlighting the increasingly important role of femail aerosol artists—Christina Angelina, aka Starfighter, added this work to the East wall of the establishment. (Who left that IPA on the table?) @starfightera-blog @atomicliquors
