Abbe Lane at Nellis Air Force Base, September 30, 1953
Nellis AFB grew out of the former Las Vegas Army Air Field. After the US Air Force was established on 9/18/47, the site was renamed Las Vegas Air Force Base, then renamed again in honor of Lt. William Nellis of Las Vegas, pilot who died at the Battle of the Bulge in Luxembourg during World War II.
Abbe Lane was performing with Xavier Cugat & orchestra at Hotel Last Frontier in September 1953. The photos of Lane on the wing are by Las Vegas News Bureau; photo with the gun, found in the files of photographer MJ "Mo" Boisvert. A newswire photo (below) calls Lane "Miss Supersonic."
The first proto-motel in Las Vegas was J. Warren Woodard’s Down Town Camp, a service station and cottages, located at 300 N Main St, on the northwest corner of Main’s intersection with Stewart Ave.
In the '20s, architect Arthur Heineman came up with the idea of creating a series of small hotels to serve the automobile-traveling public along the California coast. At first, he used the term "motor hotel," then shortened it to "mo-tel," and he copyrighted the word "motel."
Meantime, in Las Vegas, tourists had a difficult time finding a place to sleep that wasn't a traditional hotel or didn't require camping equipment. Then came J. Warren Woodard, who, besides serving as Clark County sheriff, became Las Vegas' first automobile dealer … [in '25] he opened the Down Town Camp, which offered more than just a flat spot of land; he promised his customers "clean cabins," "shower baths," a kitchen, a garage and free ice water. These were significant improvements for the traveler, but still a step away from motel-style accommodations, as Woodard promised kitchen and shower baths were communal.
No motels were listed in the '31 Las Vegas telephone directory; the only automotive accommodations, all six of them, including Woodard's are listed under "Camp Grounds."
- Bob Stoldal. The Vanishing Motel. Architecture Las Vegas, 2009.
The lodging was called Down Town Motel by the 40s, and closed by the late 40s.
August 1 (1927). Where we camped today. The back of the Albertype Postcard shown above.
Undated photo from Lake-Eglington Family Photograph Collection (PH-00010) UNLV Special Collections & Archives.
Postcard (1929) from the collection of Bob Stoldal:Â Las Vegas through the eyes of a post card photographer.
January 26, 1965 – Groundbreaking ceremony. Robb C. Johnson (contractor), Jay Sarno (founder, partner), Kirk Kerkorian (landlord, partner), Harry L. Lewis (partner), Nate Jacobson (partner, president). Black & white photo by Jerry Abbott/Las Vegas News Bureau. Color photo from Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Photographs, UNLV Special Collections & Archives.
Undated
October 23, 1965 - Four photos by Las Vegas News Bureau
Late '65
Undated, circa late '65, early '66
3/25/66 – Aerial photo by Las Vegas News Bureau
1966
Jul. 1966.
Arrival of the statues. Jay Sarno in white jacket.
Caesars: Chronology of construction & expansion.
Color photos from Vintage Las Vegas collection. Black & white photos by Las Vegas News Bureau and other unknown photographers.
(1) Slide scan from the Gary Lenhart collection. (2) Print photo, Vintage Las Vegas Collection. Judy Lynn Show, Kenny Vernon Show, Jody’s Country Cousins, Tony Austin Show at Golden Nugget. YESCO truck servicing the Horseshoe sign.
Monte Carlo Club – Home of More Jack Pots. Staged casino scene in 1952, and the exterior marquee and sign circa '54. Photos by Las Vegas News Bureau.
Located at 15 Fremont St, Monte Carlo Club was opened in the '40s by Wilbur Clark & partners in the former Northern Club.
History of the Northern and Monte Carlo Club, 15 Fremont
Sands, Las Vegas, c. May 1955. Chorus girl Linda Lawson, photographed by Loomis Dean.
Photos by Loomis Dean, Life magazine.
Another day circa May 1955, Lawson was photographed by Las Vegas News Bureau with the same atomic cloud "crown" used for a photo op dubbed "Miss Cue" with singer Margueriete Piazza on 5/1/55. These images were purely photos rather that pageants, referencing atomic testing in Nevada, and distributed in the national press to promote Las Vegas.
The same week man landed on the moon, an unknown photographer landed in Vegas and took these photos of the Strip. The first three were the view from the Sands, others on the blvd.
Buck Owens at Bonanza; Petula Clark and Mart Crowley's "Boys in the Band" at Caesars; Steve & Eydie at Sands (7/27/69).
The Strip at Flamingo Road. Barbary Coast under construction. Flamingo Capri’s Imperial Tower visible, upper right.
Three aerials by Jeff Robbins, Associated Press, early 1978. (1) Frontier, Las Vegas Strip, Desert Inn Rd. Far right, construction of the Augusta tower underway at Desert Inn. (2) Downtown facing west. Maryland Pkwy in the foreground. (3) I-15 and Downtown Expressway facing southeast.
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