retrotels

[retrotels]

Beautiful Tropicana hotel shopping atrium (circa 1979-1986)

Credit: https://x.com/classiclasvegas/status/1137532261845233664

[retrotels]

Club Bingo, 21-23 Fremont St, Las Vegas – 1962

“America’s most luxurious bingo parlor. New and beautiful – and especially designed for the ladies.”

The casino opened summer '62 in a new building designed by Julius Gabriele that replaced the former, original Las Vegas Club. Club Bingo was later annexed by Pioneer Club. It is now ABC Stores.

[retrotels]

Flamingo, Las Vegas, August 1981

Sandler & Young, Jackie Kahane on the sign. Photo by Gerold Dreyer. Below, Caesars Palace seen from the Flamingo tower, c. Apr. '81.

[retrotels]

Landmark, October 1976

View from the top of the Landmark in 1976: East towards Las Vegas Hilton; South over DI golf course and Paradise Rd; West towards Somerset apartments and the Riviera.

[retrotels]

Dunes' Driving Range, Las Vegas Strip, circa 1963

Dunes' Emerald Green Driving Range opened Nov. '61 on a Strip-front site about a half mile south of the Dunes hotel. In '65 the driving range was closed and relocated, along with the sign, closer to the resort. The parcel was left empty for thirty years until the development of Monte Carlo resort, today's Park MGM.

Ruthe Scott Photographs of Las Vegas, Nevada Hotels and Casinos (PH-00220), UNLV Special Collections & Archives.

[retrotels]

✨"𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘎𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘚𝘰 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 ��𝘱 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘦𝘳…"✨ The dazzling lights and neon signs of Las Vegas, Nevada as seen in the opening credits of the MGM/George Sidney musical romantic comedy Viva Las Vegas, 1964.

[retrotels]

Riviera hotel interior pics (1957)

Photo by Lawrence Schiller

[retrotels]

Las Vegas Strip, February 1970

Silver Slipper, Gold Key Motel, Desert Inn. Pzazz 70, Fanny Hill, Sunny Girls of Sweden, and Murray Arnold at Desert Inn. Slides by Chronic Nostalgic.

Facing east on Convention Center Dr. The crane on the right is at the construction of the Royal.

[retrotels]

Removing the Sands sign, c. September 1981.

The vintage '65 sign was removed, and the new marquee was switched on in Oct., all by YESCO. The sign and a new porte-cochère were part of a larger remodeling effort which included a new Copa room.

Patrick Gaffey tells a story of the Sands sign.

“When I was at Allied Arts Council, one day I got a call from the Sands Hotel, and they said, ‘We're getting rid of our classic sign and we don't know what to do with it, and we thought we would offer it to Allied Arts Council.’ It was that sign that was grid of squares with the big S and the Sands.”

“I said, ‘It's a hugely important sign, but we don't have any place to put it. I don't know what we could possibly do with it. We don't have any way to move it … No, we can't take it.’”

“So it was destroyed. I eventually saw the S sitting in the Young Electric Sign Company boneyard by itself. I don't think that even exists anymore. I felt terrible about that … So I went to the board and we created a Design Arts Committee of Allied Arts Council. We had all kinds of ideas of how a museum should be done …”

Developing an idea for a museum or neon park, the group went on to acquire “ten or twelve signs” from properties that were remodeling, closed, or from local sign scrap yards. The City of Las Vegas agreed to store the signs. The Arts Council never saw the idea to fruition, but these efforts rolled into what would become the Neon Museum.

Photos: Young Electric Sign Company (YESCO) Corporate Records (MS-00403) UNLV Special Collections & Archives. Sources: Patrick Gaffey oral history interview (OH-02805) UNLV Special Collections & Archives; New Marquee. Review-Journal, 10/2/81.

[retrotels]

Some of the Tropicana proposals were so crazy, like what do you mean you wanted to make it the World’s Largest Hotel?!?!?!, what do you mean you wanted to put the World’s tallest coaster on property!?!?!? I could go on about how crazy they were 😭😭😭😭

[retrotels]

Afternoon on the Las Vegas Strip, February 1957

Dinah Shore, Skylarks, Half Bros at Flamingo ... Patti Page, Jack Durant at Desert Inn ... Riviera ... Ames Brothers, Louis Prima & Keely Smith at Sahara ... Thunderbird presents International Revue starring Leny Eversong ... Victor Borge at the New Frontier ... Royal Nevada

[retrotels]

Las Vegas Strip, August 1959

La Nue Eve, “Paris Naughtiest Revue,” on the board at El Rancho Vegas, was a condensed version of the hotel’s previous show called La Nouvelle Eve. La Nue Eve was created by El Rancho Vegas president Beldon Katleman after firing La Nouvelle Eve’s producer René Bardy, hiring its lead dancers, and staging an budget version of Bardy’s production. Bardy sued Katleman and two others, and following a litigation that carried on for nine years, was awarded a total of $680,000 for breach of contract, conspiracy, compensatory and punitive damages, and interest payments.

Sahara with a makeshift attraction board advertising Don Rickles over Sahara’s original porte-cochère – photo from Gorilla's Don't Blog. Thunderbird, El Rancho, Stardust – Vintage Las Vegas collection.

“LA 'Show Stealing' Ruling Upheld.” Review-Journal, 11/4/68.

[retrotels]

Stardust, 1992

Photos by Hank DeLespinasse, Steve Martin.

[retrotels]

Thunderbird hotel neon marquee, c. August 1957

The Thunderbird Presents the fabulous Four Lads, Jay Nemeth, Billy Wells & Four Fays. In the lounge: Carole Simpson, 3 Sparks, Kathy Ryan, Mark IV. Casino - Restaurant - Navajo Room.

[retrotels]

Dunes, Las Vegas, 1982

View from the Dunes (Oct. 82). View from the Flamingo (Apr. '82) by Don Ceppi.

[retrotels]

Riviera, Las Vegas, c. 1957

Facing east over the railroad tracks, Industrial Rd, and beyond. Left, the Thunderbird, Algiers, and construction of a Travelodge motel. Right, construction of Stardust. Undated, circa late '57, possibly by Las Vegas News Bureau, from the files of Don Knepp.

[retrotels]

fremont street - las vegas (1992)