It's time for some vintage Las Vegas photos! Not super vintage, but perhaps old enough to be of interest I hope.
First is this 1975 photo of the Landmark Hotel and Casino, which opened in 1969. The design was inspired by Seattle's Space Needle, though it lacks any of that structure's graceful elegance. Still, it's hard not to love a building with a "flying saucer" on top. The Landmark had a tumultuous existence, and never really thrived - ownership changed many times. It was imploded in 1990, and footage of the event was used in Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks" (in which the hotel is destroyed by alien attack).
Next is this 1974 view of the Las Vegas Strip; not exactly the most inspiring sight ever! There's Denny's, I need that Grand Slam breakfast for my hangover. And why stay at Caesar's Palace or the Flamingo when you can stay at TraveLodge? I wonder if the deserted street is due to the recession that plagued the U.S. (Wikipedia says that recession lasted from November 1973 to March 1975)?
Also along the Strip is the Sands Hotel and Casino, with its massive sign. Go see Lena Horne and Rich Little! On a side note, I'm always astonished at Rich Little's showbiz success, he was everywhere in the 70's. Maybe it's just me, but his impersonations were OK at best. As you can see, some of the coming acts included Wayne Newton and Milton Berle.
I love that "Souvenir Center", managing some fun mid-century touches in spite of its humble nature.
The next two images (from 1963) are not great, but I figured I'd include them, because what the heck. Somebody took a few quick snapshots out the car window, with middling results. This first view is from along the Strip - note the sign for the Hacienda Hotel and Casino, featuring Sid and Marty Krofft's "Les Poupées de Paris" show. A naughty puppet show for adults! Of course Sid and Marty went on to children's television fame with shows such as "H.R. Pufnstuf", "Lidsville", and "Sigmund the Seasick Sea Monster", "The Bugaloos", and "Land of the Lost".
There's a motion-blurred shot of the Dunes Hotel and Casino with its giant sultan statue. After midnight he comes to life and rampages through the desert! I am unsure of what is being built to our right - I thought it might be "The Oasis" (part of the Dunes resort), but that wasn't built until 1984. Any ideas?
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Las Vegas!
Major-
ReplyDeleteWell, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Dunes Hotel tower was on October 20, 1962 - so that's probably what we're seeing in the last image. (assuming the image date is a bit 'skewed'...)
The Les Poupées de Paris made an appearance at the Seattle World's Fair, just the previous year. I always loved this quote... The Reverend Billy Graham caught the premiered World's Fair performance of the show and immediately denounced it, complaining that the "women don't wear bras". He failed to mention that the "women" were puppets. Merciful heavens-!
And as for Rich Little, he made a career out of doing a vast number of voice impersonations - and none too well, as it turned out.
Thanks, Major.
"Sigmund the Seasick Sea Monster"
ReplyDeleteMajor, did you slip that in to see if we pay attention to what you type?? I LOVED that show, but I remember it being called Sigmund the Sea Monster. He wasn't seasick, from what I recall. (I also noticed that some other online sites called the show SIgmund AND the Sea Monster . . . but Sigmund WAS the Sea Monster.) I bet TokyoMagic will know the correct name of the show . . . Hey, TM! Amiright?? ;)
LOTS to look at, in these pictures . . . I'll have to come back to these later today.
Thank you, Major! And, yes, we really DO read what you post. ;)
I always loved the futuristic look of the Landmark Hotel. I wish I had gotten a chance to stay there, before the aliens destroyed it.
ReplyDeleteSue, I always thought the title of the show was, "Sigmund and the Freuds." Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk! Actually, I thought it was "Sigmund AND the Sea Monsters" (plural). You are right about Sigmund being a sea monster, but I think the "and" is referring to all of his evil relatives." My favorite episode of that show, is when Lucille Ball guest starred as the lady who lost her pack of cigarettes, in the sand at the beach. ;-)
I think the Major accidentally crossed the title of the show, with "Beanie and Cecil, the Seasick Sea Serpent," as Cecil was sometimes called.
Thank you, TokyoMagic! for the info and helping us (BOTH me and Major) get the title right. And, I had forgotten about Beanie and Cecil. Boy, that's going back many years.
ReplyDeleteTM! I don't recall seeing the Lucille Ball episode where she lost her pack of cigarettes in the sand, but I do recall when she met Sigmund at the Brown Derby.
I guess I misspelled "Beany."
ReplyDeleteAnd Major, you left out Sid and Marty Krofft's crowning achievement, and perhaps the greatest show ever on television, "The Lost Saucer."
Does anyone know if the giant sultan figure from the Dunes hotel was saved and if it still exists somewhere?
Sue, I forgot all about that episode! And of course, there's the one where she steals Sigmund's footprints from the forecourt of Grauman's Chinese Theater. Okay, I'm sure the Major hates both of us now.
ReplyDelete:o)
ReplyDeleteSome kids had books about dinosaurs when they were in Kindergarten, but I had a book of epic implosions! Anyway, the Landmark Hotel was in it, and not knowing any better, I wondered why they were blowing up what looked like pictures of the Space Needle, even though I didn't know its name or where it was at the time. I recall liking the look of the building, even though I now realize that it was just a wannabe Space Needle.
ReplyDeleteI see Tom Jones is headlining at Caesar's Palace in the second image. I guess it's not unusual to find photos of his name on a marquee in Vegas. He was even in Mars Attacks.
ReplyDeleteI am positive the Souvenir Center was still there in the fall of 1995, and it was still full of kitschy souvenirs. My wife picked up a doll and I got one of those little cameras you look in the back of to see scenes of Las Vegas taken no later than 1965.
Andrew, I'm starting to understand why you fit in so well here. :-)
The Landmark looks like The Space Needle's frumpy sister (but she has a great personality!)
ReplyDeleteIn 1968 the Kroft Brothers opened the Kroft Puppet Theater at 6 Flags Over Texas. I don't remember much of the show, but it seems like puppets were popping up all over the place! No memory if they had on appropriate undergarments. (Hey, I was six...) I actually like Tom Jones and thought Mars Attacks should have won best picture just because he was in it. Another missed opportunity by the Academy...
I'm too lazy to go to Google or YouTube to research, but I *think* it's the Landmark tower that features in the credits and some episodes of the TV show Vega$.
ReplyDeleteIf any other Gorilla Scouts are on Tumblr, I highly recommend the vintagelasvegas account.
Nanook, thanks for the Dunes Hotel Tower info! I know that Les Poupées de Paris appeared at the Seattle World’s Fair, as well as the ’64 New York Fair. So hilarious that Billy Graham was offended by topless puppets. It’s amazing to see the amount of “naughty” stage shows in 1939, apparently to not much outrage, only to have the public become more and more uptight over the decades. I guess Rich Little had a good stage presence, and was just good enough to please the masses.
ReplyDeleteLou and Sue, OH HE WAS SEASICK! He just didn’t want to talk about it much, and can you blame him? So much judgement. I think we just called the show “Sigmund and the Sea Monster” too. Somehow Johnny Whitaker never did become our next Brando like I expected. Looking on Wikipedia I see that “Sigmund” ran for three years! Amazing for a show like that, which usually lasted a season at best.
TokyoMagic!, this is why I never trust Martians to this day, I don’t care how nice they seem. I guess it’s not fair to judge all Martians by the actions of a few, really. As for the name of the Saturday morning show, I never make mistakes! NEVER! Well maybe sometimes.
Lou and Sue, I had no idea the controversy this would cause. It’s on the main page of BBC.com and Rueters and the Wall Street Journal. I don’t recall seeing that I Love Lucy episode either - - because I didn’t like that show! “Dusty’s Treehouse” was more my speed.
TokyoMagic! “The Lost Saucer”? I don’t even recall the name! Maybe I was outgrowing shows like that, I never really watched “The Bugaloos” either. Still watching “Dusty’s Treehouse”.
TokyoMagic! and Sue, yes, pretty much.
Andrew, a book of “epic implosions”? How odd, especially for young children. And yet it probably would have been my favorite book. There is something fascinating about watching video of a huge building being imploded, I always wonder about the buildings that are nearby, and how dirty everything must get from the resulting gigantic cloud of dust that seems to extend for hundreds and hundreds of feet. Who’s going to clean up that mess?
Chuck, I’ll bet Tom Jones was paid a pile of money, and he could reside in a luxury suite, sit by the pool all day, enjoy the buffets, play the slots… he was living the life! Amazing that the little Souvenir Center was still there in 1995. Was the doll that your wife bought themed to Las Vegas somehow? Or did she just like it? I hope you still have your souvenir “camera” too.
stu29573, it’s hard to make a hotel look as graceful and thin as the beautiful Space Needle, which didn’t need rooms for guests! Maybe if they could have made it twice as tall? I have to hand it to the Krofft brothers, they were on TV, at World’s Fairs, at amusement parks… they turned their unique brand of entertainment into success. And I agree, “Mars Attacks” doesn’t get the respect it deserves!
Melissa, I’m sure that the Landmark would be featured on the opening credits of Vega$. Robert Urich was probably chasing a perp in the foreground! I’ve seen some of GDB’s own Vegas photos pop up on the Vintage Vegas Tumblr site.
Major, I still have the camera, although I'm not sure what box it's in. I haven't seen it since I lost my basement "Chuck Cave" two moves and 16 years ago.
ReplyDeleteMy wife's doll has led a much more glamorous life. She's currently on display in the Doll Case in the living room.
The pics strike me as odd today. But since I had a chance to see the Strip during those days, we thought the resorts were pretty snazzy at the time. There is no way that I could have imagined what it has turned out to be today. Most of those are gone now. You'll note in that second shot that Ceasars was hosting Tom Jones. KS
ReplyDeleteChuck, it didn’t go unnoticed that you used ‘Tom Jones’ AND ‘it’s not unusual’ in the same paragraph! ‘Why, why, why?!’
ReplyDeleteI am loving these very cool shots. You can almost hear the mob skimming off the top and Frank Sinatra saying ring a ding ding as he is mixing a scotch and soda. My mom and dad took us to the Flamingo sometime in the early 60, my first airplane ride. We had a babysitter in the room while they got to see the shows and presumably gamble in the casino. During the day, we swam in the scalloped edge pool and played Marco Polo. Good times. They say Ben Segal still haunts the halls of the Flamingo to this day. Spooky. Thanks Major.
ReplyDelete"...and Frank Sinatra saying ring a ding ding..."
ReplyDeleteTrue story about my first trip to Las Vegas in the early 2000s.
My Grandma was Dean Martin's biggest fan. She used to say, "That Dean Martin, he can put his shoes under my bed anytime." I felt so grown up - and a bit shocked - when I finally understood what she meant by that.
Anyway, when she heard where I was going, she gave my a five-dollar bill to play on a slot machine for her. I was excited to find a Sinatra-themed slot machine in the casino of the JW Marriott where I was staying. It had a full-size picture of Frank on top, and every few seconds a recording of his voice would play: either a line from a song or some short phrase, "Ring a ding ding" being the most frequent.
So, I played the $5 in that machine and lost. Being a Complete Rube From Back East, I thought it would be fun to have a picture of the machine for Grandma. BIG MISTAKE! Security was there in about 0.05 seconds. I put on my best "Alas and Shucks, I am but a Simple Rube From Back East" face and voice, and the nice armed men decided not to throw me out or confiscate my camera after all. Whew!
So, I get back home and tell Mom the story, and, horrified, she said, "Whatever you do, don't tell your grandmother. She can't STAND Frank Sinatra. She thinks he was a bad influence on Dean."
@ Melissa-
ReplyDeleteA "bad influence". Hmmmmm....
Sue, I see what you did there. ;-)
ReplyDeleteChuck, ah, I am trying to imagine the “Chuck Cave”! Vintage neon beer signs, an old “Rockola” jukebox, a bamboo tiki bar, paintings of sexy maidens on black velvet, a baseball autographed by Hank Aaron, a pool table… tell me I’m right!
ReplyDeleteKS, I don’t think even Vegas regulars could have foreseen what the city would become, especially back in the days of Fremont Street and “Glitter Gulch”.
Lou and Sue, that’s just the way Chuck rolls.
Jonathan, I hope the mob doesn’t notice that I am counting cards. Maybe I’d better lose a hand or two to make it look good. I always think of the Vegas of the 60’s as being strictly for grownups, but it sounds like you had a good time there with your folks!
Melissa, it must have been shocking to realize that your aunt sometimes wore men’s loafers! I love that she gave you $5 to play the slots. That would last… 30 seconds? Unless you played the nickel slots of course. I didn’t know you weren’t allowed to take photos of the machines! I guess they figured that some people could use the photos to figure out ways to cheat.
Nanook, I’ve never been sure what to think of Dean Martin; if his “drunk routine” was just an act or if he really was snockered all the time. In spite of his image, I have the feeling he wasn’t as gregarious as he appeared.
Chuck, always keep an eye on Sue.
Major, if only. Although the last version did have a 3/4 size pool table, a portable N-scale train layout, and a dart ball board.
ReplyDeleteI see someone already commented on the appearances of "Les Poupées de Paris" at the Seattle and NY World's Fairs. In the 1980s, a local channel had a Krofft show in the afternoon lineup. It alternated through Land of the Lost, Sigmund, HR Pufnstuff, and The Lost Saucer (or was it Mixed Up Space Nuts). In any case, I didn't realize how heavily drug influenced it all was until I was much older and caught a few episodes of Lidsville late at night on Adult Swim.
ReplyDeleteThe under-construction Dunes hotel tower in the last picture is behind the Caesar's marquee in the second picture.
ReplyDeleteThe "Sultan" was moved during the construction of the "Oasis" casino addition. It was positioned to face I-15 from the Dunes golf course. I believe it was lost to an electrical fire many, many years ago.