Vegas!
I have a folder that has a number of scans of slides of Las Vegas, and I finally decided to use some of them today. Nothing extraordinary, but worth a look I'd say.
First up is this September, 1968 photo of the Stardust Resort and Casino, with its famous sign, which is (sadly) not fully lit up here - if only the photographer had waited another few seconds! The resort had originally had a different sign, but a new roadside sign, created by Ad Art Company, was installed in February 1968. It was 188 feet tall and 93 feet wide and was among the most popular neon signs in Las Vegas. Weirdly, the "Stardust" lettering was replaced with the Helvetica font in 1991. WHY? You can see a photo of how this looked on Wikipedia (hint: it looks crappy). The Stardust finally closed after years of financial difficulties in 2006 (the sign was given to the Neon Museum).
Meanwhile, let's go see Esquivel!
The rest of these are from September of 1978. This first one shows the New Frontier Hotel and Casino - formerly "The Last Frontier". This was only the second casino to open on the Las Vegas Strip, way back in 1942. By 1978, Howard Hughes owned the New Frontier. Wikipedia says, The resort had the distinction of hosting Elvis Presley's first Vegas appearance in 1956, and the final performance of The Supremes with Diana Ross as lead singer on January 14, 1970. Notice the Stardust up the street.
This lady is posing at the Showboat, built in 1954 in part by the same man who built the Frontier. At first the Showboat was not successful, until (in 1959) they added... a bowling alley! It eventually grew to 106 lanes, and was used in many televised bowling tournaments. After years of expansion and change, the Showboat was bought and became the Castaways Hotel and Casino in 1998. As usual (or so it seems), it didn't last, and it eventually closed in 2004.
Here's a view of Las Vegas from... well, I don't know. The only identifiable landmark is the Maxim Casino, which opened in 1978 (the year this photo was taken) - it is infamous for being the site of the shooting death of rapper Tupac Shakur in 1996. Does anybody see anything else of interest in this photo?
And finally, here's the Flamingo (which opened in 1946); it became the "Flamingo Hilton" in 1974. There is a Las Vegas Monorail station located here. That sign, looking like a flaming blossom, is another one of the most famous in Vegas history. In 1953, the hotel's management spent $1 million in renovations and remodeling. The original entrance and signage was destroyed. A new entrance with an upswept roof was built and a pink neon sign was designed by Bill Clark of Ad-Art. A neon-bubbled "Champagne Tower" sign with pink flamingos rimming the top was also installed in front of the hotel. Amazingly, the Flamingo is still with us today! (My mom and dad had their honeymoon there in 1958, see photos - you'll have to scroll past the souvenir bracelet - HERE).
I hope you have enjoyed your visit to Las Vegas!
22 comments:
Major-
It's hard to resist all the glitz and glamour [and excitement] of Las Vegas. I think I'll pass on Esquivel, but instead head on over to the Frontier to see Juliet Prowse. [After all, she arguably had the best legs since Betty Grable]. And if not that, there's always Foster Brooks...
Thanks, Major.
Helvetica?! I just Googled "Stardust sign" and looked at a few images... Oh my. I suppose it's easier to read but... Oh my. The original Stardust font is a classic! (I think you can download it for free.) I would say TokyoMagic!'s trademarked phrase but, the sign is gone now anyway. (Presumedly, the original sign is the one in the museum?)
About the aerial view: "Does anybody see anything else of interest in this photo?"
Well, there's a partial geodesic dome in the background, on the left. I'm sure it's some casino or other.
And then there's that huge DRUGS sign. "Lookin' t'score some heroin? How 'bout an ounce or two of meth? Well come on down... to DRUGS!"
Thanks for some vintage (and not so vintage) Vegas shots today, Major. I always enjoy these travelogues.
I love vintage Vegas pics! And yes, JB, they really do ruin everything.....everywhere! It's sad. I'm glad that the Flamingo Hilton's sign still exists, but I have to wonder if it's days are numbered. Nothing ever seems to be safe in a Disney park, or in Las Vegas.
Major, that riverboat photo is actually of the Holiday Casino. It was opened in the early seventies, and was located right on the Las Vegas Strip, next to a Holiday Inn hotel. It became a Harrah's in the early nineties and by the late nineties, the riverboat structure was torn down.
The "Showboat Casino" was a hotel located on Freemont Street. That was the one built in the fifties, which eventually became the Castaways Hotel.
Tokyo Mash Potatoes! (Okay, I'm running out of November/Thanksgiving names, too!)
Aha! Finally - GDB provides positive proof that Howard Hughes lived for years after his supposed death in 1976. Investigative journalism at its finest! ;-)
Cool photos, Major!
Thanks Major for posting these epic photos of Harbor Blvd. in fabulous Anaheim CA! Oh wait…it’s Vegas baby! I went to Vegas quite a bit back in my younger days and was there for my 21st birthday when I still looked about 15 years old. Even being there younger than legal I was never carded or questioned. When I got legal it was less fun…but still many memories! My parents got married in Vegas and had their honeymoon at the Stardust. I have pictures of them next to the original sign and by the diving board next to the pool…the diving board was one of those multi tier ones. I saw the Lido show a couple of times “straight from Paris!” Topless ladies dressed as “horses” with lots and lots and lots of feathers as “manes” and “tails”. Do they even have shows like that anymore? How about “Nudes on Ice?” Another fan favorite. “Boylesque” was also I think the first legitimized drag show on the strip. I can see Vegas as a place of “they ruin everything” but in some cases, they ruined it all during the design process anyway. Downtown used to be so tawdry and wonderful. I loved as it felt so “original”. When the strip became more robust, I stopped going. I loved that pool at Caesar’s. And Cleopatras barge…so fantastic. I’d like to go that Morocco place where they have steaks and prime rib! I will say that getting a decent meal back then was tough…the best steak house was at…believe it or not: Circus Circus. Old school steakhouse, with slabs of beef, baked potatoes, etc etc. and trapeze artists to boot…who knew? Thanks for taking me back this morning Major!
Vegas, where you could see the Rat Pack perform at the Sands for a two drink minimum. Take that Cirque de Soleil. Corporate greed ruins everything. I saw a TV show awhile back that said the staff thinks the Flamingo is haunted by Ben (Bugsy) Seigel. I wonder if he gets comped a room? Great stuff today Major, thanks for all you do.
Top marks for today’s photos, Major!
I loved old Las Vegas. My Dad loved the desert and we would go out there in winter breaks, usually on the way to somewhere further out. He explained how gambling was a tax on people who were bad at math and that kept the rooms inexpensive.
I vividly remember Fremont Street with the buzzing neon, the Golden Horseshoe and the Cowboy, now ruined by the “Fremont Street Experience”.
Usually we stayed in some one-horse motel, but one trip we signed into the Aladdin. I remember the registration desk was on the edge of the casino floor, and I got scolded by a guard for wandering over in fascination with a giant slot machine (seemingly the size of a house) while Dad was checking us in.
This is why “Diamonds Are Forever” is my favorite Bond movie; Vegas, Jill St. John, and that Mustang car.
Yes, please, let’s go see Esquivel, and later we can go see Juliet Prowse.
Thanks for the reprise of your Mom and Dad. Their pics pop up on my desktop slideshow off and on. Looks like they had a good time in 1958.
I went back in 2006 for a work convention and swore never again.
JG
Association for Computing Machinery? Hey, that's us!
JG, Diamondsis among my favorite 007's, too.
Nanook, don’t you love the “bachelor pad” music of Esquivel? He had a resurgence a while back. Juliet Prowse did like to show off those legs! Not a bad thing at all.
JB, I don’t know which version of the Stardust sign is in the museum, but, if the fantastic lettering had been removed at some point, I don’t see how that nicer version can be the one that still exists. I’d love to know, though! As most readers know, I do love drugs, the more the better, and it’s always fun to combine them. Grab a few with your eyes closed and see what happens.
TokyoMagic!, Las Vegas is even less sentimental about its history than Disneyland, so don’t get too attached to ANYTHING. And how was I supposed to know that that is the Holiday Casino? It’s not like there are obvious signs or anything (ARG). Thanks for the correction. Don’t forget about mince pie (for a future nickname). Or how about “Turkey Meat”, ha ha!
Chuck, that is what is known in the industry as a TYPO!
Bu, ha ha, this is what Walt did NOT want Harbor or Katella to look like! And yet… compare the old Anaheim to what we have now. Yes it’s cleaner and less cluttered, but it also lacks much of interest. I’ve only been to Vegas once, and it was OK, but I’m not into throwing my money away gambling, and I’m not really a drinker. And MAN, some of those shows were expensive! You could bet poor in a hurry. If you look back at one of my old posts, you’ll see that my parents had their honeymoon at the Flamingo back in ’58. Topless ladies? Why, I didn’t think that could be improved upon, but dressing them as horses is really thinking outside the box. I do wonder if those famous stage shows exist (at least before all of the weirdness of the last two years)? We never had one really good meal in Vegas, I kept hearing about how you could eat a great meal for cheap, but anything halfway decent was EXPENSIVE. And I was not rolling in dough.
Jonathan, boy that would have been something to see the classic Rat Pack. It’s almost hard to believe that people could just wander in and see Frank, Dino, and Sammy, all on stage together. Poor Bugsy Seigel, stuck haunting his old hotel for eternity. Not a great way to go!
JG, I’m glad you liked these; I feel like they are kind of “lesser” Las Vegas, but sometimes it’s the oddball photos that are the most fun to look at. Same with Disneyland. I had a friend who used to go play poker in Vegas regularly, and he always said he “broke even”, which I seriously doubt. At least he didn’t claim to have come out ahead all the time! I wish I’d seen the old Fremont Street, pre-“Experience”. That really does look awful. Were you scolded by that guy because you were a kid? He sounds like a jerk, what kid wouldn’t want a closer look at a giant slot machine? I hope Rich Little is performing in Vegas - his fame always baffled me, but man, he was on every darn talk show. His impressions were mediocre at best. I’m sure he died a multi-millionaire. Unless he’s still alive.
Melissa, are you a Computing Machine? I’m mostly a machine that makes noises and annoys people. “Diamonds Are Forever” seems to be divisive, people either love it or they really don’t like it!
@ JB-
You bet the Stardust sign is part of the collection at The Neon
Museum-!
I'm also thinking that "partial geodesic dome in the background" is the Cinerama Theatre Las Vegas - opened on January 13, 1965. By that time, real 3-projector Cinerama presentations were a mere memory, but the name lived on. Unlike the Cinerama Theatre in Hollywood, this beauty had an aluminum dome, rather than a pre-cast concrete one. The weight of the aluminum dome (consisting of 500 panels) was said to be one-thirtieth the weight of the concrete dome. I believe the building was razed sometime in 1984 to make way for a mini-mall.
I saw a great example of Vegas changing quickly during my first trip. We had most of our meals in the resort coffee shop, which was cheap and delicious. We had dinner there one night, and when we came back for breakfast the next morning it had been TOTALLY redecorated.
Major, I’m glad I dont make anY mistakes with me typing.
Diamonds Are Forever is my favorite “silly Bond film” for all of the reasons cited, plus Lana Wood.
I think that photo af the Maxim may have been taken from the Imperial Palace Tower of the Flamingo Capri (later the named Imperial Palace, the Quad, and the Linq because…Vegas). The tower was built in 1977 and the angle looks plausible.
Stupid autocorrect fixed five intentional typos. Computers just don’t understand humor.
Major, "Turkey Meat!" works.....I like it! Maybe I'll save that for Thanksgiving. I did use "Mincemeat," just this past Thursday.
Is that a 1970s van, in front of the Flamingo Hotel? And is that some kind of vent on the roof? It reminds me of the vents they added to the new Monorails at Disneyland, when they realized that sealing up the windows wasn't the smartest thing to do, on a "metal tube" that is going to be out in the sun all day.
Nanook, I did say that the Stardust sign is at The Neon Museum, but we were wondering whether it was the awful Helvetica version of the much cooler “Arabian Nights” font version. Cool about the Cinerama Theatre, and of course it’s a shame that it was razed (not a surprise though).
Melissa, wow, they redecorated it in less than a day?!
Chuck, I think all of the Connery “Bond” films have at least something worth watching (though I have not seen “Never Say Never Again”). Thanks for doing the research to find out about the Palace Tower of the Flamingo Capri!
Chuck, somehow computers don’t fix MY mistakes.
TokyoMagic!, who can remember so many silly nicknames? I can’t really tell what’s going on with that van’s roof, but you have to figure that many campers and motor homes have those pop-up vents. It’s too bad that the new Monorails required sealed windows, but people can’t be depended on to be responsible or considerate these days.
Major, "Chuck, somehow computers don’t fix MY mistakes.", Maybe they have a sense of humor, after all.
Major & Tokyo!, I know that travel trailers and any other vehicle with a butane stove (or heating, or refrigeration) have those roof vents, to keep them from blowing-up-real-good or to keep the occupants from dozing off and not waking up again. Maybe that's the case here.
Tokyo Mash Potatoes!, It's good to see someone carry the torch with the nicknames, corny though they may be. I get a kick out of your valiant attempts! Please continue as long as you can.
Dusk at the Stardust. Or is it dust at the Stardusk? Pretty scan, either way.
The 'newer' Stardust sign font resembled Starbuck's. You can blow a lot of money on vices, at either.
Thank you, Major.
Major-
You certainly did - I just wasn't specific-enough. HERE it is.
The only Thanksgiving name I can think of is Candied Yams with Marshmelissas.
Marshmelissas - I love it!
You guys can carry on with the silly nicknames as long as you like. I gave up and chucked the idea after Hallowe’en.
I'm a couple years late to the conversation, but the second-to-last photo is the view from the Flamingo itself. Their first tower, seen in the last photo, was built in 1977. It's the view looking east from the back of that tower. Those two photos are circa late '77 to early 79.
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