Las Vegas Scenes
I have a folder with some old scans of slides featuring Las Vegas - I figured I might as well use them today. The first two are dated "October 1958", and we are looking along Fremont Street, which was where the action was back in those days.
Why get out of your car to take photos? That's what they want you to do! And you're smarter than that. Stay in air-conditioned comfort, and listen to "Volare" on your radio. In this first shot, we can see J.C. Penny's to the right, it closed in 1985. There's a shoe store, a tavern, and an art-deco Woolworth's on the right side of the street, until you finally get to the Fremont Hotel. It really looks like any other downtown street of that era, until you get to the Casinos further down!
We've driven a bit further, and now Trader Bill's is on the right corner. Beyond that, Christensen Boy's and Menswear, the El Portal Theatre, The Fremont Hotel, and The Mint. On the left side, Thrifty Drugs, Hickory Wood Bar-B-Q, and other various shops. Then we can see the Golden Nugget, and beyond that, Vegas Vic beckons.
This next one was mixed in with a random lot of slides, and I had no idea where it was. I thought, "Maybe San Francisco?", but I was way off. Luckily, Bob Baskin's Restaurant was a big clue, and of course, it is in Las Vegas. I could find very little about Bob Baskin's, though it appears that a huge parking garage now stands in this location.
This bar of soap (?!) was for sale on eBay, pretty much the only artifact I could find. No menus, no postcards, no nothin'!
18 comments:
Major-
"No menus, no postcards, no nothin'!"
Well, yes... but how about a WINE LIST-? Gee, at a mere $2.25/bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, you wouldn't need a king's ransom to [eventually] get pretty sloshed-!
Thanks, Major.
Major-
And THIS... "Where The West Eats Best!"
First pic, Is that giant rooster (on the left) part of the shoe store sign?... Why? I don't associate roosters with shoes. Maybe it just looks like it's part of that sign, but isn't.
In the 2nd pic, They have some very authoritarian cross-walk signs in Vegas: The one on the right tells us to just "DON'T". Whatever you're thinking of doing, just "DON'T"!
What is that hovering lumpy thing on the left, part of (I think) the Hickory Wood Bar-B-Q sign. In this lighting and from this angle it looks rather repulsive, somehow. I suppose it could be a giant juicy steak, but it looks like...... something else.
3rd pic, I tried to read the signs in the Rancho Market window: On the left is "Fryers 29¢". Next is (maybe) "Lettuce 10¢". Skip the one behind the column. Then, I can't tell what that "T" word is (for 98¢). I can't tell what the next one is either, looks like "Naughty Luggage 5¢". Then, on the far right, it looks like "Cake Mixes 4 for 1 dollar". Or is it "4 Lbs. for 1 dollar"? In which case, it probably isn't cake mixes. Hey, some GDBers are into old cars; I'm into grocery store signs!
The "bar of soap", The 'menu' sounds pretty good! I'm relieved to see that they serve "real" country sausage; that fake, city-made stuff is inedible! I'm left wondering how they crammed all that into a small packet the size of a bar of soap.
Well, it only took me 15 minutes to lose my $100 in quarters in those danged slot machines... THANKS A LOT, MAJOR! ;-D
JB, the “Tofurky” is 98 cents. :op
Hey, I don’t have a cents sign on my iPhone….if I have it, I can’t find it.
^ I cheated. I just googled it (I'm using a desktop PC), and copied & pasted it. :-p
In both the first and second pics, we can see the arm of the iconic neon cowboy at The Pioneer. I wanted to see what these two blocks look like today, and at first it appeared that most of the buildings were torn down. Or maybe they were just majorly remodeled. I finally recognized the J.C. Penny's building, just because of that row of windows that tilt upward. Here is the current view from the first pic:
https://www.google.com/maps/@36.1687497,-115.1395807,3a,75y,302.3h,97.85t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s3ZsucP9uJRsgGCD5p5iR8w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D3ZsucP9uJRsgGCD5p5iR8w%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D302.30164785291606%26pitch%3D-7.847512125196374%26thumbfov%3D90!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205410&entry=ttu
If you do a 90 degree turn to the right, you can see a structure called the El Cortez Hotel, which looks pretty vintage.
Here is the current view from the second pic:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/322+Pizza+Bar/@36.1697241,-115.1417822,3a,75y,287.49h,105.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sFJxjnWkVJKhm-uTpubXCBA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DFJxjnWkVJKhm-uTpubXCBA%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.share%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26yaw%3D287.4853102373326%26pitch%3D-15.435466834398312%26thumbfov%3D90!7i16384!8i8192!4m9!1m2!2m1!1sFremont+Street,+Las+Vegas,+NV!3m5!1s0x80c8c3f2bef2c051:0x3f1da1c1cf9fb9b8!8m2!3d36.1699922!4d-115.1420362!16s%2Fg%2F11h1qdw5tz?coh=205410&entry=ttu
It looks like Trader Bill's was still there as recently as 2016, but now it's a White Castle. If you venture down the street a little bit, you can see that the El Portal Theater building is still there, along with it's marquee, but now it's a store that sells Indian Arts and Crafts. There is another vintage building two doors down from that, which sells T-shirts, jewelry, and "gifts."
JB, maybe that browned blob is supposed to be a whole cooked chicken?
Thanks for this vintage peek at Las Vegas!
¡Viva Las Vegas!
The rooster on the shoe store is advertising Weather Bird Shoes, which were made in St Louis. The brand got its name from a cartoon character that has been featured on the front cover of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch since 1901.
The Boulder Club at the Fremont must have had them rolling in at all hours. I hear that place rocked.
Bob Baskin’s serves pancakes ‘n’ chicken, which I guess is sort of like chicken ‘n’ waffles, only completely different.
First time I ever encountered chicken ‘n’ waffles was at, of all places, the chow hall at the US Embassy in Baghdad. The place was already surreal enough as it was, with its cavernous ceilings, impossibly varied food selections, and roast beef carving station, mood lighting, and rolling dessert cart on Sundays (remember - this was in a combat zone), but the adding of chicken to waffles nearly shattered my perception of reality. It was, however, quite tasty.
TM!, did your great-grandma have a purse big enough to smuggle that chicken into Disneyland?
TM!, did your great-grandma have a purse big enough to smuggle that chicken into Disneyland?
Chuck, she would have had to bring her camping tent or her car cover, in order to hide that one!
I was hoping that as Bob Hoskin's Restaurant, where Roger Rabbit and company serve up cartoon fare.
The Fremont Street experience seems like one of those ideas that Disney would sink a ton of money into, like the NBA restaurant in Orlando or the QM.
Nanook, nice! I don’t think that wine list was on eBay when I composed this post months ago, but it’s a good souvenir!
Nanook, I like old menus, but $100 for that one? Seems pretty steep.
JB, everyone knows that roosters and shoes go together like spaghetti and meatballs. Since the beginning of time. That “Don’t” sign has nothing to do with crossing the street. “Don’t even think about doing whatever it is you thought you were going to do!”. Pretty crazy for a place like Vegas. “Naughty luggage”, maybe I need some? I can’t imagine what it would be, but it’s fun trying. Frankly I’m amazed that you could glean as much from the Rancho Market as you did. And trust me, you don’t want “city sausage”. The less you know, the better.
Lou and Sue, I’ve never had tofurkey, and I hope I never do. Hmmm I know how to do a ¢ on the computer, but have no idea how to do it on a phone.
JB, that’s illegal!
TokyoMagic!, yes, I mention Vegas Vic in my text. Nobody reads my text! I did the Google Maps thing too, but it had changed so much that it wasn’t much fun to compare the “then” photos to the “now” photos. But I do appreciate you doing the research and providing the links! Vegas sure looked a lot more fun back in those days, at least the Fremont Street area. Yes, the El Cortez Hotel is an oldie. Trader Bill’s, was it kind of like Trader Joe’s? White Castle, I’ve never had a white castle burger. Steamed burgers, I dunno…
Chuck, see my Weatherbird Shoes whistle HERE ! I used to live near a Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles, and regret that I never tried it, because it looked pretty good. Pancakes ’n’ chicken, what’s not to like? Wow, you first saw chicken and waffles in Baghdad?? Crazy.
TokyoMagic!, grandmas have their ways.
Dean Finder, ha ha, IF ONLY it was a restaurant for Toons! I’m unsure of the Fremont Street Experience, I guess it was necessary to bring some life back to that part of the city. There was a rap video that was filmed there years ago, I had no idea what it was at the time. “What the heck??”.
@ Major-
On an iPhone, tap and hold the $ key. A small toolbar will pop-up with symbols - one of which is the ₵ symbol. On an Android phone, it can be accessed by pressing the symbol button, in the lower-left portion of the 'keyboard'. Then press the down arrow to find the ₵ symbol.
Yeah... $99.95 for that menu seems a bit silly, especially since a 'Tender Steak Sandwich' could be had for a mere $1.50-!
(But you gotta love the "free" shipping).
@ JB-
That 'lumpy thing' most-definitely is a whole chicken on a "BBQ spit'. CHECK THIS OUT. It's a little bit easier to make-out the 'flaming fire' beneath it.
Nanook, THANKS! I am one of those people who probably knows 1% of what my phone can actually do.
Nanook, I'm sorry, but that is clearly a roast penguin.
Tokyo!, Hmm, now that you mention it, it looks like a whole chicken on a rotisserie spit. I bet it revolved! (Still looks kinda repulsive.)
[Edit] Thanks Nanook, for the chicken-on-a-spit verification and link! And it does look like it revolves!
[Edit, again!] Looks like we were both wrong; Major says it's a penguin. And as we all know, he's always right about these things... Well, ALL things really. It must be one of the larger varieties of penguin, "emperor" perhaps.
Chuck, thanks for the shoe/rooster connection research. Who woulda thunk?
(I shall overlook the 'boulder' puns... just this once.)
Major, "city sausage" is just street slang for Soylent Green. So yes, best to avoid it.... Unless you're realllly hungry!
¢¢¢
Thanks, Nanook!
¢¢¢
I love that rotisserie penguin.
I can see Vic’s elbow pretty clearly in those first pics. I have an ashtray from the Golden Nugget, a prize yard sale find.
I remember Dad driving us down this street, two things stand out in memory. The oppressive heat offset by cool air conditioning coming out the wide open doors, and the incessant buzzing/humming of the neon tubes.
Thanks for helping me relive these Vegas memories Major. Everything else stayed there.
Chuck, a waffle is just a non-skid pancake.
Also I would love to have that pickup-camper. Just perfect.
JG
If there's one city in the world where you need Naughty Luggage, i's Vegas.
I miss Woolworth's so much. Christmas just isn't the same anymore.
So many great signs in these pictures, and so much good info in the comments. Some days GDB is like a fascinating history class.
Cock-a-doodle-shoe!
TokyoMagic!, yes, I mention Vegas Vic in my text. Nobody reads my text!
Major, I read every word of your text....ALWAYS! I just thought that you were pointing out another sign with the name of a business on it. I didn't not know....or remember, that the cowboy on that sign was named Vegas Vic! :-)
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