News
El Cortez opening in 1941
On November 7th 1941 the El Cortez Hotel and Casino opened it doors. It promoted itself as “The new Uptown Hotel in the heart of Downtown Las Vegas,” and the city’s largest and most fashionable resort, playing a vital role in the economic development of Fremont Street. Originally constructed for $325,000, the Spanish Ranch […]
Bertha B. Ronzone
On November 5th 1969, founder and owner of the Ronzone’s chain of department stores that date back to the 1910s, Bertha B. ‘Mom’ Ronzone, passed away at the age of 84 years.
Born Bertha Bishop in 1885 in Iowa, Bertha married her husband, Attilio Ronzone, in 1901. They moved to Nevada two years later and […]
Kay Starr
On November 3rd 2016, singer and dancer Kay Starr passed away. An occasional performer at the Las Vegas Strip
Kay Starr performing at the Saharacasinos, Kay also sang at Harry S. Truman’s presidential inauguration in 1945. She went on to achieve gold with her signature song ‘Wheel of Fortune’. Kay could tackle […]
Grallator tracks
In 2011, hikers ran across Grallator tracks at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Footprints that are from an unidentified dinosaur are called Grallator, but this is not the name of the dinosaur that made the prints. It just means paleontologists don’t know which dinosaur left the prints behind!
From detailed measurements and the footprint […]
Sesquicentennial of the Nevada State Capitol
October has been proclaimed Archives Month in Nevada, and the Nevada State Archives is celebrating the Sesquicentennial of the Nevada State Capitol.
This video describes the Capitol’s 150 years of history through photos and […]
Silver Spike Ceremony
On September 17, 1930, hundreds of people gathered at Boulder Junction, Las Vegas (near the cross streets of Valley View and Russell today) to mark the start of construction of the 22 mile Union Pacific railroad track to link Las Vegas to Boulder City, as well as the beginning of the Boulder Dam project.
The […]
Early History of the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV)
On September 10th 1957, the first classes were held on the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) campus in a new 13,000-square-foot building; serving a growing post-war population in need of higher education services. The university started as an extension program from the University of Nevada Reno (UNR) back in 1951. It gained independence […]
Photo exhibit showcasing Nevadans, cultural identity opens at state museum in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — “Find Your Folklife: We Are ‘the Folk,’ All of Us,” is on display at the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas; an online version of the innovative photo exhibit also is available on the museum’s website. The exhibit originally debuted in July at the Winchester-Dondero Cultural Center.
“We’re proud to offer this photo […]
Decommissioning of the U.S.S. Nevada 29 August 1946
On 29 August 1946 the U.S.S. Nevada, the second ship to be named after our state, was decommissioned. The U.S.S. Nevada was a battleship nearly 200 yard long with a crew of 2,200 men. Launched in 1914, she was the first to have what were to become standards for US Navy battleships such as […]
Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino
#OnThisDay in 1966 Caesars Palace Hotel and Casino opened with a lavish launch party that reportedly cost $1,000,000!
Caesars Palace 1966 by Florian MitchellAt the time Caesars Palace was the largest hotel ever built as a single unified project in Nevada. It had 700 rooms across 14 crescent-shaped floors, although some […]
