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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop For Tiki Culture enthusiasts this is a pilgrimage you’ll want to consider. One of the original two giant Maoi statues that graced the entrance to the Stardust Hotel & Casino’s Aku Aku Polynesian-themed restaurant back in the 1960s and 70s was relocated to Sunset Park in Henderson, just a few miles south of The Strip. Built by Read more...
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Mid-century vintage bars Located just a few blocks east of the Fremont East Entertainment District, downtown, Atomic Liquors is the oldest free-standing bar in Las Vegas, dating back to the end of the Second World War when it opened as Virginia’s Café. The 1950s cold war era brought nuclear bomb testing to the Nevada desert just outside the city, and with Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture For years organized crime got no respect, but lately Las Vegas has been embracing the mob’s role in the city’s evolution with places like The Mob Museum and The Mob Bar doing brisk business. If you believe the local lore – that mobster Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was a visionary and driving force behind the genesis of what would become Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings With no less than a dozen mid-century modern buildings (including casinos, listed separately ) in the downtown area, modernists will feel like they’ve hit the jackpot. All are within easy walking distance of each other and we’ve listed them from north to south (more or less)… click on addresses below for Google Map locations. Old City Hall Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings In a city that often overlooks its history in favor of the next big thing it’s rare to find a mid-century modern building that still functions as it was originally intended to. Such is the case with the Edward A. Greer Education Center on East Flamingo Rd; still operating as an office building for the Clark County School District. Read more...
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Mid-century/brutalist buildings The tallest building at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus is also it’s most interesting. Built by modernist architects Walter Zick & Harris Sharp in 1970, and named for popular State Assembly woman Flora Dungan, the Humanities Building at UNLV is a unique example of combining the International Style with brutalism and desert modernism; a clean facade, lots Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture Las Vegas in the 1960s wouldn’t have been the same without Frank Sinatra and his legendary Summit performances with the Rat Pack. Today, imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, and all, there are a few options to relive those retro days… ♣ The Rat Pack is Back have been entertaining Las Vegas audiences since 1998 and features a Read more...
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Vintage Casinos The original Las Vegas was built around Fremont Street, downtown, and started to take off during the Great Depression (yep, that’s ironic) when casino gambling was legalized and construction began on the nearby Hoover Dam. The real casino building boom on Fremont took place in the post-war years and at least six of these locations are still standing. Read more...
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Mid-century/googie buildings When defining the wacky architectural stylings of Googie, just think The Jetsons meets modernist coffee shop! In fact, the word Googie comes from the original 1949 John Launter designed West Hollywood coffee shop, “Googie’s.” Unfortunately, that establishment was torn down years ago. Las Vegas still has an array of eye-popping Googie buildings though – defined by their Atomic Age-inspired Read more...
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Mid-century modern churches Built on land donated by “Mr. Las Vegas,” Moe Dalitz (in a bid to improve his Mob-centric image, no doubt), pioneering modernist Paul R. Williams was enlisted by the Catholic Church to design the Guardian Angel Shrine in 1963. Raising the stakes on your typical mid-century church A-frame, though, Williams’ exaggerated Googie-like design did not go unnoticed Read more...
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Mid-century buildings Built in 1954 for the famed Holsum Bakery, this historic property is actually comprised of 3 separate yet connected buildings and was completely renovated in 2004 when it re-opened as the Holsum Lofts, a live/work space for artists and designers. Its original clock & iconic signage were also restored. Today the property is home to design group Henrikson Read more...
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Mid-century buildings Designed in the streamline moderne style by one of the most prolific theater designers of the mid twentieth century, S. Charles Lee, the Huntridge Theater opened its doors in 1944 and was an immediate success, screening movies to the public – in one form or another – for nearly 50 years. Through the 1990s the theater was supported Read more...
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Mid-century/googie buildings Currently pulling double duty as a Visitors Center and the gateway through which guests can enter the Neon Museum’s “boneyard,” the La Concha Visitors Center started out as the iconic lobby to the La Concha Motel, designed by noted modernist architect Paul R. Williams, in 1961. Its unique design stood out on The Strip during the 1960s-90s where Read more...
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Vintage eats Luv-It Frozen Custard has been in business and in the same location since 1973! That’s practically historic status when it comes to Las Vegas and its penchant for knocking things down. They offer walk-up counter window service (no seating) and boast the best freshly-made frozen custard we’ve ever had (check their website for the daily specials)… and if you Read more...
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Mid-century bank buildings Bank design in the post-war years seemed to be about inspiring optimism and consumer confidence. Bigger was better so of course what better place than Las Vegas for these institutions to make their mark. The biggest and boldest designs are listed below in no particular order… click on addresses below for Google Map locations. Nevada Savings & Read more...
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Mid-century modern churches Modernist churches abound in Las Vegas but they don’t all adhere to the typical A-frame design of the period, especially when it comes to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS). The following three Mormon chapels and two others are highlighted because of their unique, non A-Frame, mid-century qualities… click on addresses below for Google Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings This simple two-story circular building acted as developer Irwin Molasky’s unique base of operations from where he oversaw the 1960s development and construction of his master-planned community, Paradise Palms, adjacent to the Las Vegas National Golf Course. The round, smoked glass structure – now used for medical offices – is hard to miss when driving along S. Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings/signs In the post-war years, as more families started traveling the United States by automobile, Las Vegas proved to be a requisite stop along their way. Clusters of motor courts and motels (motor + hotel) popped up along east Fremont Street and to the north and south on Las Vegas Blvd. to meet the need for inexpensive lodgings. Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture Nuclear testing near Las Vegas drew thousands of curiosity seekers to the city in the 1950s and early 60s. The Atomic Age was big business and Las Vegas cashed in with Atomic themed drinks, beauty pageants and flashy marquee signs. Who knew the Atomic bomb could be so much fun? The National Atomic Testing Museum takes a different Read more...
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Mid-century vintage signs If you’ve ever wanted to get up-close and personal with vintage Vegas neon signery, this is the place to do it. Although there are several restored neon signs on display throughout the downtown Fremont Street area and along North Las Vegas Boulevard as part of the Las Vegas Signs Project and National Scenic Byway, the “Boneyard” is Read more...
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Vintage restaurants Nothings says vintage Las Vegas like dark wood paneling and shiny brass fixtures, especially if your idea of vintage Vegas is a rat pack-style retro steak house. Fortunately, there are a handful of such places that still exist, the oldest dating back to the 1950s. Listed from ‘less vintage’ to ‘most vintage.’ Click on addresses below for Google Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses For a city that’s fond of bulldozing its past, Las Vegas has a surprising number of neighborhoods that have been designated “historic,” and although that doesn’t mean they’re all of the mid-century modern variety – like Paradise Palms – there’s probably enough here to satisfy those with a craving for residential modernism. Listed from west to east… click Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings The Palm Mortuary & Cemetery dates back to the 1920s and has seven locations in southern Nevada. The two rectilinear mausoleums at their downtown Las Vegas location were built in the late 1950s and are gorgeous examples of midcentury modern construction with patterned breeze block screen walls and clean lines. As you enter the grounds, the “Building of Eternity” Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Southern California architects Dan Palmer & William Krisel, who’d successfully built hundreds of mid-century modern post & beam tract homes in Palm Springs during the 1950s & 60s, were tasked by local developer Irwin Molasky to design a majority of Clark County’s first planned community, Paradise Palms, and they knocked it out of the park. This progressive 1960s subdivision Read more...
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Mid-century vintage diners/bars Las Vegas’ original 24-hour coffee shop and ultra lounge has been serving up huge portions and stiff drinks for over 40 years. An offshoot of Reno’s Peppermill & Lounge when it opened across the street from the formerly iconic Stardust Hotel & Casino (rest in peace) in 1972, this place was an instant hit with Strip performers and Read more...
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Housing the world’s largest collection of vintage pinball machines under one 10,000 sq. ft. roof, the Pinball Hall of Fame is really a pop culture museum of sorts showcasing hundreds of machines dating back to the 1950s… and they all work! From classic penny drop machines like “Skill Roll” to the 1960s Apollo space program-inspired “Lunar Shot,” this arcade/museum delivers Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings DEMOLISHED IN 2022 Originally a Mormon Church & Recreational facility before it was taken over by the city of Las Vegas in the late 1960s when it stood temporarily as City Hall, then as the Reed Whipple Cultural Arts Center in the early 70s, this handsome 60s building boasts a large sweeping facade with beautiful block detailing Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Designed by Charles Luckman & Associates, the Sears building at the north end of the Boulevard Mall is the last vestige of the original late 1960s single-storey shopping center developed by Las Vegas businessmen Merv Adelson and Irwin Molasky (Paradise Palms). Its classic folded roofline and graceful linear awning look like they were dropped at the corner of E. Read more...
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Mid-century vintage automobiles THIS ATTRACTION WAS CLOSED AS OF JANUARY 2018 Hidden all the way at the back of The Linq Hotel & Casino, up the parking garage elevator to the 5th floor, is the world’s largest vintage automobile showroom… and it’s worth the trip (and $13.00 admission price) if that’s what you’re into. This 125,000 sq ft. space boasts Read more...
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Mid-century popular culture In the early 1950s the Kefauver Committee hearings on organized crime took place in 14 U.S. cities, including – and especially – in Las Vegas. Hearings were held at the Federal Courthouse and Post Office building, which, although designed in the neoclassical style and not mid-century modern, is one of the few historically significant structures left in Read more...
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Mid-century/desert modern houses Built in 1959 by modernist architect Hugh E. Taylor, and originally located at the posh Desert Inn Country Club Estates (where The Wynn golf course is now located), the historic Morelli House was saved and relocated by The Junior League to its current downtown location in 2001. Notable for being the home of Sands Hotel & Casino Read more...
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Tiki Culture/Polynesian Pop For fans of Polynesian Pop, stepping into an authentic Tiki bar is like riding a time machine back to the 1950s or 60s, and although there’s little trace left of the Stardust Hotel & Casino’s famous Aku Aku Polynesian-themed restaurant & cocktail lounge (or any other vintage Vegas Tiki bar for that matter), there are fortunately two really Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings Established as the Nevada Southern University in 1957, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus boasts well over a dozen handsome mid-century modern buildings, and although the campus has grown to over 330 acres since then, these modernist structures are all within easy walking distance of each other and can be viewed in about an hour. If Read more...
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Mid-century vintage diners Restaurants come and go, especially in Las Vegas, which is why true diner culture connoisseurs can appreciate a little mid-century authenticity. Unlike the Vegas kitsch of the stand-alone Peppermill Restaurant & Fireside Lounge, these “lunch counters” are old-school and can all be found inside other establishments, which was the norm back in the day. We’ve listed the following from Read more...
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Mid-century modern buildings With the demolition of The Riviera Hotel & Casino in 2015 and the Tropicana in 2024, only three original mid-century properties remain on The Strip. Many have been rebuilt and remodeled over the years – several times – but some of their bones are still there and worth a visit, if not to stay at then to Read more...
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Mid-century walking tours Las Vegas has a variety of niche tours that cater to just about everyone but for our money it’s Las Vegas Pop Culture Tours that satisfies. Created by Babs Daitch (one-time social secretary to Frank Sinatra) and Richard Hooker (former Urban Arts coordinator), their signature 90-minute Fremont Street Walking Tour makes a great primer for anyone wanting Read more...
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Vintage Chapels Nothing says Las Vegas better than a quickie marriage (or a quickie annulment) and there’s no shortage of wedding chapels here in which to do so. If you’re looking for the perfect vintage or retro spot to share your vows there are four chapels that jump to the top of the list (from north to south)… click on Read more...
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Mid-century vintage signs Few signs in the world are as immediately recognizable and iconic as the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign. Located on the median at 5100 S. Las Vegas Blvd. just south of Mandalay Bay, the sign – which is of classic Googie & Atomic Age descent – was designed in 1959 by Betty Willis (Stardust Casino and Moulin Read more...