Anderson Field opened in 1920

On November 25, 1920 the Anderson Airfield opened located near where the Sahara Hotel and Casino parking lot is today. It was the first airport to service Las Vegas. It had an ‘L’ shaped runway that allowed pilots to land according to different wind directions and was designed and operated by Robert Hausler, an army pilot who scouted for new air mail routes. For the plan was that Las Vegas would soon be part of that all important schedule bringing in more business and jobs for the area.

Upon its opening there was a celebration of aviation with well-known pilots of the time such as Emery Rogers and Clarence Prest taking part on Thanksgiving Day and residents were urged to pay a dollar ticket to go and see the marvelous stunts that were to be performed.

When Hausler’s lease expired in 1925, the local Rockwell brothers, Earl and Leon, acquired it and changed the name to Rockwell Field, who negotiated the contract with Western Air Express. Rockwell Field closed at the end of the 1920s, and by the 1950s the Las Vegas Race Track had been built there, which eventually became the location for the Las Vegas Convention Center.