History
Eilley Orrum Bowers
Eilley Orrum Bowers, once the nation’s wealthiest women with an ultimately sad life story that is indicative of this ‘boom and bust’ era.
Come and see our hologram of Eilley talking about her life in our galleries.
Born in Scotland, Eilley was one of a few women living in […]
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 […]
Mirage Hotel and Casino opening in 1989
On November 22, 1989, the Mirage Hotel and Casino opened its doors. The Mirage was the first new resort to be built on the Las Vegas Strip for more than 15 years, the last opening being the MGM Grand. When it opened, the $630 million Mirage was the largest hotel in the world with […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
