75th Anniversary Las Vegas Fremont Street

To make way for the Fremont Street Experience canopy, Vegas Vic had to come down and be shortened so it could fit under the 90-foot-high steel canopy, on December 23, 1994.
The business district on Fremont Street on September 22, 1959. This was the main shopping area for locals and boasted such stores as: Johnson's Apparel for Women, Ronzone's, Florsheim shoes, Woolworths, Gee's, and the 5-10-25 cent store.
The premiere for 'Ocean’s 11' at the Fremont Street Theatre on August 3, 1960. Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin are pictured in the center. To promote the world premiere Rat Pack members performed at the Sands when they were not filming. The Las Vegas News Bureau has the films of their performances often referred to as 'The Summit.'
The Pioneer Club on June 25, 1959. It was best known for the cowboy, Vegas Vic, that adorned the outside of the building. The 48-foot-tall cowboy cost $28,000 to build. The character of Vegas Vic was commissioned by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce in 1945 as an advertising tool to welcome people to the destination. The world-renowned neon version of Vic debuted at the Pioneer Club in 1951.
The Blue Onion Drive-In on March 27, 1961. This popular location was remembered by the owner's son Steven Longmire as: '73 lanes of parking for cars, each [with] their own air conditioning for the summer, and heating for the winter … Friday and Saturday nights every lane was triple parked, we had several off-duty police officers controlling the traffic, it was that busy.'
Ida Morgan turned heads as she posed on Fremont Street, circa 1958. Morgan, from Long Beach, California, was crowned Miss Petite and took publicity photos throughout Las Vegas including Fremont Street and the Hoover Dam.
Fremont Street looking west toward the Union Plaza on June 1, 1981. The Union Plaza opened at the site of the previous Union Pacific Train Station on July 2, 1971, after passenger train service to Las Vegas was discontinued.
The Helldorado Beauty parade on Fremont Street on May 11, 1955. Helldorado Days began in 1935, sponsored by the Elks Club, and despite its start during the depression, a local columnist declared, 'Las Vegas is particularly well suited to popularize just this type of a Wild West celebration...it is one of the leading tourist centers of the West.' The parade, now called the Las Vegas Days Parade, still occurs each May.
The Nevada Club on Fremont Street circa 1954. In the 1950s, being a dealer in a casino was a predominately male job, but the Nevada Club, along with the Monte Carlo and Las Vegas Club, were some of the first casinos to hire women dealers.
This aerial image is looking east from the Las Vegas Union Pacific Train Station down Fremont Street on March 16, 1961. The population of the City of Las Vegas was 71,697 in 1961.
The Union Pacific Railroad Depot, located on Main Street and Fremont Street, circa 1950-1955. This contemporary station described as 'typical modernistic Western motif' was the first completely air-conditioned railroad passenger station anywhere. It was torn down in 1969, as passenger train travel declined, to make way for the Union Plaza Hotel, now know as the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
Men participating in the Whiskerino Derby, part of the Helldorado Days celebration on Fremont Street on May 16, 1953. Helldorado Days began in 1935 and became widely popular, drawing tourists from throughout the southwest. The Whiskerino Derby was added in the late 1930s and touted a $25.00 reward for the man with the longest beard.
A marketing photo of gamblers on Fremont Street on February 7, 1977. The Las Vegas News Bureau was the main publicity arm for the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and often worked with various casinos and hotels for marketing purposes.
Fremont Street, looking east, taken from the Union Pacific Train Station on May 17, 1965. In the 1960s, the Union Pacific Railroad operated long-distance streamliners between Chicago, Kansas City, and the West Coast.
The Boulder Club on May 25, 1955. In 1945, the Boulder Club hired YESCO to redesign its 1933 sign. The new sign, credited as the first 'spectacular,' combined a tall vertical tower that read 'Boulder Club' and 'Enjoy the Old West.' The sign industry used the term 'spectacular' to refer to the largest and brightest signs.
Mayor Oran Gragson presented Red Buttons with a 'Fremont for Fun' key outside of the Fremont Hotel on July 12, 1967.
Runners on Fremont Street during the third annual Las Vegas Marathon on January 25, 1969.
An aerial of Downtown Las Vegas on February 11, 1966. The Mint is the prominent high-rise tower in the center, which opened in 1962.
The Nevada Club, Fortune Club, Western Union, California, and Pioneer Club with Vegas Vic in Downtown Las Vegas on June 6, 1955. The world-renowned neon version of Vic debuted at the Pioneer Club in 1951.
The Cornet Store on Fremont Street on January 12, 1948. Las Vegas was spreading out and expanding in the postwar years, and evidence of that was where its residents did their shopping. Retail chains and businesses continued to locate and grow downtown. Woolworths, J.C. Penney, and Cornet, located on Fremont Street, became popular shopping destinations for both locals and tourists.
The Las Vegas News Bureau station wagon at the corner of Main Street and Fremont Street on a snowy evening on November 15, 1958. The News Bureau photographers were capturing the snow and Christmas decorations on Fremont Street.
The Old Timer's Parade, part of the Helldorado Days celebration, on May 12, 1950. The Twenty Mule Team float, sponsored by the El Cortez, is pictured making its way down Fremont Street. The famous Twenty Mule Team wagons operated between 1883 and 1889 and hauled a total of 30-million pounds of borax from Death Valley to California. The wagons are still on display in Death Valley National Park.
A staged photo of gamblers inside the Golden Nugget, circa 1947. The photographers at the Las Vegas News Bureau were often asked by individual properties to take photos for their marketing efforts. This early example shows how the photo was staged with gamblers around the craps table in the foreground and in the background at the slot machines.
Fremont Street looking west from 2nd Street circa 1947. The Golden Nugget sign, prominent in the center of the photo, was forty-eight feet high and forty-eight feet wide and designed by YESCO's Hermon Boernge. The nugget at the top of the sign was twelve feet wide and its neon spread was twenty-six feet.
A marketing photo shows guests enjoying a pool at a motel on Fremont and 7th Streets on August 14, 1957. Across the street Dreamland's Furniture, Karl's Shoes, and Sears is visible with the El Cortez on the opposite side.
The Nevada Club, Fortune Club, Western Union, California, and Pioneer Club with Vegas Vic in Downtown Las Vegas on June 6, 1955. The world-renowned neon version of Vic debuted at the Pioneer Club in 1951.
The Bank of Nevada, circa 1950-1955. Other businesses pictured include: Bar Lido, Swinging Door Saloon, and Mikes Liquor.
Cars lining up on Fremont Street for the Mint 400 on April 26, 1979. The Mint 400 began in 1967 when Mint employee Norm Johnson created the race as a public relations event to promote the Mint hotel's annual deer hunt. It quickly became a legitimate race with massive national television coverage.

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