>

Category: vintage History


Jan
2014

Vintage Vegas-Golden Nugget Casino Hotel

categories: vintage History, Vintage Hotel, vintage images

I’m off to Las Vegas again for an event this weekend…yay! I’m only spending 3 nights in Vegas and then back to cold cold Canada I go. Got to save up those vacation days for VIVA Rockabilly weekend. While we are there we are staying at one of my favorite hotels, the “Golden Nugget“. I adore this hotel so very very much, it just screams old school Vegas. I also love Fremont Street that the hotel is on, so much fun to just wander from casino to casino, bar to bar exploring everything.

I thought for this post it might be fun to explore a bit about the Golden Nugget and see what we can unearth about one of my favorite hotels.

Golden Nugget Las Vegas Vintage Photo of Fremont Street.

Vintage Vegas-Golden Nugget Casino Hotel

Brief History of the Golden Nugget

The Golden Nugget was originally built-in 1946, making it one of the oldest casinos in the city. It was designed as a casino only as opposed to a combination casino and hotel. It’s original bullnose and signage was designed by Young Electric sign designers Kermit Wayne and Hermon Boernge. The 1905 on the sign (under the small Golden Nugget name) led many to believe that the Golden Nugget had been part of the original development of Fremont Street but that was a myth. Because of its bullnose and signage, the Golden Nugget became one of the most photographed buildings on Fremont Street. “Everyone knew the Golden Nugget sign” said the late president of the LVCVA, Manny Cortez (Source: Classic Las Vegas).

When the casino opened it was the largest and most luxurious casino in downtown Las Vegas. It had mahogany bars, imported marble floors and crystal chandeliers (seen below).

Vintage Ad for the Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas

(Image source)

1950s Golden Nugget postcard showcasing what the caino and hotel looked like inside.
1950s Golden Nugget postcard showcasing what the caino and hotel looked like inside.

In the 1960s more properties beside the Nugget were purchased but no expansion ever happened and it continued to remain as just a casino. That all changed though in the 70s when Steve Wynn purchased the casino and turned it into the hotel/casino we know it as today (note: it is no longer owned by Wynn and has gone thru some dramatic face-lifts but it’s still a hotel/casino and very beautiful inside).

Some fun facts about the Golden Nugget

In keeping with its name the Golden Nugget is home to the worlds largest gold nugget-“The hand of Faith” weighing 61 lbs., 11oz.

Hand of faith Golden Nugget

Frank Sinatra in 1984 at the twilight of his career performed at the Nuggets theater ballroom, a room that he actually inaugurated along with Willie Nelson. It was also rumored that he nicknamed the ballroom-” the dungeon” because it was so small but it must have not been too bad because it was his home for 3 years.

Vintage poster for Frank Sinatra performing at the Golden Nugget hotel and casino in las vegas. Frank Sinatra in 1984 at the twilight of his career performed at the Nuggets theater ballroom, a room that he actually inaugurated along with Willie Nelson. It was also rumored that he nicknamed the ballroom-" the dungeon" because it was so small but it must have not been too bad because it was his home for 3 years.
  • Negotiations to build the Golden Nugget took 30 minutes.
  • From 1946 until 1950, poker players dealt their own cards in no-limit games. The Golden Nugget was the first casino to introduce the center deal (a dealer who deals the cards to players).
  • The bar was a reproduction of an actual Carson Street bar during the Comstock boom, and each piece was hand fitted and carved.
  • The Golden Nugget was designed to replicate the original Golden Nugget built on San Francisco’s Barbary Coast.
  • 20,000 guests were invited to the opening.
  • A ribbon was wrapped around the Spa Tower for its 1984 Grand Opening (Source: Golden Nugget website).

Such fun facts!

I hope you enjoyed my little post on the Golden Nugget and now I’m off to pack and head off to enjoy my own Vintage Vegas experience just like the below picture.

Vintage Vegas slot machines as seen by two women and one man playing them.

 Image by © Michael Ochs Archives/Corbis

Have you been to Las Vegas and enjoyed the Golden Nugget? Any tips on some great Vintage Vegas places to check out?

Further Reading about Vintage Las Vegas:

Liz 🙂


Nov
2013

Remembrance Day-Tale of the Canadian “Army Show”

categories: Uncategorized, vintage History
Poppy Remembrance Day

Today is November 11th, Remembrance day a time to commemorate the sacrifices of people in all armed conflicts. It is also a time to say Thank You to the ones who are still living. Recently at the Toronto Maple Leafs game they had a remembrance day ceremony and had several military there. One of them was a woman by the name of Mary Prescott who had served with the Canadian Women’s Army Corp with the “Army Show” as a dancer and traveled to various places in Europe with the show. When I heard this, I instantly got to wonder exactly what the Army Show was and thought it would be a wonderful piece to share on this day.

Note: Pictures were almost impossible to find for this blog but I really wanted to share this story with you so I moved forward with limited images. The Canadian Archives though has some wonderful pictures that I have attached at this link for you to enjoy.

The Army Show

The Department of National Defense sanctioned a radio program with the help of the CBC called “The Canadian Army Radio Show” broadcasted from Dec 13th, 1942-September 1943. With its combination of music, comedy, skits it became widely successful and prompted the creation of a touring stage version. This idea behind the stage version was to entertain troops, promote recruitment by enhancing the army’s image, to increase the sale of war bonds, and to bolster civilian morale (Canadian encyclopedia).

Wayne and Shuster who wrote most of the material for the show

1940s vintag photo of Wayne and Shuster Radio show

Source

When it opened in April 2, 1943 most of the skits, lyrics and music were written once again by the comedy duo Wayne & Shuster and it also was a smashing success. Time magazine described it as a “high-spirited, always likeable, often lavish soldier show“.  The show toured Canada that spring, visiting places like army camps and urban centers (Canadian encyclopedia).

While in Vancouver being refurbished for a project run on Broadway, the Department of National Defense, decided to split the troupe into 5 units to be sent overseas, two as musical revues and 3 as variety groups. Why? Morale was down in the military and the government knew that something like a musical revue would help change that AND they also saw the great success that the American USO had with their soldiers and wanted to replicate it with their own shows.

The 5 units reached England on Dec 21st, 1943 and there became part of the “Canadian Auxiliary Services Entertainment Unit” where they toured Britain and after the 1944 Allied invasion of Western Europe, at the front lines in Holland, France, Belgium and Germany (Canadian encyclopedia). The shows ended up having the effect that Department of Defense was looking for and one solider was even quoted to have said that it was like “mail from home”.

After the Allied victory in Europe, units entertained troops awaiting repatriation & serving as occupation forces. More than 20 entertainment units remained active until 1946 when all live entertainment in the Canadian Army were dispensed with.

Other Entertainment Units

As well as the Army Show there was also “The Royal Canadian Air Force Shows” and “The Royal Canadian Navy Show”, all with their own troops, singers, dancers touring to the respective bases and camps. The Navy show “Meet the Navy” was so widely popular that it even became a British Feature film.

If you would like to read more about the other troops and other exciting tidbits then check out this wonderful article entitled “It made them forget about the war for a minute” by Laurel Halladay that goes into much deeper information about all three of these entertainment units (and there is wonderful pictures that I cannot share on this blog).

I hope you enjoyed this mini little remembrance day history lesson. Troops like the ones mentioned above really were an integral part of the war effort and without them there is a possibility that the war could have gone very differently. It truly is amazing what a “piece of home” can do for one’s soul.

Further Reading:

Liz