In The News: Special Collections and Archives
Crystal chandeliers that once glimmered above a swanky lounge, bright blue costume feathers that cloaked shimmying showgirls, and fake palm trees that evoked a desert oasis are just some the artifacts making their way from the latest latest casino graveyards of Las Vegas into Sin City history.
Bally’s Corporation, the operator of the to-be-imploded Tropicana Las Vegas, has agreed to donate a variety of memorabilia to the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ. The casino company was contacted by the university’s Special Collections and Archives department, which wanted to preserve a part of the historic resort.
After it’s imploded on Wednesday morning, the best way to relive memories of the Tropicana Las Vegas will be to head two miles east of the vacant lot to UNLV. Nevada’s largest university recently received five boxes of history from the Rat Pack-era casino resort, most of which it has processed and made available for public perusal — both in person and online.
The iconic Tropicana Hotel, a fixture on the Las Vegas Strip for 67 years, is set to be demolished next Wednesday. The historic property, which closed its doors in April, will make way for a new Major League Baseball stadium.
For 67 years, the Tropicana was a staple on the Las Vegas Strip. It first opened on April 4th, 1957. UNLV history professor Micheal Green said the casino was the most advanced when it was built, now symbolized as part of the old Las Vegas.
It’s our first live episode of Milk Street Radio, recorded at The Beverly Theater in Las Vegas! In this special episode, Su Kim Chung shares Las Vegas’s most fascinating restaurants from history; “Top Chef” contestant and Black Sheep chef/owner Jamie Tran answers live cooking questions; and Neon Feast creator Al Mancini takes us on his ultimate food and drinking tour—complete with tiki rooms, hidden gems and one unforgettable dive bar that serve shots out of porcelain toilets.
To many, he was known as “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” to others, “The Hillbilly Cat,” “The Memphis Flash,” “Elvis the Pelvis,” or simply “The King.” In Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, Elvis Presley will always be remembered for the many years he spent performing to sold-out audiences from 1969 to 1977.
As the Tropicana closed its doors, 67 years of history were left behind. It is history that will now be home to UNLV’s library. “History is important, right, it’s the way we tell our story based on these pieces of evidence and having the records from the Tropicana itself enables historians and scholars. members of the community to understand the impact the Tropicana had in Las Vegas,” Sarah Quigley the director of special collections and Archives said.
It has been over five months since a gunman opened fire at the ҳ| 鶹ýӳ, killing three professors. Now, the UNLV Oral History Research Center is launching a new project that hopes to "enhance the historical record around that day with first-hand accounts of the tragedy, campus and community response, and recovery efforts."
Professional sports in Las Vegas couldn’t be a hotter topic than it is today. But while locals and fans celebrate recent championships and successful events and look to future expansion, it’s easy to overlook the significant history of sports in the Valley and how we got here.
Las Vegas has long been known as the entertainment capital of the world, but most recently it’s also taken its place as a major market for major sporting events. “At one time we couldn’t even get a major team here, because of our gambling. We were the gambling Mecca of the world, and they were afraid of that combination, but now that doesn’t make any difference anymore,” says Claytee White, Director of UNLV’s Oral History Research Center. The Center looking to hear the story of sports here in the Las Vegas Valley through the anecdotes of those who call it home.
It's a day locked in the memories of students and staff at UNLV. Dec. 6, 2023, the day three professors were murdered and a fourth injured by a gunman at Beam Hall. Now, items left at temporary memorials on campus have been collected and preserved.