This postcard shows a version of what is now McCarran International Airport circa 1965 or so. The back of the card says that McCarran Field, as it was known then, cost $5 million (yes, million, not billion) that at the time more air traffic was handled per capita than any other airport in the world.
This shot of the Las Vegas Convention Center, also from the mid-1960s, shows the then iconic rotunda as the main feature of the facility. The back of the card indicates the Convention Center cost $6 million to build and could accommodate up to 8,000 people.
The four-shot of The Desert Inn from the 1980s shows that the idea of bringing Broadway shows to Vegas was not invented by “Mamma Mia!” The Desert Inn opened in 1950 and closed in 2000. It was torn down and replaced by Wynn Las Vegas (2005) and Encore Las Vegas (2008).
The El Rancho was the first hotel-casino on what would eventually become The Strip. Opened in 1941 at (what would later be) the corner of Sahara and Las Vegas Boulevard, El Rancho featured 63 rooms, a casino, and one of the first all-you-can-eat buffets. It burned down in 1960 and the lot has remained mostly undeveloped since.
The Bonanza opened in 1967 just south of the intersection of The Strip and Flamingo Road. After 1973 it sat in the shadow of the original MGM Grand, which opened just to the north of it. The Bonanza was torn down in the 1970s and the land on which it stood is now, roughly, where Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas intersect.
The Hacienda opened in 1956 on the far south end of The Strip. It expanded several times over the years and closed in 1996 to make way for Mandalay Bay.
The Holiday Casino and Holiday Inn was one of several showboat themed properties around town. It was purchased in the early 1990s by Harrah’s and later completely remodeled to its current carnival look and feel.
You can see more Vegas photos and memorabilia in the Vegas4Visitors Museum.
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