Old Las Vegas Hotel Pools

Las Vegas Casino Timeline - CASINO CHRONOLOGY

40's, 50's and 60's
Las Vegas Nightlife

Ad from downtown's first skyrise. The 1956 Fremont Hotel.

Esther Williams in one of her famous Las Vegas water shows.

Louis Prima and wife, Keely Smith performing at the mid-fifties Sahara.

Cocktail Napkin Humor

Showgirls at the mid-1940's El Rancho

Diners in the Riviera's Hickory Room

Showgirls from the Riviera

Desert Inn show advertisement.

Games People Played inside the Flamingo 1953.

The era of golden gowns and satin sensuality.

Dancer Dorothy Dandridge on stage in 1949.

The Realm of the Coin.
A 1953 Nevada Club Fun Machine.

The 1959 Jennings Buckaroo slot machine.

The first table mounted slot machine, invented in 1954.

Headliner Joe E. Lewis advertising the El Rancho's new 2:30 AM show.

Early Fifties advertisement showcasing Lily St. Cyr who
performed her famous late night bathtub act 6 nights a week.

Lily Dancing.

Lily St. Cyr 1954.

Lily St. Cyr backstage.

Lily Reclining.

Candy Barr was another popular female performer
at the El Rancho Vegas in 1952.

The French Invasion.
Greeted with hot dogs and champagne, these 1958 Paris showgirls launched
the Strip's first imported showline - the Lido de Paris at the Stardust's Starlight Theatre.
Other foreign productions followed featuring Beauties from the Orient, Brazil, Cuba and Hawaii.
Popular 1950's show themes included Tropical or Latin styles involving the Tiki, Hula, South Pacific,
Mambo and Cha-Cha crazes; largely inspired by the travels of American soldiers during World War Two.