What wonderful footage. I was born in Las Vegas in 1957 and moved back east with my family when I was only five. My father was in the Grover Shore Trio which was the "house band" at the Desert Inn for eight years. They also had the first live variety TV show when Las Vegas got it's first TV station KLAS. Lots of great stories from my parents days there.
This was a great little spin around old Vegas - Sahara, Desert Inn, Sands, etc. All I remember from a trip out there when I was a toddler were all those BIG signs... (well, and some swizzle sticks!) Now I know why... the hotels were just flat little motel drive ins.Funny how that blinking neon burns into your imagination and makes an indelible impression! Thanks for posting this- would love to see more if you have any.
Fantastic video. I'm from England and my sister got married in Vegas last year, at Caesar's Palace. I had one of the best weeks of my life there. Incredible place and incredible people. I always like to know about the history of the places I visit, so to see this footage is great. I cannot wait until I holiday in Vegas again.
As a kid, I remember driving through and spending the night in Vegas from Southern California to get to Utah in the early 70's. Those same casinos and hotels were still thriving, such a magnificent time in history. Great video, Ray!
I just visited Vegas last month. First time there in thirty years, back then I was a teenager. I can't imagine that the Vegas of today can come close to the charm it had in the '50's, very nice work.
Thanks for your comment. I shot it when I was 15 years old...my Dad, in that one part coming out of the hotel, just turned 92 and doesn't look much different. I was just amazed at those "huge" signs in Las Vegas at the time, which by today's standards are very small. Ray Lindstrom
What a marvelous time machine trip...outstanding 8mm film work for a 15 yr old youngster...and captures the feel and atmosphere of the Las Vegas of the fabulous fifties, beautifully...plus love your folks gorgeous black and white '56 buick...in mint condition today, bet the car would be worth big bucks.thanks again for posting...
Wow! I lived out there very briefly as a toddler, and I still have vivid memories of these hotels. We lived between the desert inn and the Sands. In retrospect, I’m just amazed by how low and close to each other these “monumental” landmarks were. I remember people being impressed by the then under construction Stardust, because it “went all the way back to the railroad tracks.” I vaguely remember driving all the way along the strip, which at that point pretty much meant from the Tropicana to the Sahara. Also recall a grand opening of a big department store (Magnin?) with fireworks, and the Dancing Waters- i think at the Desert Inn. But it’s the neon that is burned most vividly into my memory. Thanks for sharing this classic. What fun! ( great narration, too!)!
Great video Ray.. I been going to Vegas since 1980. Not much of anything left in that area. Most places built after this in that area are gone now.. Stardust, Westward Ho, Riviera, Sahara, Frontier, Desert Inn.. These were the places I liked best.. Ty for posting .. Great job.
Mom and Dad had great taste and some bucks, to be able to afford a brand new shiny 1956 Buick, and stay at the fabulous Sahara!...Thanks for posting....
I've been reading 'Diamonds are Forever', which is part set in Vegas in '56. Really great to see it brought alive like this. Thanks for putting this on RUclips.
1969 my first trip to vegas to see elvis, his dinner show was 15.00 per person. most other shows were no more than 10.00 for dinner. What a great time !!
This is great for reviving the memory of times past. My parents always took us kids on vacation out west back in the 50s. When we could, we would travel down to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City and spend a day or 2. One time, I was about 12, my parents wanted to see a stage show and left us in our room. A short time later, mom came and got us, saying it was ok for us the watch the show. Turns out it was a topless show, it was great, but mom and dad tried all night to hind under the table. lol
Thanks for this personal tour of the strip in the 1950's. It is great to see what Vegas was like before the era of imploding the old for the gaudy new.
Excellent narration! Thanks for the memories! How I wish that Vegas could go back...(Those that remember me as "Brent the Gent" when I had the power to COMP!!!!) Thanks again!!!!!
I can remember going (more like passing through) Las Vegas in 1954 on a cross country automobile trip. My parents stopped in a casino on the strip. I had them play some nickels for me. It was August and hotter than Hell and no AC in our 50 horsepower 1950 Plymouth. Being inside the AC'ed casino was the big treat.
That part of the Sahara that you stayed in was called the bi level complex. I used to attend the high end audio exhibits that were part of the Consumer Electronics Show in that building, until it was demolished in around 1998.
Very professional narration with wonderful memories. Living here in Phoenix, I am sad that a lot of the old places are gone here as well. Can't stop time I guess.
The Silver Slipper's slipper sign would spin and stop with the toe facing Howard Hughes' hotel room and he thought the Federal Gov't planted a camera in it and was watching him. He bought the place and had the sign filled with concrete. The Sahara is in the midst of being remodeled and will re-open in the future. Thanks Ray for these great old images of my favorite city
Ray, good man for sharing, I'm sure the conversion work was not easy. Great to see the city in the '50's...I'm going to share on Facebook. Thank you for this excellent , and, historical post, keep it safe, this is a real slice of history...and heritage for posterity.
By 1956 most of the early fabulous well known strip hotels were up and running, including the El Ranch Vegas , The Last Frontier, Flamingo, Thunderbird, D.I. Sahara, Sands and Riviera...a couple of years later, the 2 final giants would be underway, The Stardust and the Tropicana........
Wow 1956... good to see what it was like back then - btw my mom checked into the Flamingo Hotel around 1986... checked right out (hated the neon lights most of all).
This vacation foorage is pretty neat! We got to see the Sahara one last time before it was closed down. My friend found $5 walking in the lobby and won $95 playing the slots!
Awesome film Ray! I know this video is almost 4 years old so I hope your dad is still with us! Also, love your great watchman commercials that you used to do at the Riverside resort in Laughlin Nv
When I first visited in '99, we walked down the strip to the water park and stopped to admire the windowless, ready for implosion 'El Rancho Vegas' (which I think may have been across the street from its location in your film?). 5 years later I was staying in Wilsonville, OR on business and found a odd hanger in the closet... labeled 'El Rancho Vegas' which I traded for one of mine. Thanks for the great film and great narration.
I used to live in Las Vegas, and let me tell you it wasn’t as charming as this era. It was okay when I was there, but I would have loved to see it in its formative years.
I remember in those days the new cars would come out in the end of the previous year...and they didn't all look alike as they do today. Those were some fine cars! Big, gaudy, and lots of chrome. My folks had the 56 black and white Buick that I shot in a few scenes.
@serratop, I'd say a/c in the Vegas hotels most likely started with Ben "Bugsy" Siegel's Flamingo Hotel and Casino, whish was built in the 40s. It was one of the first of the golden age casinos in Vegas.
This is really great. There are a bunch of old home movies on Vegas, but so few of them have a voice over. This adds so much to the film. By the way, are you a pro v/o artist. You definitely have the voice for it!
Vegas,or anything else today,ain't what it used to be....but a lot of the Vegas experience is your mindset. You gotta show up with swagger,and an appetite for fun. Valet your Caddy at Caesar's, check in and then hit a bar for some drinks. Have a good dinner and catch Tom Jones. Hit the tables for awhile,get a table at a cozy bar and people-watch and party till 5am.....priceless.
Hi, I am wondering if it's ok if I can use short clips from this video from a youtube project I am working on? I will give credit and a link to your videos if you agree.
Cryptid Hunter No problem go ahead and use whatever you want at no charge as long as you put a link to the video and my website, www.lasvegas1956.com. Ray
One silly question, may be somebody knows: When did they start to put airconditioners in the hotels? From my visits there since 1990 I know how hot it is in Vegas and I cant imagine to stay there without airconditioners. If somebody could answer please.
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I first went to Vegas about 1981, I love the way the old casinos have kept the same theme, and feel.
What wonderful footage. I was born in Las Vegas in 1957 and moved back east with my family when I was only five.
My father was in the Grover Shore Trio which was the "house band" at the Desert Inn for eight years. They also had the first live variety TV show when Las Vegas got it's first TV station KLAS.
Lots of great stories from my parents days there.
Lived there for a lot of years. If it still looked like that, I'd go back.
This was a great little spin around old Vegas - Sahara, Desert Inn, Sands, etc. All I remember from a trip out there when I was a toddler were all those BIG signs... (well, and some swizzle sticks!) Now I know why... the hotels were just flat little motel drive ins.Funny how that blinking neon burns into your imagination and makes an indelible impression! Thanks for posting this- would love to see more if you have any.
The Old Las Vegas had Charm and Class and if most of the buildings were still there, I would drive there and visit myself.
Fantastic video. I'm from England and my sister got married in Vegas last year, at Caesar's Palace. I had one of the best weeks of my life there. Incredible place and incredible people. I always like to know about the history of the places I visit, so to see this footage is great. I cannot wait until I holiday in Vegas again.
As a kid, I remember driving through and spending the night in Vegas from Southern California to get to Utah in the early 70's. Those same casinos and hotels were still thriving, such a magnificent time in history. Great video, Ray!
I just visited Vegas last month. First time there in thirty years, back then I was a teenager. I can't imagine that the Vegas of today can come close to the charm it had in the '50's, very nice work.
Thanks for your comment. I shot it when I was 15 years old...my Dad, in that one part coming out of the hotel, just turned 92 and doesn't look much different. I was just amazed at those "huge" signs in Las Vegas at the time, which by today's standards are very small. Ray Lindstrom
Great video when Vegas was actually Vegas👍👍
Your father was 76 when he conceived you?!
Great video, thanks for posting. I was born in Vegas in 53' and it 's great to see it as it was 'back in the day' !
Ray you have a beautiful voice. - Too bad this old Vegas is forever gone. Really nostalgic. Thanks for sharing this with us.
THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS OLD FOOTAGE..
Outstanding - thanks for the tribute to a great place at a great time.
Fantastic video... and a great radio voice!
Excellent job, Ray. I wish Vegas was still like this.
What a marvelous time machine trip...outstanding 8mm film work for a 15 yr old youngster...and captures the feel and atmosphere of the Las Vegas of the fabulous fifties, beautifully...plus love your folks gorgeous black and white '56 buick...in mint condition today, bet the car would be worth big bucks.thanks again for posting...
Wow! I lived out there very briefly as a toddler, and I still have vivid memories of these hotels. We lived between the desert inn and the Sands. In retrospect, I’m just amazed by how low and close to each other these “monumental” landmarks were. I remember people being impressed by the then under construction Stardust, because it “went all the way back to the railroad tracks.” I vaguely remember driving all the way along the strip, which at that point pretty much meant from the Tropicana to the Sahara. Also recall a grand opening of a big department store (Magnin?) with fireworks, and the Dancing Waters- i think at the Desert Inn. But it’s the neon that is burned most vividly into my memory. Thanks for sharing this classic. What fun! ( great narration, too!)!
Very decent rare footage.worth the price of admission.Great narrative as well. Thanks for sharing this old rare footage..
Best old Vegas video I've seen!
what a great video and i loved your commentary.
i didn't move here until 1964 (as a kid) but a lot of these views still jog my memory. :)
Great video Ray.. I been going to Vegas since 1980. Not much of anything left in that area. Most places built after this in that area are gone now.. Stardust, Westward Ho, Riviera, Sahara, Frontier, Desert Inn.. These were the places I liked best.. Ty for posting .. Great job.
Thanks for the memories. Quite a deep voice for a 15-year-old!
Hi Ray! 🙌
excellent narration!
this is a window into the past,
Thanks for sharing the memories!
Greetings from Naples (Italy)
Mom and Dad had great taste and some bucks, to be able to afford a brand new shiny 1956 Buick, and stay at the fabulous Sahara!...Thanks for posting....
you sir have a voice for television and radio thanks for sharing this
You sound like a great radio announcer. What a great piece of history here, I enjoyed watching this thoroughly. Thanks for posting, Ray.
I've been reading 'Diamonds are Forever', which is part set in Vegas in '56. Really great to see it brought alive like this. Thanks for putting this on RUclips.
1969 my first trip to vegas to see elvis, his dinner show was 15.00 per person. most other shows were no more than 10.00 for dinner. What a great time !!
This is fantastic! Exellent narration also. Thank you so much for sharing :)
Beautiful video must be experience of live to be there that time thanks for sharing 👍
This is great for reviving the memory of times past. My parents always took us kids on vacation out west back in the 50s. When we could, we would travel down to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City and spend a day or 2. One time, I was about 12, my parents wanted to see a stage show and left us in our room. A short time later, mom came and got us, saying it was ok for us the watch the show. Turns out it was a topless show, it was great, but mom and dad tried all night to hind under the table.
lol
hard to believe that this video itself is now almost 10 years old.
Thanks for this personal tour of the strip in the 1950's. It is great to see what Vegas was like before the era of imploding the old for the gaudy new.
Great video and narrative
I watch this clip every year before i go to Vegas. Love it! though I admit I don't know who most of the entertainers were.
I like your narration. You have the perfect voice for it.
This is awesome! Thanks very much for sharing it with the world
Excellent narration! Thanks for the memories! How I wish that Vegas could go back...(Those that remember me as "Brent the Gent" when I had the power to COMP!!!!) Thanks again!!!!!
Very amusing.. a new comer to Vegas, but to see it before the Sinatra days is quite amazing...
I can remember going (more like passing through) Las Vegas in 1954 on a cross country automobile trip. My parents stopped in a casino on the strip. I had them play some nickels for me. It was August and hotter than Hell and no AC in our 50 horsepower 1950 Plymouth. Being inside the AC'ed casino was the big treat.
That part of the Sahara that you stayed in was called the bi level complex. I used to attend the high end audio exhibits that were part of the Consumer Electronics Show in that building, until it was demolished in around 1998.
My grandfather always stayed at the Sands Hotel . Happy Birthday grampa I love you and miss you and your cigars .
Priceless footage. I was fortunate to see Glitter Gulch, the last year before they made it The Fremont Street Experience.
What a wonderful review. Many thanks for sharing this with us. What great memories!
Very professional narration with wonderful memories. Living here in Phoenix, I am sad that a lot of the old places are gone here as well. Can't stop time I guess.
The Silver Slipper's slipper sign would spin and stop with the toe facing Howard Hughes' hotel room and he thought the Federal Gov't planted a camera in it and was watching him. He bought the place and had the sign filled with concrete.
The Sahara is in the midst of being remodeled and will re-open in the future. Thanks Ray for these great old images of my favorite city
I loved this! Thanks so much for sharing and narrating this lovely time capsule!
Great Video! Thanks a lot for this!
Great job. Really enjoyed watching this. I wish I was lived to see vegas at this stage. :(
Thank you so much for posting this! This is wonderful. Really interesting. Great voice, too.
Ray, good man for sharing, I'm sure the conversion work was not easy.
Great to see the city in the '50's...I'm going to share on Facebook.
Thank you for this excellent , and, historical post, keep it safe, this is a real slice of history...and heritage for posterity.
Thanks Ray awesome taking me back to the 50's
Great vid, and loved your narration. You've a great voice
By 1956 most of the early fabulous well known strip hotels were up and running, including the El Ranch Vegas , The Last Frontier, Flamingo, Thunderbird, D.I. Sahara, Sands and Riviera...a couple of years later, the 2 final giants would be underway, The Stardust and the Tropicana........
Terrific video, & equally terrific narration, Ray!
great video! one of the best I've seen great narration! wow it really captures the vibe
Fabulous. Thank you.
I was hoping to see one thing here, and I did: a marquee with Louis Prima and Keely Smith on it. Thanks so much for sharing!
awesum, your posting history, thanks
Excellent video. I felt like I was there... even though it was before I was born. LOL
great video thank you for sharing
Wow 1956... good to see what it was like back then - btw my mom checked into the Flamingo Hotel around 1986... checked right out (hated the neon lights most of all).
Ray, I LOVED the video...! I think what made it extra good was the excellent commentary... you should have been in Radio! Take care.
This vacation foorage is pretty neat! We got to see the Sahara one last time before it was closed down. My friend found $5 walking in the lobby and won $95 playing the slots!
Seems like downtown Vegas had a lot more character than it does now. That magic seems to have disappeared.
Thank You sir, I live here now and I am 50!!! TY
I lived there from 2004-07. It was a different time back in the '50s, and even in the mid-2000s compared to today.
you sound just like him ,not bad just fact. I really enjoyed the video too...thanks Ray
Vegas, baby. The city and truly the only city that NEVER sleeps. Eat your heart out, NYC!
you sound like a pro .very cool ray.
Awesome film Ray! I know this video is almost 4 years old so I hope your dad is still with us! Also, love your great watchman commercials that you used to do at the Riverside resort in Laughlin Nv
You were so lucky to live there back then wish I had!!
Amazing commentary. So funny.
I stayed at Thunderbird 1995 or 96 a few months
try grandparents were lovin Vegas in the 1950s and 60s. I actually lived in Vegas for 2 years from 1999-2001. It's a fun city and still affordable.
When I first visited in '99, we walked down the strip to the water park and stopped to admire the windowless, ready for implosion 'El Rancho Vegas' (which I think may have been across the street from its location in your film?). 5 years later I was staying in Wilsonville, OR on business and found a odd hanger in the closet... labeled 'El Rancho Vegas' which I traded for one of mine. Thanks for the great film and great narration.
Great video! Greets from Amsterdam
The wristwatch part almost sent me to the emergency room dying of laughter!
I used to live in Las Vegas, and let me tell you it wasn’t as charming as this era. It was okay when I was there, but I would have loved to see it in its formative years.
Very nice! I noticed a '57 Cadillac and 57 Ford in the parking lot. They must have still had the new car smell it them, being Christmas of '56!
I remember in those days the new cars would come out in the end of the previous year...and they didn't all look alike as they do today. Those were some fine cars! Big, gaudy, and lots of chrome. My folks had the 56 black and white Buick that I shot in a few scenes.
As a kid, the first time I went to Las Vegas, back in the mid-seventies, I stayed at the Sahara. Yep a lot has changed.
@serratop, I'd say a/c in the Vegas hotels most likely started with Ben "Bugsy" Siegel's Flamingo Hotel and Casino, whish was built in the 40s. It was one of the first of the golden age casinos in Vegas.
Was there in the early 80's most of those places were still around. Liked it better than today's tourist trap.
I live in Henderson, a short drive from the Strip. Oh, how it has changed...
This is really great. There are a bunch of old home movies on Vegas, but so few of them have a voice over. This adds so much to the film.
By the way, are you a pro v/o artist. You definitely have the voice for it!
Very Cool
You've got a great voice!!
super cool
GREAT!!!!!!
this is my home town :)
Las vegas really change since then
Vegas,or anything else today,ain't what it used to be....but a lot of the Vegas experience is your mindset. You gotta show up with swagger,and an appetite for fun. Valet your Caddy at Caesar's, check in and then hit a bar for some drinks. Have a good dinner and catch Tom Jones. Hit the tables for awhile,get a table at a cozy bar and people-watch and party till 5am.....priceless.
Thanks for sharing this old footage. you should donate it to archive.org.
thank you ray...
Hi, I am wondering if it's ok if I can use short clips from this video from a youtube project I am working on? I will give credit and a link to your videos if you agree.
Cryptid Hunter No problem go ahead and use whatever you want at no
charge as long as you put a link to the video and my website, www.lasvegas1956.com. Ray
Ray Lindstrom will do thank you.
Holiday christmas las vegas fremont street and the strip.
and the Dunes,Riviera?
Wow- Thanks for the video. Are you a professional broadcaster? I felt like I was there.
I'm old enough to remember those entertainers. Neat footage!
The good old days!
One silly question, may be somebody knows: When did they start to put airconditioners in the hotels? From my visits there since 1990 I know how hot it is in Vegas and I cant imagine to stay there without airconditioners. If somebody could answer please.
wow... Hey Ray, i want to ask u.. I know i didnt born until 1975.. Does it have Palm tree there that time ?? I see normal tree as standard.