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Image / Showboat Hotel and Casino, Fremont Street, looking north

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Title
Showboat Hotel and Casino, Fremont Street, looking north
Alternative Title
Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Photo Collection
Creator
Kelly, Howard D
Contributor
Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation
Date Created and/or Issued
1959
Publication Information
Kelly-Holiday
Contributing Institution
Los Angeles Public Library
Collection
Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection
Rights Information
Images available for reproduction and use. Please see the Ordering & Use page at http://tessa.lapl.org/OrderingUse.html for additional information.
Description
Title supplied by cataloger.
The Showboat Hotel and Casino, located at the north end of the Boulder Strip, opened on September 3, 1954. The first resort was built by William J. Moore and J. Kell Houssels for $2 million within Las Vegas city limits, it had 100 rooms on two floors. A bowling alley was added in 1959, which soon became the Showboat's signature attraction. By 1979, the bowling alley grew to 106 lanes, making it the nation's third largest. A 19-story hotel tower was built in two phases, with the first nine floors opening by 1973, and the remainder in 1976, bringing the property to a total of 500 rooms. In the early 1980's, a large unused space on the second floor was converted into the Showboat Sports Pavilion, the Pavilion was later converted into a bingo hall. The hotel was successful until the 1990s when it suffered the same fate as the downtown casinos, which were losing business to the new megaresorts on the Las Vegas Strip. In 1998, Harrah's Entertainment bought Showboat, Inc. for $1.15 billion. They sold it in 2000 for $23.5 million to VSS Enterprises and VSS renamed it as the Castaways. Ultimately, demolition began in July 2005, and the hotel tower was imploded on January 11, 2006.
Aerial view of Showboat Hotel and Casino, located at 2800 Fremont Street in Las Vegas; view is looking north. The hotel has three large buildings with parking along the right and at the rear. Photograph was taken for Pioneer Flintkote. Photograph dated February 19, 1959.
Type
image
Format
1 negative :safety ;11 x 14 cm.
Photographic safety negatives
Identifier
00096286
Kelly-Holiday Mid-Century Aerial Collection
KHAF 501-33
CARL0005089384
http://173.196.26.125/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/6739
Subject
Showboat Hotel and Casino (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Casinos--Nevada--Las Vegas
Lost architecture--Nevada--Las Vegas
Streets--Nevada--Las Vegas
Hotels--Nevada--Las Vegas
Las Vegas (Nev.)--Aerial views
Las Vegas (Nev.)
Aerial photographs
Time Period
1951-1960

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