Photograph of the Thunderbird marquee, Las Vegas (Nev.), 1970-1979

A nighttime photograph of the Thunderbird marquee advertising "Kings IV, Buckley and Collins," and "Thoroughly Modern Minsky World Famous Burlesque produced by Harold Minsky in the Continental Theatre. Showtimes 8:15 and midnight plus Fri. + Sat. 2:30 A.M." On September 2, 1948, the Thunderbird Hotel was the fourth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The resort was built by developer Marion Hicks and owned by Lieutenant Governor of Nevada Clifford A. Jones. The resort had a Native American theme and featured portraits, a Navajo-based restaurant, the only bowling alley ever on the Strip, and a showroom. In 1955, articles surfaced in the Las Vegas Sun saying that Meyer Lansky and other underworld figures held hidden shares in the hotel. In 1964, the casino was purchased by Del Webb for $10 million. He ran the resort until 1972, when he sold it to Caesars World, owner of Caesars Palace, for $13.6 million. A $150-million, 2,000-room resort called the Mark Anthony was planned for the site, but Caesars was unable to find financing, and sold the property four years later to banker E. Parry Thomas at a loss of $5.7 million. Thomas later sold it to Major Riddle, owner of the Dunes Hotel, who renamed the resort as the Silverbird in 1976. The Thunderbird has the distinction of being the resort where singer Rosemary Clooney made her first appearance in Las Vegas in 1951, and where Judy Garland made her final Vegas appearance in 1965. Site Name: Thunderbird Hotel (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 2755 South Las Vegas Boulevard