Abstract
The James Reece Photographs of El Rancho Vegas depict the Las Vegas Strip's first hotel, El Rancho Vegas, in Las Vegas, Nevada, from approximately 1950 to 1962. The photographs depict a craps table and its operators, owner Beldon Katleman with Eleanor Roosevelt, the hotel's exterior, and military servicemen photographed with one of El Rancho's entertainers, Yvette Dare.
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Scope and Contents Note
The James Reece Photographs of El Rancho Vegas depict the Las Vegas Strip's first hotel, El Rancho Vegas, from approximately 1950 to 1962. The six black-and-white photographs depict a craps table and its operators, owner Beldon Katleman with Eleanor Roosevelt, the hotel's exterior, and military servicemen photographed with one of El Rancho's entertainers, Yvette Dare.
Access Note
The collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain in original order.
Biographical / Historical Note
In 1940 Californian hotel operator Thomas Hull visited Las Vegas, Nevada to purchase land for a new hotel. Enticed by local businessmen Robert Griffith and James Cashman, Hull bought a parcel on Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard (then Highway 91) and opened El Rancho Vegas, the first hotel on what became the Las Vegas Strip. The location was outside of Las Vegas city limits, which allowed Hull to avoid city taxes. El Rancho Vegas opened in 1941 and was the largest hotel in Las Vegas until 1942.
Hull sold El Rancho Vegas, and the hotel changed hands several times, temporarily belonging to several owners with connections to organized crime. In 1947, Beldon Katleman bought El Rancho and invested $750,000 for renovations, increasing the hotel’s size by 220 rooms and enlarging the casino.
In 1960 a fire destroyed El Rancho Vegas. Despite promising to rebuild the hotel, Katleman sold the property. Billionaire entrepreneur Howard Hughes purchased the empty site but never developed it. In 2004 the Hilton built a timeshare tower on the land.
Source: Burbank, Jeff. “El Rancho Vegas.” Online Nevada Encyclopedia. October 6, 2010. http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/el-rancho-vegas
Preferred Citation
James Reece Photographs of the El Rancho Vegas, approximately 1950-1962. PH-00048. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1975 by James Reece; accession number 75-119.
Processing Note
Materials were processed by Special Collections staff. In 2016, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Lindsay Oden wrote the collection description in compliance with current professional standards.