Abstract
The Dennis McBride Personal Papers (approximately 1920-2024) contain the papers of local historian and activist Dennis McBride. Papers include correspondence between McBride and many prominent members of the Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ community; financial and employment records from McBride's time at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Nevada State Museum; publications, press, and research surrounding McBride's numerous written works, unpublished and published; and family history, correspondence, and other personal documents. The collection also contains McBride's detailed personal date books and diaries that span multiple decades. Some audiovisual material and correspondence exist as digital files.
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Scope and Contents Note
The Dennis McBride Personal Papers (approximately 1920-2024) contain the papers of local historian and activist Dennis McBride. Papers include correspondence between McBride and many prominent members of the Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ community; financial and employment records from McBride's time at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Nevada State Museum; publications, press, and research surrounding McBride's numerous written works, unpublished and published; and family history, correspondence, and other personal documents. The collection also contains McBride's detailed personal date books and diaries that span multiple decades, as well as signed copies of two of McBride's books, Out of the Neon Closet: Queer Community in the Silver State and Building Hoover Dam: An Oral History of the Great Depression. Some audiovisual material and correspondence exist as digital files.
Publication Rights
This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. It may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Acknowledgement of the UNLV University Libraries is requested. For more information, please see the UNLV Special Collections policies on reproductions and use or contact us at special.collections@unlv.edu.
Arrangement
Materials remain in the order in which they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
Dennis McBride was born January 13, 1955 and grew up in Boulder City, Nevada. He received both his bachelor's and master's degrees in English Literature from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He is well-known as an expert in the history of Hoover Dam and has published several histories of Boulder City. His books include In the Beginning: A History of Boulder City, Nevada, Building Hoover Dam, An Oral History of the Great Depression (with Andrew Dunbar), and Midnight on Arizona Street: The Secret Life of the Boulder Dam Hotel. McBride is also an authority on Nevada's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) history. He has chronicled and collected the history of the LGBTQ community in Las Vegas, Nevada since the late 1970s and authored Out of the Neon Closet: Queer Community in the Silver State and LGBTQ Las Vegas, a visual history of the LGBTQ community. He has worked as a curator of historical collections at the Boulder City Museum and Historical Society, UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives, and the Nevada State Museum. He was appointed Director of the Nevada State Museum in 2012 and retired in 2022. As of 2022, he resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Preferred Citation
Dennis McBride Personal Papers, approximately 1920-2024. MS-01099. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Dennis McBride; accession numbers 2022-024, 2023-007, 2023-026, 2024-014, and 2025-023.
Processing Note
In 2022, Sarah Jones created the collection-level finding aid in ArchivesSpace. In 2023, Sarah Jones added the 2023 accessions at the box level. Item-level inventory is available upon request for photographs until further processing is completed. In 2024, Sarah Jones added the 2024-014 accession and updated the finding aid. In 2025, Sarah Jones added the 2025-023 accession and updated the finding aid.
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Appraisal Note
Acquired by Su Kim Chung, curator, as part of UNLV Special Collections and Archives holdings in Las Vegas LGBTQ history. All material that formed the original gift has been retained.