Abstract
The North Las Vegas Library Photograph Collection on North Las Vegas, Nevada (approximately 1905-1989) depicts life in Southern Nevada. The collection consists of over one thousand images dated from 1905 to 1989. The images consist of activities at Nellis Air Force Base, Southern Nevada politicians, celebrities, schools, churches, and city development.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The North Las Vegas Library Photograph Collection on North Las Vegas, Nevada (approximately 1905-1989) depicts life and growth in Southern Nevada. The collection documents the growth of North Las Vegas through images of freeway development, schools throughout the city, and public service buildings. The documentation of Nellis Air Force Base, its activities, personnel, and aircrafts from the 1960s through the 1970s are prominent in this collection. The items described include photographic prints and negatives; some of the prints have corresponding negatives which are not listed separately. Items listed are photographic prints unless otherwise specified. Images listed specifically as negatives exist only in that format.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Some collection material has been digitized and is available online.
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
This collection is organized into five series:
Series I. Nellis Air Force Base, 1929-1983;
Series II. Buildings, 1907-1989;
Series III. People, 1905-1989;
Series IV. City growth and development, 1960-1989;
Series V. Daily life, 1960-1989
Biographical / Historical Note
North Las Vegas, Nevada began as 140 acres purchased by Thomas L. Williams in 1917. Williams split the land into seventy-nine lots and began selling them to people who wanted to enjoy a libertarian community. During the Great Depression, people who came to Southern Nevada looking for employment at the Hoover Dam, but were unsuccessful, squatted in Williams’ lots. During World War II, defense spending again stimulated growth in Southern Nevada because of the various war industries that brought people to the area. The army gunnery school, now known as Nellis Air Force Base, brought people to the north side of the valley for work and military service. North Las Vegas was officially incorporated as a city in 1946.
Source – Schumacher, Geoff. Sun, Sin & Suburbia: The History of Modern Las Vegas. Reno: The University of Nevada Press, 2015.
Preferred Citation
North Las Vegas Library Photograph Collection on North Las Vegas, Nevada, approximately 1905-1989. PH-00277. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in July 19, 1991 by Thomasine Carson for the North Las Vegas Library; accession number 91-39.
Processing Note
Materials were processed by Special Collections staff. In 2016, as part of a legacy finding aid conversion project, Maryse Lundering-Timpano wrote the collection description in compliance with current professional standards.