Abstract
The Union Plaza Photograph Collection, approximately 1970 to 1971, consists of photographic prints and negatives taken during the construction of the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Images portray the construction process, the surrounding area and businesses, and the completed project.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Scope and Contents Note
The Union Plaza Photograph Collection, approximately 1970 to 1971, consists of photographic prints and negatives taken during the construction of the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. Images portray the construction process, the surrounding area and businesses, and the completed project.
Access Note
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 and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
The Union Plaza Hotel and Casino, now the Plaza Hotel and Casino, opened its doors in a grand opening ceremony on July 2, 1971 in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The inclusion of "Union" in its original title was in reference to the Union Pacific Railroad station that originally stood at the site. In 1906 the first train station was constructed in the style of Spanish-Revival architecture. It was replaced in 1940 with a Streamline Moderne train station designed by H. L. Gogerty, a well-known architect from Los Angeles, California, complete with a Union Pacific Railroad shield. In 1970, to make room for the newly anticipated hotel and casino property, the station was demolished. When the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino opened, however, there was a ticket window and sitting room dedicated to Amtrak trains that passengers could only access inside the casino, making it the only train station attached to a casino in the country.
Co-owned by longtime Las Vegans Sam Boyd, a veteran gaming executive; J. Kell Houssels Jr., an attorney; Jackie Gaughan, who owned several downtown properties; and Frank Scott, a developer whose ties to the Union Pacific Railroad provided them the ability to purchase the land, the opening of the Union Plaza Hotel and Casino signaled a new wave of development and growth in downtown Las Vegas.
The Plaza Hotel and Casino, as it is known today, has been featured in a number of motion pictures, and is still one of the favorite casinos of many visitors.
Sources:
"Plaza Hotel," Online Nevada Encyclopedia, accessed April 15, 2020, http://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/plaza-hotel
"Our History," Plaza Hotel and Casino, accessed April 15, 2020, https://www.plazahotelcasino.com/about-us/our-history/
Preferred Citation
Union Plaza Photograph Collection, approximately 1970-1971. PH-00316. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 1999; accession number 99-19.
Processing Note
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, Nicole Batten wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.