Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson and his wife Bonnie wave from a convertible in a parade on Fremont Street at night. They are passing under a rope decorated with garland and paper cartoon railroad cars. Behind their car is the St. James C. Y. Marching Band. Neon signs for several business are visible in the background, including Franklins, Michael's Quality Shoes, Thrifty Drug Store, and part of the Golden Nugget Gambling Hall sign. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor.

Photographed as part of the UNLV Special Collections and Archives' Building Las Vegas collecting initiative started in 2016. This photo is part of a series documenting landscape improvements along Fremont Street East in downtown Las Vegas.

Photographed as part of the UNLV Special Collections and Archives' Building Las Vegas collecting initiative started in 2016. This photo is part of a series documenting landscape improvements along Fremont Street East in downtown Las Vegas.

Photographed as part of the UNLV Special Collections and Archives' Building Las Vegas collecting initiative started in 2016. This photo is part of a series documenting ongoing construction work at Circa Las Vegas, the first new casino built on Fremont Street since the 1970s.