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Oral history interview with Barr Smith conducted by Melvin Smail on February 22, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Smith discusses his personal history and the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. Smith discusses working at the Basic Magnesium plant, playing high stakes poker games with prominent gamblers like "Nick the Greek," and the casinos built on the early Las Vegas Strip. Smith also describes how Las Vegas has changed, the different forms of gambling and gaming available in the city, and life in 1940s Las Vegas.
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The collection includes materials from the Nevada Test Site (1955-1967) including newsletters published by the Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Co., Inc. and photographs of Southern Nevada flora, fauna, and archaeology. It also includes photographs of test explosions at the Nevada Test Site, as well as photographs documenting a visit from North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) officials and a visit from John F. Kennedy to the Nevada Test Site. The collection also contains an oversized poster of an atomic explosion and one of a nuclear rocket development station.
Archival Collection