Las Vegas history 1953-1980. Migration to Las Vegas from Louisiana. Personal history: family, occupation(s), and education. Westside. Development of race relations in Las Vegas. Residential segregation. Discrimination of blacks: no better than the South. Inequality of employment opportunities. Development of the Strip. Black entertainers.
Interview with Charles Salton by George Green on April 23, 1976. Salton discusses arriving in Las Vegas in 1929, after his family had moved from New Jersey to Huntington Beach, California. His father sold real estate, and expected a boom after the authorization for the construction of Hoover Dam. His father was involved in bootlegging and then owned Al's Bar, a drinking and gambling establishment, on the alley at South First Street. Salton describes the area around Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard with businesses and grocery stores, the grammar school and high school, and the hospital. Salton talks about his social activities, including involvement in the Jewish Community Center (Temple Beth Sholom), and several of the bars, clubs and casinos in the area. He briefly discusses the mob influence in the casinos versus corporate ownership and then speaks about the education system in Clark County.
Eric M. Cheese interviews University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) librarian Alice Cowles Brown at the UNLV Campus Library. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 10th, 1919, Brown moved to Henderson, Nevada in 1956. This interview offers an overview of life in Las Vegas and Henderson from 1956 to 1981. Brown also discusses road conditions, social structures, the educational system, support for intercollegiate sports and UNLV.