LAS VEGAS 1956 - DOWNTOWN, STRIP, SAHARA HOTEL

[thelazycomic]

Excellent video. I felt like I was there... even though it was before I was born. LOL

[Connieleann]

My grandfather always stayed at the Sands Hotel . Happy Birthday grampa I love you and miss you and your cigars .

[Diamondgrl2007]

MAN i wanna get in a time machine and go back wayyy before my time just to see Vegas like this and when they casinos first came in...it looked soooooo much better than the way it does today...i'd still go once in a while but i like Old Vegas better!! i finally see a video instead of pictures...

[Zoomer30]

You forgot the flash from the nuclear testing :)

[lilliteningpea]

you sir have a voice for television and radio thanks for sharing this

[Pelon714]

Great! Thanks for sharing and you have a great voice! Las Vegas had class back then. This was just prior to the Rat Pack Days.

[timon924]

That was fun.

[CoOlTy3000]

GREAT!!!!!!

[MrBidwin]

You really can have fun and get great savings on all sorts of purchases including smartphones when you know where to go. Take a look at this video - it shows you how to do it.

[davemick100]

WoW

[nic190]

must have been beautiful,without all the Mexicans passing out porn cards ,and flyers today

[westy40]

Awesome film Ray! I know this video is almost 4 years old so I hope your dad is still with us! Also, love your great watchman commercials that you used to do at the Riverside resort in Laughlin Nv

[aaronpapanos]

If I ask my dad about old Vegas he goes on forever and ever, hah, love ya dad ::)

[Dion1957]

They were BIG SIGNS. The Mob ran it and everything was next to free, people wore attractive clothes.NOW, it creeps in flip flops paying top dollar for shit.

[MrUnidyne]

@Dion1957 Living just outside of Las Vegas, I agree with you completely! I moved here in 1993, when things were just starting to slide. Gone are the cheap buffets, review shows, discount coupon books, and tourists dressed to the nines. Now, it's overpriced eateries, overprices celebrity shows, and obese freaks in t-shirts and sandals. {insert very deep sigh here}

[1998disco72]

@Dion1957  Hey my grand parents said during the 50's, 60's and the 1970's when the mob ran vegas was when you had some of the best service and it was safe. No fat asses wearing stupid t-shirts etc. Vegas had class but not anymore those days are gone. That is why I hate the place!

[LENTICULARPLASTIC]

@1998disco72 It's true, Dion. Vegas was a classy place before the shakedown. You didn't go to the clubs dressed informally...My dad always said that the opening of Slots-O-Fun as a casual gaming house for the lower middle class marked the beginning of the end of the "Old Vegas" epoch.

[kevo1296]

I watch this clip every year before i go to Vegas. Love it! though I admit I don't know who most of the entertainers were.

[brgvt97]

I like your narration. You have the perfect voice for it.

[MrDavearama]

The signs and hotels were cooler then. It was like a private club, the riff-raff would never make it to the casinos like today. It was an adult place, not for 21 year old beer drunk putzes with Mom and Dad's credit card.

[hpylori7]

Thanks for this personal tour of the strip in the 1950's. It is great to see what Vegas was like before the era of imploding the old for the gaudy new.

[dbww]

I've been reading 'Diamonds are Forever', which is part set in Vegas in '56. Really great to see it brought alive like this. Thanks for putting this on YouTube.

[fonso291]

I bet those where the good old day,s can you amagen no gang,s no drug,.

[marcyyoakumdorsey1]

they no longer have any CHRISTMAS LIGHTS down town ..that i can recall lived here 11 years 

[daftdeejay]

You had a COLOUR Cine-Camera in 1956?

Wow......

Great video - many thanks.

[MGoodbar]

A blast from the past....great vid thanks for sharing :)

[SydnRain]

I loved this! Thanks so much for sharing and narrating this lovely time capsule!

[piksi1000]

great video thank you for sharing

[adamvahle]

awesome video thanks so much for posting it

[skydogz1]

Narrator sounds like Bob Cummings.

[carpii]

Great vid, and loved your narration. You've a great voice

[JulianandBec]

Very amusing.. a new comer to Vegas, but to see it before the Sinatra days is quite amazing...

[mikealtan]

It was nice of Mitt Romney to share his video with us. Thanks Mitt.

[RayLindstrom]

@mikealtan What does that mean?

[Msloogu]

@RayLindstrom He thinks you sound like Mitt Romney...he's joking but you do sound a little like Mitt Romney. Thanks for the Upload.

[glueforall]

@mikealtan you're a doof...and don't quit your day job...comedy is not your thing

[tjmacjee]

@TheRaawan Has the mushroom season started already?

[1questionable]

Ray,

Thanks for the Las vegas walk through memory lane. I have always been fascinated by that city and where I live in Mississippi, it is becoming the next Las vegas. I would like to see more of your work.

MIchael

rosa37mike@live.com

Again thanks and God bless to you and your family.

[vaporman23]

wow... Hey Ray, i want to ask u.. I know i didnt born until 1975.. Does it have Palm tree there that time ?? I see normal tree as standard.

[bettydaw1970]

betty hutton had a rack on her!!

[rexlv2000]

I won $91 dollars at the Silver Slipper! They paid off in genuine silver dollars! They were heavy to carry around. I did not complain. The Thunderbird is STILL there. Alive and Well. Bob Stupak hung out there right up until the end. He passed away not long ago.

[shrineme]

@rexlv2000 Thunderbird closed in 1992.

[jay1461]

Thank you.....fantastic stuff.

[annielwhite]

this is a great video, you did a great job. thanks for sharing :)

[scrapplecheesesteak]

Amazing footage Ray, great job narrating it too.

[wileycoyote64]

Very Cool

[Grandus11]

Silver slipper went fron slipping it to Vegas to slipping it to mississipi they honestly have the worst payouts on the gulf coast

[TheOneDogmaster]

thank you ray...

[mypalrocco]

Great video! You have the old time announcer sound, as I do...let's do a show!

[slazzer145]

they should put the statue of Busy seigel

who made las vegas world famous..

[plutoplatters]

@slazzer145 or perhaps one for bugsy !! too

[cwood4ever]

When the mob ran Vegas from what i understand it was a really a nice place as long as you didn't cheat and act dumb they treated you well and they kept crime out side the city because they wanted to attract people to their casinos. Maybe I am wrong about this but who knows.

[mypalrocco]

@cwood4ever

Right, until Chicago's Tony Spilotro was sent to run things and then he was committing crimes inside the city, causing problems and was killed because of it. (See Joe Pesci in the movie 'Casino')

[Teflon65]

I love these old views of Vegas.

[Cyndane]

wow there were actually more people exploring downtown Vegas back then, unlike today. Downtown Vegas today looks so sad and dingy.

[ilovethecure17]

Wow! This was such an interesting video! I love seeing how much places change over time!

[VistaXXX2008]

Why oh why wasn't my father smart enough to buy 10 acres of dirt on the strip back then? Why!!!!

[79274333]

I first went to Vegas about 1981, I love the way the old casinos have kept the same theme, and feel.

[DesperatelyKind]

The thing is if Las Vegas were like this today, it wouldn't have the tourism it has today. People want bigger and better. That's what Las Vegas is all about. Well, that and smoking, cough cough!

[MrUnidyne]

I live in Henderson, a short drive from the Strip. Oh, how it has changed...

[yessicaflores79]

You've got a great voice!!

[profitleads]

What a wonderful review. Many thanks for sharing this with us. What great memories!

[DSVOP]

Ray, good man for sharing, I'm sure the conversion work was not easy.

Great to see the city in the '50's...I'm going to share on Facebook.

Thank you for this excellent , and, historical post, keep it safe, this is a real slice of history...and heritage for posterity.

[misterwhitefolkz]

Vegas,or anything else today,ain't what it used to be....but a lot of the Vegas experience is your mindset. You gotta show up with swagger,and an appetite for fun. Valet your Caddy at Caesar's, check in and then hit a bar for some drinks. Have a good dinner and catch Tom Jones. Hit the tables for awhile,get a table at a cozy bar and people-watch and party till 5am.....priceless.

[rainmanx63]

I just visited Vegas last month. First time there in thirty years, back then I was a teenager. I can't imagine that the Vegas of today can come close to the charm it had in the '50's, very nice work.

[entertainmeable]

wonderful film and comentary! You should try radio, you have a good voice.t

[foxinexile]

Fantastic video. I'm from England and my sister got married in Vegas last year, at Caesar's Palace. I had one of the best weeks of my life there. Incredible place and incredible people. I always like to know about the history of the places I visit, so to see this footage is great. I cannot wait until I holiday in Vegas again.

[Harshcore811]

Great job. Really enjoyed watching this. I wish I was lived to see vegas at this stage. :(

[dadsoldtapes]

Wow 1956... good to see what it was like back then - btw my mom checked into the Flamingo Hotel around 1986... checked right out (hated the neon lights most of all).

[theshankenstein]

Excellent job, Ray. I wish Vegas was still like this.

[OCmomof5]

Great stuff, thx

[3211957]

Thanks Ray We honeymooned in Vegas in 1957. Brings back good memories. We took 8mm but they did not turn out as good as yours.Thanks so much.

Bill Webb

[IBGruvin]

Great Video! Thanks a lot for this!

[cadetmouse]

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THIS OLD FOOTAGE..

[grizzlyman64]

I enjoy old Vegas footage.

Thanks for sharing Ray!!!

[jimbosmovies1]

GREAT FILM RAY!...What a great film with the added naration! Sure would have liked to have seen Vegas in those days! I love the added film sound running in the background! Excellent Job!/Jim/

[Gamingfloor]

Love the commentary :)

[1pick2sticks]

Nice, Where was that drive in located at? It is amazing how much different it is. It was a different planet each decade.

[wheel456]

awesum, your posting history, thanks

[alejandraLV9]

this is my home town :)

[mattneffer]

Really neat. Thank you!

[jay4liberty]

What a great video! I wish I could say I miss the "old vegas" but it was before my time. My first trip was in October of 2006.

[dawings1]

Cool video

[pinheadq41]

This is great for reviving the memory of times past. My parents always took us kids on vacation out west back in the 50s. When we could, we would travel down to Las Vegas from Salt Lake City and spend a day or 2. One time, I was about 12, my parents wanted to see a stage show and left us in our room. A short time later, mom came and got us, saying it was ok for us the watch the show. Turns out it was a topless show, it was great, but mom and dad tried all night to hind under the table.

lol

[ponygirlup]

what a great video and i loved your commentary. i didn't move here until 1964 (as a kid) but a lot of these views still jog my memory. :)

[emmyguy1]

What a memory trip that was. I saw Sophie Tucker at the El Rancho Vegas. My dad had a business there from 1954 - 1957. He delivered poultry to all of the hotels you featured in the video. I used to go on deliveries so every hotel is vividly etched in my mind.

[7619571975]

Great footage! Thanks Ray!

[wopman1010]

Thanks for this, Ray. Good stuff.

[abhijithero]

Ray as i m from India unfortunately never visited Las vegas but i can understand ur love for native town Las vegas

[outofsteplv]

Man this is great! Great commentary, did you use an old Reel to reel mic when recording the narration? It sure sounds like it. I'm 18 and a Vegas native... I wish I could have been around here back in the 50's so much!

[vertrees2]

Ray, I LOVED the video...! I think what made it extra good was the excellent commentary... you should have been in Radio! Take care.

[NilezII]

Priceless footage. I was fortunate to see Glitter Gulch, the last year before they made it The Fremont Street Experience.

[starbabe58]

vegas sucks

[msharoff]

What wonderful footage. I was born in Las Vegas in 1957 and moved back east with my family when I was only five.

My father was in the Grover Shore Trio which was the "house band" at the Desert Inn for eight years.  They also had the first live variety TV show when Las Vegas got it's first TV station KLAS.

Lots of great stories from my parents days there.

[humanson1]

I showed this to my 91 year old grandma and she enjoyed it.  Thanks

[RayLindstrom]

Thanks for your comment. I shot it when I was 15 years old...my Dad, in that one part coming out of the hotel, just turned 92 and doesn't look much different. I was just amazed at those "huge" signs in Las Vegas at the time, which by today's standards are very small. Ray Lindstrom

[surfingmonkeyman]

thanks for the memory of my home town .i was born in the 60s so its nice to see my home in the 1950s

[garycalgary]

thanks so much for this.

I grew up with the influence of Vegas on television of course and when I went there in 2005 I have developed a great interest.

It's interesting how it's ever changing......

[chianti95]

This was a great little spin around old Vegas - Sahara, Desert Inn, Sands, etc. All I remember from a trip out there when I was a toddler were all those BIG signs... (well, and some swizzle sticks!) Now I know why... the hotels were just flat little motel drive ins.Funny how that blinking neon burns into your imagination and makes an indelible impression! Thanks for posting this- would love to see more if you have any.

[tusradio]

Thanks for the memories.  Quite a deep voice for a 15-year-old!

[scootish83]

Great video Ray! Thanks for posting it. If you have anymore please post them. I love Las Vegas but it seems like Vegas of the past has been forgotten Nice to see what it used to be like.