Dig up a treasure trove of historical gems at Nevada State Museum in Las Vegas

Step away from the Las Vegas Strip for a spell and step inside the history of the Silver State at the Nevada State Museum. In the museum, spread across 70,000 square feet that includes two exhibits (one permanent and one changing), in addition to a library and public spaces, discover the state’s history, from the prehistoric era to the more recent one when showgirls shimmied across the stage.

Take a self-guided walk through the permanent exhibit, which houses a mix of real pieces and educational, hands-on props. Discover the period when dinosaurs dominated the desert and read about Nevada’s indigenous animals and flora and fauna. Learn about the early life of the Native American population as well as the first adventurers that sought out gold and silver in the Nevada mountains. The hands-on props of mining towns, wagons and settlers’ camps add to the experience, with actual personal effects lending a personal touch. The timeline of Nevada’s history leads all the way up to the more current way of life with displays about the city’s atomic history, the historic Westside, Helldorado Days and the building of the Las Vegas Strip over the decades.

Across from the permanent exhibit is the changing exhibit, currently hosting Liberace: Real and Beyond. These fabulous pieces that belonged to the phenom piano player include actual costumes, furniture from his home and the famous candelabras, plus placards of little-known facts about his life, such as: Did you know that Liberace almost died in 1963 in a Pittsburgh dressing room? He was attempting to clean one of his costumes and inhaled a toxic amount of dry-cleaning fluid and suffered kidney failure; he was even administered his last rites by a priest.

The museum is filled with a treasure trove of pieces with interesting backstories, and here we’ve pulled just a few for you to peruse … but we suggest getting over to the museum yourself to discover all the gems it houses.

Benjamin “Bugsy” Seigel and the Flamingo

Before he came to Las Vegas, Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was known mainly for his mob ties, but once he bought up 95 shares of the Nevada Project Corporation (the company that built the Flamingo), he became associated with this city forever. Siegel came to Vegas in 1945 and took over the building of the Flamingo from businessman Billy Wilkerson, who ran out of money. So Siegel purchased the shares (seen here) for $250 apiece and opened the hotel in 1946. After the construction costs ballooned to more than $6 million, the hotel ended up closing only six months later and Siegel returned to L.A. Less than a year later,  he was gunned down in his girlfriend Virginia Hill’s home—some say it was a hit ordered by the mob, revenge for losing all those millions they lent Siegel to build the Flamingo.

First Painting of Las Vegas

Before the crowded skyline of Las Vegas that you see today, the city was only mountains and valley as depicted here, in what is believed to be the first painting of Las Vegas from 1876. It was painted by Frederick Dellenbaugh, a young adventurer from Ohio who was on a mapping expedition and stopped by the Las Vegas ranch (seen in the painting) that was set up for travelers going to and from California. Besides this artwork, Dellenbaugh would go on to write two books about the Colorado River and the American Southwest.

Starlet Clara Bow and Her Address Book

American actress Clara Bow was Hollywood’s “It Girl” of the 1920s silent film era, but by the mid-’30s she would call Nevada home. In 1931, she married fellow actor Rex Bell, and together they moved to Searchlight, Nev., to open a working ranch. Hollywood wasn’t left too far behind, though, as seen here in her personal address book, where she kept many a famous name and their contacts, including Gone With the Wind director Victor Fleming and some of the bigwigs at Fox Studios.

Re-Creating Their Homelands

In the 1870s, many Chinese immigrants settled in Nevada to help work the mines and build the railroads. Being so far away from their country, many of the Chinese re-created their homeland in segregated areas often called Chinatowns. An important part of daily Chinese life included religion; houses of worship were built and called Joss Houses. Seen here are three actual drums used for ceremonial music played inside a Joss House in Elko, Nev., in the 1870s.

Howard Hughes and the Little Green House

The man who helped build Las Vegas, Howard Hughes first visited the city in the spring of 1953 and took up residence in The Little Green House that now stands on the property of local news station KLAS Channel 8. While Hughes only lived in the house for a year, he left behind many of his personal items, like the ones seen here (even his enema bag!). The items were recently donated to the museum. And, fun fact, you can see the inside of the house if you watch the movie Casino (it’s the actor James Woods’ home)!

The Fan Mystery

The staff of Nevada State Museum needs your help! Is this fan and its information recognizable? Recently, the fan was donated to the museum, but little is known about its origins. It displays a name and address, 2123 Jackson St., in the Westside of the city. Is it from an old casino, nightclub, social club or speakeasy? What was once at that address? The staff has done some research and has not been able to make any connections, so if you know, they ask that you reach out to the museum!

Nevada State Museum, 309 S. Valley View Blvd. lasvegasnvmuseum.org

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