Someone dropped a big ball in the middle of town

Las Vegas Visitor Posted on by

About a month ago I was driving north on the Strip and turned right on Sands. This is what I saw in front of me, and I was a little taken aback. The MSG Sphere is an entertainment venue that has been under construction for about four years now but was delayed because of the pandemic. But here’s a very odd fact. I was looking at the historic aerials for that site, and right in the same place where the sphere is now, there used to be another circular building with about the same footprint. It was in the middle of an apartment complex, and although I lived right down the street, I don’t remember the complex. But I think it’s very interesting that the Sphere is replacing a round building that was practically in the same place that disappeared years ago. (Featured photo credit: SounderBruce, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Pre-2006
2006 – a parking lot
Current Sphere site

Paid parking, ugh!

Las Vegas Visitor Posted on by

Until now, one of the attractions of Las Vegas was there was plenty of parking and it was free.  These days, not only is parking getting hard because of the volume of visitors, but the casinos now CHARGE for you to park.  I guess it’s not good enough that you’re handing over your money once you get inside!  To be honest, you can get some of your parking validated if you do gamble or otherwise spend money.  But the concept of charging for parking rankles the locals, who need incentives to go to the Strip in the first place.  So has it been a success?  It’s been about a year now, and not only are they still charging, but some fees have recently gone up!  I guess it’s here to stay.  Another example of the MBA’s calling the shots and sucking every possible cent out of the consumer. This is the exact opposite from the days the “so called MOB” ruled Las Vegas. I have no idea if that was even the case, but the Feds told us it was. In those days, and I was around then, the idea circulated, give the customer what it wants, free or as cheap as possible, because we have gambling here in Las Vegas, and sooner or later all that money will wind up in our pockets anyway. . I bet you folks out there have an opinion about it. Here is your chance to send a message to the suits. Use any language you want, we believe in free speech. http://www.lasvegasvisitor

We support local artists and this expensive space is a donation. Three books are on our list for this month. They are: Nevada a Strange State, Silveropolis and The Great Lake Mead Water Caper. They ar on Amazon. All revenue will go to the artist, not a penny held back. We thank you.

Nevada Strange Old Time Newspapers

Las Vegas Visitor Posted on by

These newspapers are now long gone, yet their names linger on.

Agai Dicutta Yaduan, Schurz, 1975-1977. Schurz was the 13th Sec. of the Interior (3-12-1877/3-7-1881) and served under Garfield and Hayes. The town is still around, on the Walker River, pop. around 700. I could not find a definition for the phrase. If you know what it means send me the information.

The Knocker, Manhattan, yes, Nevada had one of those. July or Aug. 1911.
Gabbs Gabb, June 14, 1943/Aug. 25, 1944. The town of Gabbs is still around. It is in Nye County, and sports a population of less than three hundred, and falling. B.t.w., Nye County is the second largest in the lower 48 with about 20,000 sq.m.

Rochester Paycrack, before you get any ideas let me explain. The title refers to a rich ore vein. This paper had an interesting printer, a Joe T. Cramp. He was a tramp (itinerant) publisher who carried his equipment from mining camp to mining camp. He started at least seven papers between 1910 and 1920.

Potosi Nix Cum Rouscht, Feb. 1861, handwritten. Linguists at UNR tried to find a meaning of those words. They could not. It seems to be a mixture of Latin and German. Interestingly there are at least three mining towns by that name around the world. The one in the Nevada is close to Las Vegas. There is one in Spain and another in Bolivia. The latter one has the “Mountain of Silver”. It has been continuously mined for over three hundred years.

More of these odd facts can be found in my book”Nevada, A Strange Place”.
I illustrated the book with 134 drawings, all done by me.