Las Vegas 1955 ~ A Sunny Drive Down the Strip ~ Old Vegas!

[@Mike-Primus7777]

My family has been here in Vegas since 1929, and while I look at this video, knowing all of my family, grandfather, and grandmother, were somewhere milling around town or just sitting at home or at work. My mom was 7 years old while this was being filmed They are all gone now it's just me and my brother left in Vegas it chokes me up a little it's like looking back in time thank you for the video

[@dave1956]

Las Vegas must have had very few residents in 1929. I was there in 1969 and again in 1997. It had totally changed. I can only imagine what it looks like today.

[@sunnyscott4876]

I remember this all so well and it just makes me want to cry when I see it.

[@davehue9517]

Las Vegas must have been incredible in those days with all the iconic Casinos that put Las Vegas on the map....

[@adamcupp9869]

So cool...it's like stepping into a time machine. Looks like a small town compared to what its become today!

[@reedallyn1767]

This is a piece of rare footage. Glad I was able to see this, having been visiting Vegas since the '70s. Thanks for posting.

[@MrCoconutcat]

I went when I was a kid to circus circus and the wet and wild waterslide park in 1989 so ya this is great video footage to see the beginning of it all, here's a different video of my old Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@reedallyn1767]

@@MrCoconutcat Thank you so much for the link... I really enjoy this old footage.

[@goachingoulding3926]

ALSO IS SAYAN KRIANGKING GUARDIAN GOACHING CINTRON COACHING BangkoZ KakakodkoK

[@lemorab1]

Thank you for this! I was in Las Vegas in the summer of 1955. My dad was performing at the New Frontier. We saw Dick Haymes at the Dunes and Billy Eckstine at the Sands. I swam in all the pools of the big hotels. Musicians extended courtesies to other performers back then. There were some perks. A big hotel had about 85 rooms. To me, at seven years old, it was like a glamorous, adult Disneyland. I didn't know anything about gambling or the Mob. I haven't been near modern day Vegas and I intend to keep it that way.

[@Okaydokie173]

Ur pathetic

[@LAFan]

Beautiful old Vegas. What a time to be alive. Thanks for posting.

[@Justme-km4hm]

Loving all the cool cars. Side note- I met my wife at the El Rancho.

[@horatiodreamt]

Excellent vid. I haven't been to Vegas in 20 years. It's nice to see this old footage when the city wasn't all built up and crowded. Nice to see open desert spaces between the casinos and restaurants. Love the vintage cars.

[@daniellack3559]

Thanks a million for posting Ken...Please note that while you don't have huge numbers of subscribers, the videos/home movies you post are pure GOLD for this baby boomer in particular...the work you put in is greatly appreciated..it is like going back in a time machine for me....I truly hope you are able to continue with your channel..I look forward to seeing the alert, telling me you have something new up each time!

[@KenButz]

Thanks Daniel, I plan to keep the time machine in drive - lots of fun stuff in the cue. I appreciate the feedback and support!

[@goachingoulding3926]

@@KenButz ,สวัสดีครับวันนี้

[@jerryshunk7152]

Got to Vegas when I was 9 in 'Spring of '61 & lived there until just a few months ago. I have stories you could absolutely not believe! Thanx for the trip down memory lane ! btw I didn't appreciate the coolness of that T-Bird sign when I was kid.

[@lobstermania4025]

Cool. Did you ever see Jerry Lewis?

[@GeorgeDamon]

This is a wonderful piece of footage, especially seeing the El Rancho Vegas--the very first hotel on the strip--in all its glory.

[@nwtraveler5266]

All those classic cars are incredible.

[@ellebelle4094]

Thank you for this. I see where the Stardust would eventually rise, a classic resort and casino. In late 60's, there were still stretches of just barren dirt along the strip. Memories.

[@EYE_GOTCHA]

This was wonderful to see. The last time I was in Las Vegas was in 1980 and I have no desire to see the mess that it’s now become.

[@KenButz]

Gone to pot now

[@squashhead1374]

You should take a trip. If I make it that long and Vegas is still around I would love to come back and see the changes. Reminisce about the old days and fee the heaviness of all the time that has gone by since I last stepped on the soil.

[@nword3587]

Dude in the 80s Vegas was literally empty what are you talking about 😂

[@rodneyvoshell9296]

@@nword3587it started to change in the 1990s with the high rise buildings

[@westie430]

This makes me so sad...and nostalgic. The lack of sound for some reason makes it seem even more sad...like going through a quiet museum, looking at relics of a lost city. I miss it then. And I wasn't born til the 80s.😔 But this is truly amazing video! Thank you so much for posting it!!😍

[@KenButz]

Thanks, old Vegas had personality - then the corporations took over....

[@kb1kos]

8mm movie cameras didn't have sound in 1955. I love looking at cars of that vintage.

[@jimtait6263]

LOVE IT!!! Thank you

[@borod5571]

One of the best video's i seen about Las Vegas in the 1950's. Thank You for sharing this with Us.

[@KenButz]

Thanks, glad you enjoyed it!

[@conorloughlin871]

This is an underrated video should have more than 12k views imo

[@WAL_DC-6B]

51K and counting.

[@tammermashni8541]

Thank you for posting this I like seeing towns whether big or small in the 50s being born in the 80s and not remembering much until the 90s this is cool ..thank you

[@DP-hy4vh]

2:56 - The cowboy sign is still there in 2020.

[@sunnyscott4876]

That cowboy sign is Vegas Vic.

[@rileymcdowellart]

Victor!

[@MrHouse-tz6is]

I can confirm it’s still there in 2281.

[@arnavkapoor1425]

@@MrHouse-tz6is how??? 🙄

[@bobcuster8930]

Ummm..yes.. DP that sign is named Vegas Vic...

[@melaniexoxo]

Incredible. Thank you so much for posting this gem! ❤

[@dalesacuratlx6517]

SO Cool, Absolutely Amazing

[@mrsnevens7532]

Nostalgic. I feel like I was there then. A reincarnate. I think I was from old Hollywood, mingling at the Sands. lol. 🕶💄🎷 Great vid.

[@westie430]

I agree! I'm in the same boat!

[@LosAngelesFresh1]

I'm obsessed with Vegas. I go 2-3 times a year with the wife and all I really think about when on the strip or on Fremont is the history of it all. Still sad the Riviera is gone

[@squashhead1374]

I do the same. LV is like my 2nd home. I love just being here. It does sadden me to think I’m decades down the road I will be watching old videos of the Vegas I know that will be long gone. So many memories here that I cherish.

[@alanolson6913]

For us ‘car folk’ it’s so interesting to watch these vehicles just being vehicles. Parked in the sun, sometimes dusty, their owners and passengers eating or drinking in them, driven in the rain and parked on the street or a crowded parking lot. Not so today! If and when we locate them, they’re parked in the shade or garaged, not touched, driven sparingly and parked in a museum. But even back then they weren’t ‘just a car’ . It represented work, your ability to afford it, the status of having the latest parked in the driveway. Now, no one much cares.

[@ronaldcross]

That Texaco Fire Chief gas station is remarkable! Never seen one like it before!

[@kenaijax]

Nice video. That's how I remember Vegas. Crazy how fast it changes.

[@Desertdn]

You remember Las Vegas from 65 years ago?

[@MrCoconutcat]

@@Desertdn he was an Italian gangster in a former lifetime, here's a different video of my Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@eddiew2325]

KoconutJazzcat no offense but you can’t just assume he’s Italian

[@Desertdn]

@@MrCoconutcat Thanks for posting the video! 🙂

[@MrCoconutcat]

@@eddiew2325 then maybe he was a good ole timey Las Vegas hooker in a former lifetime 65 years ago

[@ddfamf88]

Beautiful footage when cars and buildings had “personality”😎

[@louistaylor2769]

Thank you for the memories I was 5 years old and lived at San Francisco apartments. San Francisco Ave is now call Sahara Ave. My pop bought me a pony and kept it next to El rancho hotel and Chanel 13. Lord do I remember when El rancho was on fire in 59. God bless. My town then 😢

[@KenButz]

Very cool!

[@Conscious328]

loved it!

[@daynknight6654]

Wow cars use to look so elegant. I want old style cars back

[@jre12345]

Day n Knight a lot more colors too, now most cars you see are either black, white, or silver. Sometimes they are red or blue, but they are always the same type of red or blue, no more baby blues or cherry reds. Everything is much darker

[@daynknight6654]

@@jre12345 I didn't even think of colors. You are spot on regarding that.

[@Desertdn]

Elegant-- but not particularly safe.

[@MrCoconutcat]

We can see an older style of curves making a come back in 2020 cars, here's a different video of my old Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@michaelbauer6496]

@@Desertdn Oh yea, they we're alot safer back then, more steal and heavy!! You could bulldoze a house down with an old Studebaker!!! The cars protected alot of people because of their strength back then but they were twice as heavy tho!!!!

[@viu1558]

unbelievable! Vegas has always been nothing but desert unbelievable!

[@RS-rv4hz]

Amazing beautiful love it thank you !!

[@beepeepeabody2690]

Dam I miss that era. I'm too young but i love this great 8mm video!

[@brettbarry8460]

Amazing. Thank you so much

[@Veaseify]

Fremont Street was obviously the epicentre of everything back then, a lot of tourists don't even visit downtown these days!

[@KenButz]

Downtown is best during the day into the evening light-show. Although no stay is complete without a dinner at Hugo's Cellar in the basement of the Four Queens - opened in 1973 its menu is 1960's fabulous!

[@doneask1746]

@@KenButz I am 20 feet away from that restaurant everyday at work

[@KenButz]

@@doneask1746 Cool - I hope it can stay in business

[@realrocker777]

Fremont is just too murder-y for us anymore.

[@davidthompson62]

Some of the loosest slots are there.

[@adamhackbarth1772]

Ty I live here and am 54 Y.o. had NO idea what it looked like!!! TY X 1000

[@Tony-my3sy]

seeing how the strip is now and the surrounding areas youd think the city has been there for a long time like it just popped out but no it took a while to develope everything and to see so much dessert in the strip is crazy asf'

[@joemichaels4231]

Awesome Video!!!

[@g-dcomplex1609]

hey, hey, thank you ken butz i love vegas :)(: and vegas loves me

[@stephendsullivan]

Great film! Thanks so much for posting it. Really helpful researching my current ATOMIC TALES story!

[@KenButz]

Your site looks like fun!

[@stephendsullivan]

@@KenButz The stories are up for free, and include audio versions, too. Vegas, which your film helped me research, is in an upcoming one.

[@karendiane9154]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@movingforwardman3186]

Very cool. Vegas is way to big now. Miss the old days with all the lights.

[@vpking77]

The Sahara around that time was very upscale. Famous entertainers from Hollywood and the music industry would come to their lounges late at night to hang out. Totally different vibe back then. Even in the mid to late Seventies it drew players who wagered hundreds of dollars a hand at Blackjack. Those players were considered high rollers in the Seventies. As time went on the Sahara fell out of favor and it became a penny ante joint. All the business went South on the Strip and the Sahara closed for a time.

[@Dats_dope]

I visited Vegas this past weekend I enjoyed downtown Fremont.

[@johnmiller7612]

I'll take any one of those cars!

[@richardmiranda640]

Hi Steel, they call me Titanium! Thank you very much! For get about it!

[@bigjerm1631]

Would love to see inside the Casinos.

[@chillingwithmono6710]

this video is cool

[@lunes-1]

🍎Wow, the American Dream🤤

[@willdrucker4291]

“Now appearing at The Sahara....world renown Cuban bandleader Xavier Cugat with special guest, Ricky Ricardo”...lol

[@MrCoconutcat]

I love big bands that's what she said, here's a different video of my Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@ericag5346]

New frontier had Sammy Davis Jr

[@daviddelprince4156]

cool cars

[@MWiggins-m2g]

People get nostalgic about whatever Vegas they visited most. I was there with my parents in the 70s and 80s, then went there once when I was in grad school in the 90s and visited five years ago. It was totally different from when I'd last visited a quarter of a century before. There are people, children now, who will see the sights today when visiting with their parents who will be nostalgic for the "old" Vegas of the 2020s 30 years from now. The only constant is change.

[@richardpeterson1398]

0:21, Las Vegas’ first skyscraper, or high rise. The Riviera Hotel (1954-1955), 9 stories high, just finished at the time of this filming, in 1955.

[@brandoncazares8452]

Nice video

[@vaderthekittenchannel1979]

WOW!

[@Whurlpuul]

This just seems like an amazing time to be alive

[@princetellyy]

Not for black people

[@tonypanzarella9387]

Parking lot, after parking lot, filled with fine rides.

[@Larryjay05]

Desert Spa (1947-1959) Riviera (1955-2016) The Algiers. (1953-2005) Thunderbird Hotel (1948-1981) Sahara (present 1952) New Frontier (1942-2007) Sliver Slipper (1950-1988) Royal Nevada (1955-1958) El Rancho Vegas (1941-1960) 2:49 (Fremont Street) 3:17 The End.

[@KenButz]

Thanks Clara!

[@Crippyblu]

I was here this day

[@johndoyle7650]

Imagine the good times millions of people over the decades would have had in Vegas.

[@starcraftnewbie]

Would have?

[@robertbooth3787]

Got a ticket for speeding down Fremont in 1956. The Train Station was at the end of Fremont...

[@bruh2391]

U are about 80 90 or 100

[@PatrickMichael2002]

WoW

[@countalucard4226]

If you have never driven down Fremont street you will always be a Las Vegas tourist even if you now live there.

[@vane896]

ELVIS PRESLEY LAS VEGAS 1955 👍👍👍👍 MACEDONIA 💟💛

[@Itgrey2017]

Wow Come Back old Vegas 1995

[@LOLMAN9538]

This was before the Dunes and Stardust, if I am not mistaken.

[@珍惜-d3d]

In 1955 if you bet a $100 on black jack you are the best high roller !!!back then you could bet 25cents on any table game

[@henryfernando7289]

look the construction Hotel Fremont And " silver palace now site circa resort" open 1956 2:54 & 3:14

[@MrCoconutcat]

It looks like a 10 story building under construction for the Fremont all fresh and brand new, here's a different video of my old Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@henryfernando7289]

@@MrCoconutcat oh yeah, i found game old vegas

[@MrCoconutcat]

@@henryfernando7289 the future has not been fulfilled yet but the game is on again and is an honest one for many colorfull years to come full of fun and excitement in a safe place to be and love with courageous and adventurous people of all kinds with a variety being the spice of life and happiness

[@Brydude87]

Damn, most of these cars are now totalled and or are being held as collectors items

[@larryhall7998]

The Fremont hotel and casino under construction 2:53

[@KenButz]

Thanks Larry, added to the copy!

[@이현용-n3q]

내가 있기 전에 세상이 있었다. 아 신비롭다.

[@KenButz]

"The world existed before me. oh it's mysterious" according to Google - Thanks!

[@Veaseify]

Apart from the Flamingo what was at the other end of the strip in those days? I have heard of The Dunes and Sands (which I believe were around where the Bellagio is now) but not much else.

[@KenButz]

Not much else - here is a site with some dates www.goldengatecasino.com/blog/old-las-vegas-hotels-history/

[@Veaseify]

@@KenButz Thanks for that, so the Sands was where the Venetian is and the Dunes was in the Bellagio -Park MGM area. Apparently nothing else except the Tropicana down there, probably a bunch of motels I am guessing. It must have looked totally empty!

[@WilfBond55]

The Sahara (still there) and El Rancho Vegas across the street (burned down in 1960) were at the north end of the Strip. The Dunes (where Bellagio is now) was at the south end . The Hacienda (where Mandalay Bay is now) opened in '56 and was way far south by comparison.

[@aggiesjc]

Does anyone remember the horse racing track at the Thunderbird? I would love to know more about it, but information is scarce online.

[@WilfBond55]

2:50 Wee Kirk o' the Heather Wedding Chapel, where my brother got married in February 2020, was still the same until it was torn down last October.

[@KenButz]

Thanks Ray, added this detail to the copy

[@jarrheadja1522]

Love how there's no Laine dividers ppl just sit right in the middle of the road lol kinda how it still is driving through the strip still

[@thundermustard]

I wish somebody would someday do one of these with a moving map. It is impossible to get your bearings with no landmarks remaining.

[@Djdjdjfnnff]

I subbed and liked

[@davidhibbs6989]

I'm 83 years old at 17 I worked in the thunderbird hotel casino as an elevator and bell hop boy as we were called back then, $1.50 an hour+ tips, the tips were awful I can remember a new York couple in their brand new Cadillac and word had it they were multi millionaires and then some! The man said young man you take up all of my bags to our suite and I'll give you a great tip.. I busted my ass off carrying 6 bags, took me 15 minutes and he smiled and said I promised you a great tip, handed me a nickel and said plant your corn early in the spring... And I can remember being so pissed off I could barely contain myself and on top of that he gave me a Canadian nickel.. I left Vegas at 19 and never looked back...

[@BRLaue]

Was his name Buddy Ebson?

[@d.808lf5]

Ford Sportsman woodie convertible 0:47.

[@KenButz]

Thanks!

[@linkcorriere846]

Be advised. Visitors vill be held responsible for the behaviour of any robots accompanying them.

[@richardpeterson1398]

2:49, The Fremont Hotel is under construction, rising several stories, and Las Vegas’ second skyscraper, built in 1955-1956.

[@LostVegasDOTus]

@KenButz Great stuff man, sad news about Wee Kirk o' the Heather Wedding Chapel; I had not heard about that iconic location being destroyed. 😢Would you mind if our project made a music video using this footage? Full credit and a linkback would obviously be included. Peace

[@KenButz]

Hi, I only license - Please contact me at gmail - kjsbutz

[@gingerwood1969]

3:07. Are those the same figures that sit out in front of Terrible’s Hotel and Casino?

[@KenButz]

Good catch! They certainly must be!

[@Desertdn]

Keely Smith! Retired to Palm Springs. =)

[@blackdesertcat]

Man if I could snap my fingers!

[@danielbrowne9344]

Is there any video footage doing casino tours? I would love to see the inside of these vintage casinos

[@KenButz]

Not yet but always looking for the treasure! There is a Follies show in the playlist from 1973

[@BRLaue]

Back then, no photography in the casinos.

[@richardpeterson1398]

3:16, the end of the film!

[@5inthehole]

Very important rare video to see The Royal Nevada Casino open without The Stardust right next to it. As soon as The Stardust went up, The Royal Nevada went belly up and was bought out (I believe by The Stardust.) You usually see The Stardust with no trace of The Royal Nevada.

[@KenButz]

Thanks for the details

[@typ2vw159]

No pic of the old Blue angel

[@datruth_706]

Whos here from playin new vegas

[@fabricetheblueanimator4479]

I live in Las Vegas

[@melissabulicek8671]

Those cars are all mini tanks!

[@MrCoconutcat]

And mini space ships to the moon alice to the honeymooners party, here's a different video of my old Vegas footage kzbin.info/www/bejne/iarZnXR3gsx6qNE

[@shirleykurtz]

Cars today are worthless if they are in an accident! It wasn't like that in 1955!

[@MrCoconutcat]

@@shirleykurtz ya worthless, should we wait for the 2030 model to come out or what the hay

[@larryhall7998]

@@shirleykurtz Ya no seat belts and no airbags! all you did was work on them, rust buckets--- your an idiot!

[@WilfBond55]

Cars then were designed to protect the car. Now they're designed to protect the people inside. If you have an accident, you are MUCH more likely to be safe than it was in those destroyers.

[@jeromykriege]

That’s the year my family moved here.

[@giantlobsterboy644]

Where is this street in regards to modern Vegas? Is this Fremont Street?

[@BreMue]

Sooooo weird seeing 1 story, motel looking, hotels where the giant towers are now

[@richardpeterson1398]

3:16, Why did this film go black, one minute too soon? ? ?

[@KenButz]

It was a mistake - sorry about that!

[@VegasYouTuberSteve]

Super 8 format?

[@KenButz]

Regular 8 - Super 8 was not manufactured until 1965

[@VegasYouTuberSteve]

@@KenButz Oh okay, thanks

[@Vamanaswastika]

Kinda boring its good to see the new Vegas. Life must carry on.