OMF World

Las Vegas: Before and After
View North from the Dunes hotel. At front - Flamingo hotel (could you imagine???). Across the Strip - Caesar's Palace is under construction. Up the Strip - Sands hotel, little further - Frontier and to the right - Landmark hotel. Nothing is still standing today (2023). Except mountains.

Photo 1966.

 Partial view today. In place of Frontier hotel is Wynn and Encore, behind is a Fontainebleau (still closed), further behind - Convention Center (in place of Landmark hotel) and high-rise condominiums.
Another aerial view North only a year later. Caesar's Palace is now open.

Photo Charles Rotkin, 1967.

 Partial view today. One can see a lot more glass and concrete. What you didn't see 55 years ago is Harrah's hotel (lower left corner), Venetian and Palazzo (in place of Sands hotel) and Wynn. On the other side of the Strip - Treasure Island and Trump International Hotel.
Sands Hotel in it's glory.

Photo 1967.

 Again, NOTHING is left. On both sides of the Strip. In place of the hotel tower is now a replica of St Mark's Campanilla from Venice. And instead of Denny's you have...McDonald's (what else).
Moving forward 5 years. Landmark hotel is still one of the tallest structures in Las Vegas, but Las Vegas Hilton is already there and is actually taller. That view of Hilton was prominently shown in a James Bond's movie Diamonds Are Forewer where it was dubbed as Willard Whyte Hotel. Exterior elevators on Landmark were also used in that movie.

Photo 1972.

 This time something is still standing - Hilton. Although now it's a Westgate Resort and Casino. In place of Landmark hotel is now Convention Center. "Flying Saucer" on previous photo is long gone.
Moving forward 2 years. Caesar's Palace undergoing expansion. What on this photo is a casino will become luxury Nobu Hotel. Julius Tower is expanding and soon at its end will rise even taller Forum Tower.

Photo 1974.

 It's impossible to make a compatible photo now - everything is built up or renovated. Use your imagination to compare 50 years of history.
Moving forward another 3 years. Flamingo is still under construction, no Harrah's, no Imperial Palace. Just Holiday Inn...

Photo 1977.

 This time all large lots are filled with big casinos but even a small business has it's own niche. You just need to look closer to the ground.
Moving forward another 2 years and looking south. On a corner of Flamingo Road and Strip is now Barbary Coast Hotel, MGM (not MGM Grand, just plain MGM) is on the southeast corner, Alladin hotel is still standing.

Photo 1979.

 This is probably one of the most profoundly changing views from a little bit different perspective. Barbary Coast is still there (you will see it on other photos), MGM became Bally's and then Horseshoe (again, details later). There's Paris with its Eiffel Tower (1/3 scale). Dunes became Bellagio (again later) and south of it - new Cosmopolitan, Aria and Vdara hotels (with less casino and more luxury resort style). MGM is still present, but now it's MGM Grand on a corner of Tropicana and Strip.
Here's another view of Barbary Coast, MGM and Alladin.

Photo C.E.Hablutzel, 1984.

 Now Barbary Coast has lost its bloody color and "pirate's appearance" and became a nice hotel The Cromwell. Still cheap. On the other corner what was Bally's has become Horseshoe (moved from downtown) and undergoing renovation. Big mess on one of the busiest pedestrian crossing in Vegas - neither escalators, nor elevators were working.
View of Caesar's Palace from the west.

Photo Don Poke, 1985.

 You can't now make this view from any spot. Julius Tower (in the middle) is completely hidden by other towers and what on a previous photo looks like a tennis court is now beautiful swimming pool.
Another photo that's impossible to duplicate. From that vantage point all view to the south is blocked by Octavius and Augustus Towers of Caesar's Palace.

Photo Robert Paluzzi, 1985.

 From a different angle you can see what become of west side of the Strip. Caesar's Palace Towers are on a north side of Flamingo Road and became an impenetrable wall (unless you pay $350 for the room with a view). Dunes is now Bellagio. Buildings south of it are Cosmopolitan, Aria and Vdara. Further south are Park MGM (formerly Monte Carlo), New York New York and even further south (after Tropicana Road) are Luxor and Mandalay Bay. On the other side of the Strip Bally's/Horseshoe is still standing, empty lot became Paris, Alladin is now Planet Hollywood.
This set speaks for itself. Flamingo is completed, everything else - not so much.

Photo 1987.

 35 years later from almost the same vantage point.
The last set is not an exact match, almost like a continuation North-South. You can still see Frontier and Sands, but there's already Treasure Island, Mirage and Rio. Empty lot with a lonely bulldozer will become Wynn, across the street will be Palazzo at Venetian and Grand Canal Shoppes and finally Sands will be Venetian proper.

Photo 1982.

 Now continuing south - almost from the edge of old photo - and we see part of the Flamingo, Horseshoe/Bally's, Paris, Planet Hollywood and MGM Grand. On the west side - Bellagio, Cosmopolitan/Aria/Vdara, Park MGM, New York New York, Luxor, Mandalay Bay and Delano. And, of course, High Roller - the tallest ferris wheel in the world.
© OMF (Vadim Zykin).