Downtown Las Vegas in Clark County, Nevada — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Silver Slipper Gambling Hall
Circa 1950s
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 24, 2016
1. Silver Slipper Gambling Hall Marker
The Silver Slipper was originally installed on the grounds of the Last Frontier on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The Slipper was designed by Jack Larsen and built by Young Electric Sign Company.
Erected 2009 by The Neon Museum.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Industry & Commerce.
Location. 36° 10.627′ N, 115° 8.141′ W. Marker is in Las Vegas, Nevada, in Clark County. It is in Downtown Las Vegas. Marker is at the intersection of North Las Vegas Boulevard and East McWilliams Avenue, in the median on North Las Vegas Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 770 North Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas NV 89101, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The "H" Wall (within shouting distance of this marker); The Neon Boneyard Park Sign (within shouting distance of this marker); Jerry's Nugget (within shouting distance of this marker); The Las Vegas Hard Rock Café Guitar Sign (within shouting distance of this marker); Bow & Arrow Motel (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Las Vegas Fort (approx. ¼ mile away); Las Vegas Old Mormon Fort (approx. ¼ mile away); Helen Jane Wiser Stewart (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Las Vegas.
More about this marker. This marker is embedded in the sidewalk in front of the Neon Museum.
Also see . . .
this page online
1. Neon Museum - Wikipedia. The Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, features signs from old casinos and other businesses displayed outdoors on over 6 acres (2.4 ha). The museum features a restored lobby shell from the defunct La Concha Motel as its visitor center, which officially opened on October 27, 2012... The signs are considered by Las Vegas locals, business owners, and government organizations to be not only artistically, but also historically significant to the culture of the city. Each of the restored signs in the collection holds a story about who created it and why it is important. (Submitted on February 5, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.)
2. Nevada Yesterdays: Silver Slipper, Part One. 2018 article by Frank Wright on KNPR, Nevada Public Radio. Excerpt:
By the entry to Last Frontier Village was a small casino and bingo hall, the Golden Slipper.(Submitted on August 22, 2023, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)
Yes, Golden. There are a few versions of what happened. The likely one is that Last Frontier boss William Moore got a phone call from Art Ham, the longtime local attorney. He owned part of the downtown Golden Nugget and thought the name and the design of the Golden Slipper were too close for comfort. So, Moore bought the Silver Slipper name from a Boulder Highway bar, and that was that.
3. Nevada Yesterdays: The Sliver Slipper, Part 2. 2018 KNPR article continues. Excerpt:
The sale of the Slipper was a story in itself. The buyer lived(Submitted on August 22, 2023, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.)across the street: Howard Hughes. We don’t have to go back through all of the stories about him, but this is one of the more interesting ones: why he bought the Silver Slipper. According to one account, the lights from the neon slipper flashed into the Desert Inn penthouse as it turned. That annoyed Hughes, so he bought the property and got rid of the slipper.Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, January 24, 20162. Silver Slipper Neon SignAt the Neon Museum in Las Vegas, Nevada
Additional commentary.
1. The Silver Slipper
My Grandfather, Jack Larsen, Sr., designed the Silver Slipper shoe after my Mother’s first pair of high heels. He was very frustrated as he couldn’t find the right shoe to design it after. He told me he went to women’s shoe stores to try and find what he thought would be a good style for the Slipper. He said that one night my mother came in to say goodnight because she was going out on a date. She turned to leave and he saw the heels she was wearing and said, “Marsha, come here for a minute and give me your shoe.” He sketched the design and ended up using that as the model for the Slipper! I can remember when my sister and I were little our Mom and Dad would take us out for a ride downtown and the strip to look at the lights, and we would look up at the Slipper turning around and say, “Look, there’s Momma’s shoe!”
My Grandpa Larsen was a very talented artist who also designed the Sheik that stood on the Dunes Golf Course, the Aladdin’s Lamp that was on top of the porte cochere
By Allen Phototographers, Inc. (Fair Use) Collection of University of Nevada Las Vegas, circa 1967
3. Front of the Silver Slipper looking southwest, 3100 Las Vegas Boulevard South
The sign reads, “Silver Slipper. Barry Ashton’s Wonderful World of Burlesque, No Cover, Showtimes 10 PM, 12:30 AM, 2:45 AM. Restaurant, World Famous Buffet $1.67, All you can eat 11 AM to Midnight, Jiffy Breakfast 69¢ served Mid. to 10 AM. Strip Fight of the Week, Wednesdays 8:30 PM ” Over the entrance it reads, “1890 / Silver Slipper / Gambling Hall / Saloon” and then “Restaurant” to the right.
Prior to working as a sign designer for YESCO, aka Young Electric Sign Co., he was an original animation artist for Disney Studios back in the mid 1930’s to around 1941. He worked on Fantasia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Bambi, Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and many cartoon shorts. He, along with many other artists were fired by Walt Disney because they were picketing after work in front of the Studio because they wanted to unionize. He told me that one night he was walking with his picket sign and this man pulled up in a fancy car and got out and said to my Grandpa, “Here, give me that sign, I want to help you guys!” My Grandpa said he was flabbergasted because the man was the actor/writer/director Orson Welles!
I have a lot of stories about my Grandpa and I wanted to share a few of the great things he had a hand in. I feel so lucky to have had such a great Grandpa and I hope you all enjoyed some of the stories behind such a great man!
— Submitted July 11, 2023, by Karin Tomanio of Henderson, Nevada.
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Credits. This page was last revised on October 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on February 5, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,108 times since then and 149 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week October 15, 2023. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 5, 2016, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 3. submitted on August 21, 2023, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
