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Frontier Village & The Silver Slipper

Silver Slipper Night View
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1950 night view of the Silver Slipper's Grand Opening floodlights.

Last Frontier Village
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When The Last Frontier first opened, in 1942, it built an Old West amusement area filled with 'Old.
Nevada' mining town memorabilia, coaches, plows and antique cars. Just before The Desert Inn opened,
across the Strip in 1950, the Frontier Village converted its main souvenir shop into a gambling saloon.

Old West Village
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The Frontier Museum housed a collection of antique guns.

The Golden Slipper - Silver Slipper
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The saloon at Frontier Village opened in 1950. It originally opened under the name of the Golden Slipper.
After a 'name infringement' issue was raised by the owners of downtown's Golden Nugget Casino the
Golden Slipper was forced to change its name - which it did by becoming the Silver Slipper. Notice
the name change - from "Golden" to "Silver" (on the building) in this photo and the one below.

The vintage train hauled over $200 million of gold from early Nevada mining camps during its life.

Silver Slipper at Last Frontier
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It took about two months for the 'name dispute' between the Golden Nugget and the Golden Slipper to be
settled (without going to court). Downtown's Golden Nugget attorneys used the precedent setting 1930
civil case (regarding name ownership) that was used by the 'White Castle' versus 'White Tower' chain of
hamburger stands - to protect its trademarked name. After all was said and done, the Silver Slipper
name ended up being successfully suited for the saloon.

Sally Rand at Silver Slipper
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Signs announcing the Burlesque showgirls performing inside are seen on the front of the saloon.
A sign for Sally Rand's Show is seen on left side. (See more about Sally Rand's influence farther below).

The Silver Slipper High Heel Sign
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The 'Silver Slipper Saloon' added a large, light bulb covered, high-heeled, woman's shoe sign to its roof.

The 'Silver Slipper' was one of the most famous of Las Vegas signs. Like 'Vegas Vic', The 'El Rancho Windmill',
the 'Dunes Sultan', 'Aladdin's Magic Lamp', 'Hacienda's Cabelero', 'Sahara's Camels', Caesars' Centurions',
'Thunderbird's neon Thunderbird', and the boot-kicking 'Sassy Sally' this iconic-object sign remains a long
remembered part of Old Vegas gigantisc street-art. The Slipper was located across and a bit north of the DI.


'Silver Slipper Sign' 18x24 Inch Art Print

Silver Slipper Sign
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'Silver Slipper Vegas' 24x20 Inch Art Print

Silver Slipper Las Vegas
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The Best in Old & New Vegas Art. Photos, Posters and Framed Stretched Canvas Art Prints.
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1959 Silver Slipper Saloon
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Like the 'giant hat' used for Hollywood's Brown Derby Restaurant - The Silver Slipper sign became a
world famous icon and could be seen from miles away when lit up at night. The use of a woman's shoe
fit the saloon's Burlesque Theater Showgirl theme, quite well.

1959 Las Vegas
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1959 photo of the Silver Slipper Saloon and Gambling Hall's parking lot. The famous 'Desert Spa'
building can be seen (at right), with the 1955 Riviera Hotel just beyond. The sign for 'Ripley's Believe
It Or Not Museum' can be seen (at left) just above the Cadillac and Ford Crown Victoria cars. The Stardust
Hotel can be seen farther beyond. The red barn building (under the sign) was actually a Texaco gas station.

Remodeled Silver Slipper
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The Silver Slipper Burlesque Showroom presented popular entertainment from 1950 thru 1988. It's 1960's expansion
can be seen above. It was located across the road from the Desert Inn -north of The Frontier.

Silver Slipper's Burlesque Stage
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The stage at the Silver Slipper provided burlesque-style entertainment for over two full decades.

Graphic Restoration & Enhancement by Camden Communications

The Silver Slipper sign, though rusting, still exists.


Sally Rand & The Silver Slipper Showgirls

'French Can-Can' 24x36 Inch Art Print

Moulin Rouge French Can-Can
WestVegas.com in Association with Art.com

The history of showgirls in Las Vegas stems back to the days of the 1830 French Can-Can Dancers, the
Old West saloon dancers of the Gold Rush era and Silver mining towns of early Nevada, the 1890s
Moulin Rouge Theater, the bawdy days of American Burlesque from 1870-1920 and the music, color,
spectacle and fun of the 1907-31 Ziegfeld Follies (on Broadway) in New York City where the beauty of
American women was fully exhalted, glamorized and glorified.

1923 Showgirl
Book: 'Ziegfeld Girl:Image & Icon / In Association with Amazon.com

1923 NYC Ziegfeld Showgirl - Louise Brooks

The impact of Sally Rand upon Las Vegas showgirl theater added a whole extra sexual element to
the Las Vegas Strip that continues to this very day as a welcome and key element of casino culture.
Gambling and beautiful women have always walked hand-in-hand, with the same mutual Jackpot incentive.

Silver Slipper Sign
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Sally Rand Bubble Act
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Sally Rand's Bubble Show.

Sally Rand's Nude Ranch
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Sally Rand's influence began at the 1939 San Francisco World's Fair when she opened her 'Nude Ranch' in the
Treasure Island Amusement Park at the exposition. This marked the first such open and mainstream display
of commercialized nudity in American history. As 20 million visitors passed thru the fair a large percentage
visited the Sally Rand Nude Show. Her Nude Ranch was a play-on-words for the popular Dude Ranch term
of that era. Though not totally nude, her group of showgirls cavorted around the Nude Ranch topless and with
very small, sheer, flesh-colored G-strings. Sally would continue presenting her shows, in her later years,
strictly as a promoter. Her showgirl presentations, at the Silver Slipper, started a new era
in showgirl history by opening the door to more sexualized, nude theater.

Nude Ranch Lasso
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The Nude Ranchers at the 1939 World's Fair did various ranch chores, twirled lassos and performed
assorted pony acts in open display for adult attendees - starting a new era in topless showgirl history.

Sally Rand Swan Act
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Sally Rand performing her Swan Act.

Silver Slipper Advertisement
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Silver Slipper advertising poster.

1950s Las Vegas Burlesque Strippers
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Two popular 1950s Silver Slipper Burlesque showgirls - Evelyn West and Blaze Star.

1950s Silver Slipper Stripper
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Las Vegas Burlesque star - Trudy Wayne.

1950s Las Vegas Burlesque Strippers
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The simplified Cowgirl outfit was a common costume among Las Vegas Burlesque performers.

Stripper Storm Tempest
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Tempest Storm performed a popular strip show at the Silver Slipper in the mid-fifties.


Las Vegas Showgirl History

Lily St. Cyr - Cowgirl Stripper
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Lily St. Cyr performed exclusively at the 1950s El Rancho Vegas, doing her Midnight Bubble Bath.

New Webpage Coming August 15th

In Association with Art.com

Visit the new InOldLasVegas.com webpage on Las Vegas Showgirl History.


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