What we have today is another chance for armchair traveling, thanks to a series of snapshots from what looks like a vacation to Las Vegas in the early 1970s. And while the traffic is fairly light (Yeap, less cars back in the ’70s!) there’s actually a lot to see car wise in these shots. Especially if you like American iron from the period.
We start with the above photo taken from the passenger’s seat. A Tropicana Casino billboard is off in the distance, and we got some Pentastar products on the National Car Rental on the left, plus what looks like a Rambler entering the intersection on the right. And of course, the boattail Riviera and the Pinto are easy to spot. See anything else?
As usual with these images found online, there’s no info on who or when. That said, I assume it was a family on vacation and my favorite images are the ones taken from inside of what I assume was their ride. This particular one shows a Torino and what looks like an Olds Custom Cruiser, both in blurry motion.
A bit more of traffic action, now with the Sahara Casino in view. And is that an Imperial about to make a left turn to see Johnny Mathis?
Looks like these tourists finally stepped out of the car, with the next couple of shots taken in the same location. Perhaps where they were staying?
A late ’60s ‘Bird can be seen speeding by the road, though of more interest to me is the Datsun pickup and the unidentifiable import parked next to the white Mustang. About which, there are hardly any imports in these images. But that might have to do with Las Vegas being a tourist attraction… Imports of the early ’70s were improving, yes, but if you were riding from Chicago, a US-built highway cruiser was the tool for the mission.
Shot number two from the same spot shows a late ’50s Mercury wagon (a Curbside Classic!), and yet one more Mustang in the distance. Curious to see the camper/home pickup too (Save on lodging, gamble more away for those fellas!)
Last shot of the sequence that I found, and I guess they all belong to someone who rode with this stylish group. If so, thanks for the memories fellas! And good luck with your bets!
That ’72 Ford taxi appears to have a roof top a/c unit like seen on a lot of big trucks.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those on a car.
I believe it’s a (i)famous Red Dot unit, they were bulky but outstanding at cooling things down in the Desert .
In the 1st/ photo the right turning little blue car is a VW Typ III squareback .
I remember lots of those Dodge A100 vans back then too .
The casino in the first picture is The Sands, not The Tropicana .
-Nate
I’ve never seen that on a car either, but in searching around I found a few pictures of Las Vegas taxis with truck air conditioners mounted on the roof. Here’s a similar-vintage shot of a Checker:
Thank you. Had no idea what that was, nor that aftermarket rooftop A/C units were even a thing on passenger vehicles.
This is a great series of photos! Not just for the vintage scenes, but also to be reminded of just what folks took photos of 50 years ago. I love the final shot of the people posing in front of the Hot Dog House – and also the woman’s briefcase (with attached umbrella, which was unlikely to be used in Las Vegas).
That last shot also gives a clue as to the date – the Oldsmobile’s license plate has a 1973 expiration sticker.
Image #1. I could be wrong, but my immediate reaction was that it is a VW Squareback.
That’s what I assumed until reading the text. Now I’m not sure!
Yes, it could be a Squareback. Hard to tell with the photo’s resolution.
When I first looked this morning, I assumed Volkswagen Type 3 Fastback. Assisted by the body length trim located above the wheel arches. And the size and shape of the bumper ends, and rocker panel trim. With the quarter window appearing to curve down, just as the photo ends to the right.
When I thought a car in a recent curbside snapshot was a VW Type 3, it turned to be a BMW 700. Despite that error, I do think the Rambler is in fact a German brand ending in W.
Squareback for sure.
I was just entering college in L.A. at that time and we’d take road trips to Vegas often, particularly for spring break. We’d drive in up through the night in my buddy’s yellow ’74 Firebird Formulae 400. So, I can vividly remember the “then and now” differences. It was less frenetic in the 70s, although we wouldn’t have thought that then. And, ‘freebies’ abounded to get bodies in the casinos. We’d play blackjack at small storefront casinos located in places like the Hot Dog House with hand minimums at 25 cents, just to “loosen up” before we’d go big-time at the hotel casinos playing at the $2 tables! Different, indeed. I also remember staying at the Sands Hotel in the 60s as a youngster when my mother married my step-father. Jerry Lewis was the headliner and I got to hang around the casino periphery watching my step-father playing craps. An early education.
People were a lot thinner then.
We sure were.
That’s a great photo of a Riviera Boat Tail in traffic. I had a ’71 like that one, and drove it for a few years in the early ’90’s. It sure looked “distinctive” even back in the Day. It stood out even more in the ’90’s, which was the reason that I bought it!
The A100 van in the first photo jumped out at me before any of the cars. A bit of the van owner in me, and perhaps also the motorcyclist who pays attention to oncoming cars which could turn left in front of bikes.
I think photos 3, 4, and 5 are all taken from approximately the same location, the northwest corner of Las Vegas Blvd. (aka “The Strip”) and Sahara Blvd.
Is that the same “boat tail, Riv” in pic’s #1, #3? I’ll be plying “Johnny Mathis”, tunes in my head all eve now.
I’ll bet that the Shirelles were glad to have paying gigs.
I want to know, how many were original members.
To reduce tooling costs, GM might have considered styling a way to make the Riviera trunklid stamping, match the concurrent Pontiac LeMans hood. 🙂
Had a 72 boat tail Riv, what a guzzler
Talk about no traffic. Nowhere close to that today. The strip is packed with people day and night. My wife just got back from there last weekend with three girlfriends. She asked if I wanted to drive down on Dec. 27 for two nights and drive back on the 29th. Oh, hell no. Stay longer 2 days longer and I would and use that time to wander the desert parks in nice cool weather. I don’t gamble.
I lived there from ’75 until ’82, and the Strip had wildly varying amounts of traffic on it back then. On a bad night, it was like slow torture going from the Tropicana to the Sahara. North of the Sahara, it was known as “drunk alley” or “Drunktown”, especially the area of LV BLVD and Oakey St, and the drunk driving was a constant danger. This was midway between The Strip and Downtown, so drunks went both ways. There was a pharmacy with a restaurant in it on that corner, and between the pimps, hookers, guys looking for condoms, it was a total freak show. The food was ok, and my friends and I would go there and have breakfast a couple of hours before dawn and often there was a wreck outside.
As far as traffic nightmares went, Maryland Parkway between Sahara Ave, and Tropicana was just awful. Unsynched traffic lights, gridlock as a result, idiots driving cars with old dried up hoses in bumper to bumper 110 degree traffic with the totally expected exploding hoses, pedestrians crossing in front of the boulevard mall, and UNLV students walking and driving down near Tropicana, it was blood pressure raising, and just annoying as hell. We have a similar, but much less stressful street in Toledo, Secor Rd, but to me, Maryland Parkway is still the worst, especially at lunch and dinner times.
We lived there 1974-1980, Maryland Pkwy being such a terror at that spot and those exploding hoses were good for business– my Dad managed the Sears Auto Center at Boulevard Mall.
Leave it to me to focus on the scenery as I wasn’t doing much driving in those days (shifting attendance boundaries and new construction had me at 3 different schools between K-4) In that first shot I think you’re seeing a Tropicana billboard because it was still quite a way’s south from Desert Inn and that bend in the strip makes a straight view all but impossible.
In the summer of 1969 my family was visiting relatives near Bakersfield, California. On our way back to Wisconsin we stopped in Las Vegas. I remember that it looked much like the photos. We were driving a new 1969 Ford LTD without air conditioning. Yes it was HOT!
Interesting photos. I have never been to LV, but it seems like there are plenty of photos floating around.
#1 Left to right a ’70-’72 Plymouth Valiant or Duster, ’72 Dodge Dart or Demon, not sure of blue car, ’72 Dodge Challenger all at National Car Rental. A dark blue ’71 or ’72 Ford Pinto at the curb, Dodge A100 van waiting to turn, green ’71 Buick Riviera heading away, white ’72 Ford full size taxi, VW Squareback waiting to enter on right edge.
#2 A ’71 or ’72 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser and a ’72 Ford Gran Torino GT SportsRoof passing by. In the parking lot a white a ’65 or ’66 Dodge Dart 2 door sedan and a black over white ’67 or ’68 Cadillac Coupe deVille. The car that the photographer is riding in has the look of a ’65-’68 GM full size.
#3 Left to right the nose of possibly a ’59 Chrysler, red ’72 Mustang SportsRoof, ’71-’74 Ford Econoline van, mail van with a C3 Corvette behind it, also a Wild Plum ’72 AMC Javelin as well. In the turn lane a ’72 Imperial LeBaron 2 door and a ’68 Pontiac Tempest or LeMans Hardtop Coupe. Heading this way is another boat tailed Riviera, this one a ’73 model.
#4 Left to right a lime green ’72 Mustang Mach I, blue and white post ’71 Chevrolet or GMC passenger van, ’68 Impala wagon, Datsun 1300 or 1500 pickup, green ’72 Ford Country Sedan, brown ’70 or ’71 Thunderbird 2 door, white ’71 or ’72 Mustang SportsRoof, The car on the other side may be a ’71-’73 Toyota Corona. Just to the right of the yield sign in the background is a ’71-’73 Firebird Formula, and further to the right above the brown T-bird is a white ’70-’72 Ford F-series Styleside long bed.
#5 The same shot as #4 a few degrees to the left and a few seconds later. In the foreground a black ’67 Lincoln Continental with a white ’72 Ford Custom sedan taxi driving out. In the parking lane far left is a ’61 Buick, cabover camper, ’57 Mercury Voyager or Commuter 4 door wagon, ’69 Impala. In the street is a white ’67 Dodge Dart 2 door sedan and the same Mustang and Impala wagon as in #4.
#6 The photographer, or perhaps the assistant and the rest of the party posing next to a ’72 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Hardtop Sedan before they get their hot dog.
Thanks for the photos
I love this so much. It’s no secret that Las Vegas is one of my happy places. I’m placing these scenes in my head relative to what I saw just maybe seven weeks ago. I love that our own Vince’s red ’72 Torino Sportsroof is in the second photo.
On the Imperial 400 motel, I love its architecture. We used to have one of those in Flint. The motel is still a motel, but it has changed hands a bunch of times. I like that the shape of the sign echoes the architecture of the motel office building.
You beat me to it Joseph. I came here to comment on the lede photo and that Boat-tail, but then thought, ‘Is that Vince’s Torino in that second shot?’
And to answer the author’s question, “is that an Imperial about to make a left turn to see Johnny Mathis?” To that I’d say, “Chances Are Awfully Good” 😉
#4: The white fastback Mustang reminds me of the James Bond film (Diamonds Are Forever Diamonds) shot in Vegas with Jill St John in the passenger seat. IIRC, it was candy apple red Mack I. One of the reason I like this series of Mustangs.
Wonder where the car is today?
That very car and movie is the reason I have a die cast red ’71 fastback model in my living room. Phenomenal chase scene.