The City of Las Vegas

Funded by a grant from the Commission, the new film by Heather Caputo Productions documents the history of Helldorado Days, from its beginnings as a tourist attraction in 1935 to fund a new Elks Lodge, until today.

The building that houses The Mob Museum began its life as the first federal structure in Las Vegas. It held the city’s main post office, federal courtroom and offices for various federal agencies. This new documentary, “This Building of Ours,” details the federal building’s central role in Las Vegas life during the 20th century and its reinvention as The Mob Museum in the 21st century. For decades, the post office on the first floor was a bustling community gathering place, while the courtroom on the second floor played host to a number of high-profile trials and hearings, including the Kefauver Committee hearing on organized crime in 1950.

Funded thanks to a grant from the Las Vegas Centennial Commission, the film tells the stories of the Historic Westside through the use of historic images, consultation from local historians, and interviews with past and present residents as well as local politicians. Topics include the 1905 McWilliams Townsite, attendance at the Historic Westside School, segregation in Las Vegas, the opening and closing of the Moulin Rouge, and neighborhood dynamics leading up to the 1969 riots. National issues that impacted the local community such as WWII and the Vietnam War, as well as the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Malcolm X are also highlighted.