El Rancho Vegas
Nevada, United States
No longer standing
Demolished or destroyed.
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El Rancho Vegas was a hotel and casino that opened on April 3, 1941, at the north end of what would become the Las Vegas Strip, designed by architect Wayne McAllister for entrepreneur Thomas Hull. Built on desert land outside city limits along Highway 91, it was conceived to attract motorists traveling from Los Angeles and featured an Old West theme with 65 guest rooms in cottage bungalows scattered across the property. As the first resort on the Strip, its unexpected success inspired the development of neighboring properties that transformed the highway into a major resort destination. The hotel pioneered the all-you-can-eat buffet concept in Las Vegas during the 1940s and later hosted the KENO radio station and KSHO-TV television station. A fire of undetermined origin destroyed the main building housing the casino, restaurants, and showroom on June 17, 1960, forcing closure, though the cottage bungalows survived intact. The property subsequently operated as a non-gaming motel before entrepreneur Howard Hughes purchased it in 1970, after which most remaining structures were demolished.
Architect
- Built
- Type
- hotel, casino, music venue
- Place
- Nevada, United States
This building on
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Location