70°F
weather icon Cloudy

In an online world, postcards help preserve Las Vegas history — PHOTOS

Some of the millions of tourists who visit the Strip and downtown Las Vegas every year may not realize it, but they become accidental archivists helping to preserve our city for future historians.

When they take a moment to scrawl a message on a postcard that they’ll send to family and friends back home, they contribute to Las Vegas’ always-expanding historical archive.

The postcard collections of the Clark County Museum and UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives tell terrific stories — who we were via long-ago panoramas of the Strip, gone-but-not-forgotten casinos, proud chefs showing off a buffet’s bounty and tourists of the ’60s playing blackjack or catching a show.

Postcards offer historians a photographic record of the past, says Peter Michel, curator of collections for UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives. “What’s interesting about postcards is how common they were and how far back they go historically.”

Postcards, maps and atlases are “sort of plebeian articles, common things,” says Mark Hall-Patton, Clark County Museums administrator. “But in those common things are history and an ability to understand how we have changed and where we came from and how we have gotten to where we are today.”

Contact John Przybys at jprzybys @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0280. Follow @JJPrzybys on Twitter.

MOST READ
In case you missed it
Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
World leaders, mourners attend Pope Francis’ funeral

World leaders and rank-and-file Catholic faithful bade farewell to Pope Francis in a funeral Saturday in Vatican City.

Catholic Church mourns, buries Pope Francis – PHOTOS

Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the Vatican to pay their final respects and witness the funeral mass for the leader of the Catholic Church on Saturday.

3 key workout movements for packing on muscle

Increasing muscle mass can be beneficial at any age. Here are three types of movements to help build muscle.

Pedro Pascal marvels at ‘new chapter in my life’

“I think it’s because of the personal experience I’ve had making the show,” the 50-year-old actor says of “The Last of Us.” “It’s a rare thing.”

MORE STORIES