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Las Vegas in the 1940s was notable for the establishment of The Strip in a town which "combined Wild West frontier friendliness with glamor and excitement". In 1940, the population was 8,400 but within five years, it more than doubled its size. The Las Vegas Valley had a population of 13,937 in 1940, increasing to 35,000 in just two years. ==1940–44== In the early 1940s, the town experienced political problems resulting in two city governments, each claiming to have the right to rule. The militarization of Las Vegas began when the Army Gunnery School (now Nellis Air Force Base) was established in 1941; between 1941–45, 55,000 students attended classes here. The city of Henderson was established in 1941.〔Rothman, p. 77〕 During the World War II period, when defense spending was high, tourist traffic to Las Vegas necessitated raising of many new buildings on the Fifth street, Fremont Street and many other prime roads leading to the casinos. During the 40s and also in the 50s the resort sector also developed in a big way to the detriment of the residential houses in many of the residential streets. Suburbs with single family housing complexes and apartment blocks sprung up behind El Rancho and other hotels on The Strip. The city also modified its grid pattern layout, as the city extended southwards and e realigned in north-south direction. As the casinos came into existence on the Strip along the Fremont street, the commercial establishments were moved to the Main Street and Commerce Street. In 1940, the Clark Inn Motel was built as a Regency modern type hotel. In the same year, the Chief Hotel came into existence as a remodeled version of the mission hotel. Both these were built on the Charleston Boulevard in the 1200 block. During the second World War period, the Los Angeles Boulevard witnessed proliferation of wedding chapels, auto courts and motels. In 1940, the hotel magnate of California, Hull was invited by James Cashman of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce to build one of his El Rancho Hotels with casino, which would be profitable. Cashman and his associates showed him a number of sites. But Hull had his own preference and built the El Rancho Las Vegas hotel at a large site of his choice. He built the hotel with a sprawling casino, coffee shops upscale restaurants, well-turned gardens and parks, swimming pool and a large parking lot which could accommodate 500 cars. Following this hotel, the next seven years witnessed the emergence of Last Frontier, Flamingo and Thunderbird hotels. It was built in the low rise western architectural style at the early developmental stage of The Strip. The El Rancho Vegas opened in 1941 on what became the Las Vegas Strip, serving as the model for future casinos. In 1942, Clark Gable was staying at the El Rancho when he learned that his wife Carole Lombard was in a plane crash; there were no survivors. In 1941, John Grayson established the El Cortez Hotel and Casino. The Arizona Club, also known as the "Queen of Block 16", was the first Las Vegas saloon to have second story constructed for prostitution and was unchallenged until 1941. In 1942, Las Vegas closed its prostitution district, accommodating a request from the military, and by December 1942, bars and casinos were closed for an eight-hour period, starting at 2:00 AM.〔Rothman, p. 313〕 The West Side Club opened for African American customers in the early 1940s as, in 1942, Las Vegas city commissioners denied a permit for an interracial hotel-casino in the Downtown area. The Hotel Last Frontier was established in 1942. Its Western Frontier Village contained The Little Church of the West where Betty Grable and Harry James married in 1943. By 1944, the Army base's training range had been enlarged to 3.3 million acres. A riot in that year, resulting from an altercation between the police and black GIs who wanted to enter downtown bars and casino.〔Rothman, p. 264〕 The Huntridge Theater was built in 1944.〔 At 16.5 percent of the labor pool, women made up a small minority of workers in 1940, numbering slightly more than 1,000. About half were in service, sales, or clerical work with thirteen percent in professional jobs, 10 percent working as proprietors or managers, another 10 percent engaged in domestic service, and the balance working in some operative business. In the decade of the 1940s, though the number of women of working age women increased 196 percent, their participation in the workfoce increased 413 percent. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Las Vegas in the 1940s」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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