World City Guide

Further Distractions

Liberace Museum
Constantly built, rebuilt and renovated, Las Vegas is covered in the kind of up-to-the-minute polish of a city constructed yesterday. The Liberace Museum, considered one of the best museums in Las Vegas, offers a view of the city’s cultural history by focusing on one of its most infamous entertainers. Liberace became an extremely prominent musician in America and nowhere were his dazzling – some would say gaudy – costumes and stage sets more at home than in Las Vegas. The museum is divided into two galleries. The first houses 18 of his 39 pianos – including his own Rhinestone-covered Baldwin piano and a rare, early English grand piano from 1788 – as well as his car collection, including his one-of-a-kind Rolls Royce covered with mirror tiles etched with galloping horses. The second gallery houses costumes, stage props and candelabra. Proceeds from the not-for-profit museum support scholarships for the performing arts. The museum is wheelchair accessible.

1775 Tropicana Avenue East
Tel: (702) 798 5595. Fax: (702) 798 7386.
Website: www.liberace.com
E-mail: info@liberace.org
Transport: Bus 201.
Opening hours: Mon–Sat 1000–1700, Sun 1300–1600.
Admission: US$12 (concessions available).

Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park
This decidedly low-key attraction may not have neon signs and an army of one-armed bandits but it does lend a sense of what Las Vegas was like before gambling stole its soul. Located north of Downtown, Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park is the site of the original adobe fort used by the first Mormon settlers in the Las Vegas Valley. Built by missionaries from Salt Lake City in 1885, the fort was abandoned just a year later, due to the harsh conditions. A shed is the only remaining original building but the rest of the site was recently reconstructed. Rangers are on hand to provide interpretation and information.

500 Washington Street East
Tel: (702) 486 3511. Fax: (702) 486 3734.
Website: http://parks.nv.gov/olvmf.htm
Transport: Bus 113.
Opening hours: Daily 0830–1630.
Admission: US$2 (concessions available).