LibGuides: History: Primary Sources by Era or Topic: Las Vegas

About this guide

This page compiles online, print or microfilmed collections of primary sources documenting the history of Las Vegas.

UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives holds many primary source collections - see their collecting strengths or explore the Special Collections and Archives Portal .

Another page lists books, web sites and articles about Las Vegas history.

Las Vegas Newspapers

Las Vegas Age

Las Vegas Age, 1905-1947
Browse by date using the list of years at the bottom of the page - the search box at the top will not search within the text of the issues.
Las Vegas Times, 1905-1906
Las Vegas Age & Las Vegas Times
1905-1947
Browse by date using the list of years at the bottom of the page - the search box at the top will not search within the text of the issues.
Las Vegas Age (via Chronicling America)
As of July 2023 Chronicling America has select Saturday issues only.

Las Vegas Sun

Las Vegas Sun (Access Nevada)
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1996-current. Includes occasional issues from 1950-1995.
Las Vegas Sun (website)
1995-current
Las Vegas Sun (Gale)
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2010 - current
Las Vegas Sun (ProQuest)
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10/1/2006 - 9/28/2010
Las Vegas Sun (Ebsco)
12/19/2010 -09/11/2018

Las Vegas Review Journal

Las Vegas Review Journal Archive (1929-1996) This link opens in a new window
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3/30/1929-present
Nevada daily newspaper. 1929-1996 is page images only; 1997- is article text only, no images.

Las Vegas Review Journal (ProQuest)
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12/2/1990 - 12/29/2012

Las Vegas Review Journal (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
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1996-
Full text of articles, not including images.

Las Vegas Review Journal (PressReader)
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Complete page images for the most recent 60 days. Includes Las Vegas Sun as a supplement under the LVRJ title.
Las Vegas Review Journal, current

Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice

Las Vegas Sentinel-Voice
includes Las Vegas Voice (1963-1974); Las Vegas Sentinel (1980-1982); Sentinel Voice (1982-2014)

UNLV Student Newspaper

The Rebel Yell (UNLV Special Collections and Archives Portal)
1955-2010
Rebel Yell (Access Nevada), including UNLV Free Press and Scarlet and Gray Free Press
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2010-2021
UNLV Scarlet and Gray Free Press
2021-
UNLV student newspaper

Online Access to Las Vegas Newspapers - summary by date

most recent 2 months. Page images for the Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun in PressReader. (both included under the title Las Vegas Review Journal)
9/29/1996 - present. Full-text articles (no images) for the Las Vegas Review Journal in Access Nevada.
2/19/1996 - present. Full-text articles from the Las Vegas Sun, 2/19/96 -current in Access Nevada. Also includes scattered issues from 1973-1995 and a single issue from 1957.
3/30/1929 - 12/31/1996. Searchable page images for the Las Vegas Review Journal in Access Nevada.
12/2/1990 - 12/31/2012. Full-text articles for the Las Vegas Review Journal in ProQuest US Newsstream.
10/1/06-9/28/10. Full-text articles for the Las Vegas Sun in ProQuest US Newsstream.
1995 - present. Full-text articles for the Las Vegas Sun on their web site.
1962-66, 1968-70, 1975-1977 Full-text articles for the Las Vegas Sun are available online via Las Vegas-Clark County Library's subscription to NewspaperArchive.com - you must have an LVCCLD card or visit a branch for online access.
1905-1947. Page images for the Las Vegas Age. Selected issues are also searchable online via the Library of Congress' Chronicling America project and Las Vegas-Clark County Library's subscription to NewspaperArchive.com - you must have an LVCCLD card or visit a branch for online access.
1905-1905. Page images for the Las Vegas Times.

Indexing for Las Vegas Newspapers

1983 - 1990 Citations only microfiche index to Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun available at UNLV Lied Library.
1972 - 1982 Citations only to Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun available in NNI Nevada Newspaper Index on UNLV Lied Library microfilm scanning computers. Instructions on how to use. Part of of this database is also online in PDF in Nevada Newspaper Index.
1930 - 8/1968. Las Vegas Review Journal index (citations only) available on index cards at the Cahlan Research Library inside the Nevada Historical Society and Museum, which is located in Springs Preserve. Contact them or call ahead at 702-486-5205 to make an appointment to use the index.
1905 - 1940. Las Vegas Age index (citations only) available on index cards, also at the Cahlan Research Library.

Las Vegas newspapers on microfilm at UNLV
List of microfilmed newspapers with date ranges.
Las Vegas newspapers - current issues
Links to view today's newspaper articles via library subscriptions and your ACE account.

City planning and records

Las Vegas City Council records, 1911-1960

Las Vegas City Commission records
The Las Vegas City Commission Records (1911-1960) is comprised of materials from the original Las Vegas City Commission. Includes minutes that served as the official record of the proceedings of all Las Vegas City Commission meetings from 1911-1960. There are also three volumes of City of Las Vegas ordinances dating from 1911 to 1958, one volume of legal documents from 1944-1945 and two large volumes containing an alphabetical subject index to the topics covered in the minutes. Other materials cover the period 1921 to 1946 and include minutes, resolutions, ordinances, correspondence, financial records, proclamations and other documents related to city business.
City Planning documents, Las Vegas

North Las Vegas

The shape of things to come : a comprehensive master plan of the city of North Las Vegas (1965)

Oral Histories

Documenting the African American Experience in Las Vegas
KNPR: The Las Vegas I Remember
Oral histories
Nevada Test Site Oral History Project
more...less...
The Nevada Test Site Oral History Project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is a comprehensive program dedicated to documenting, preserving and disseminating the remembered past of persons affiliated with and affected by the Nevada Test Site during the era of Cold War nuclear testing.
Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project
UNR: University of Nevada Oral History Archive
Veterans Oral History Project
Henderson Libraries staff filmed and interviewed local military veterans about their experiences in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Their stories can be heard and read here. All of the filmed interviews in this collection are accompanied by fully searchable transcripts.
West Las Vegas Teen Oral History Project « The Librarian's Brain
The West Las Vegas Teen Oral History Project is an intergenerational project, enabling teens to become historians of cultural and heritage experiences in their African American Community.
WLV Teen Oral Histories
Margaret Wheat oral history collection, UNR
Oral histories from Paiute and Shoshone people in Nevada

Historical maps of Las Vegas

Southern Nevada and Las Vegas History in Maps
The maps selected for this digital project document the cartographic history and context of the American West, the American Southwest, Nevada, and Southern Nevada, telescoping in scale from the Western Hemisphere to the streets of Las Vegas.
Nevada Sanborn Maps (UNR)
Includes 1923 Las Vegas maps
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
Library of Congress digital images of city maps from Nevada in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps on microfilm
Film located in second floor microfilm cases; use readers on the first floor.
Nevada in Maps (UNR)

Microform Research Collections

Business directories

Directory of industries, giving name of firm, location, nature of business, and number of employees, arranged by industries.
Nevada. Office of Labor Commissioner, 1922.

Letters and Diaries

Diary-Scrapbook of Trip to Las Vegas, ca. 1950
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Permanent link to "Diary of Anonymous American Woman, December, 1959?"

History: Primary Sources by Era or Topic