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Little Church of the West

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Coordinates: 36°5′10″N 115°10′19″W / 36.08611°N 115.17194°W / 36.08611; -115.17194
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Little Church of the West
The Little Church of the West (2007)
Location4617 S Las Vegas Blvd.
Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
Nearest cityLas Vegas
Coordinates36°5′10″N 115°10′19″W / 36.08611°N 115.17194°W / 36.08611; -115.17194
Built1943
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.92001161
Added to NRHPSeptember 14, 1992

Little Church of the West is a wedding chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, United States,[1] that is listed on the United States National Register of Historic Places. Built of redwood, it was intended to be a replica of a typical pioneer town church. It is the oldest building on the Las Vegas Strip.[2]

History

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Church signage in 2012

The Little Church of the West opened May 22, 1943[3] on what became the Las Vegas Strip. The chapel was originally built as part of the Hotel Last Frontier complex on the Strip. It was moved from the north side of the hotel to the south side in 1954. In 1979, to make way for the Fashion Show Mall, the chapel was moved onto the grounds of the Hacienda hotel-casino. In December 1996, when the Hacienda was closed and demolished, the chapel was moved again to its current location on the east side of the Strip, south of the eventual Mandalay Bay resort.[4]

The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) on September 14, 1992, and is the only building on the Las Vegas Strip to be listed.[5]

In 2002, the church performed 6,000 weddings a year, and more than 250,000 couples had been married there since its opening.[5] In 2017, it celebrated its 75th anniversary and remains the oldest building on the Las Vegas Strip.[2]

Film history

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In an episode of Perry Mason titled "The Case of the Startled Stallion" (1959) the church is mentioned and the neon sign is shown. It appears in the 1964 film Viva Las Vegas, in which the film's characters played by Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret recite their vows in the church.[5] In the 1978-81 ABC series Vega$ the chapel appears in "Serve, Volley, and Kill" (Season 1, Episode 11, 1978), starring Red Buttons as "Reverend" Tommy Cirko, "All Kinds of Love" (Season 2, Episode 14, 1980), and "Vendetta" (Season 2, Episode 23, 1980).

Notable weddings

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Property record". Clark County Assessor's Office. Archived from the original on October 27, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Little Church of the West - Historic Las Vegas Wedding Chapels". Little Church of the West. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  3. ^ "Little Church of the West, est. 1943". Vintage Las Vegas. Jun 30, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  4. ^ Shemeligian, Bob (November 29, 1996). "Little Church of the West prepared to move south". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved March 6, 2021.
    - "Going to the chapel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. December 3, 1996. Retrieved March 6, 2021 – via News Library.
    - "Here comes the chapel". Las Vegas Review-Journal. December 5, 1996. Retrieved March 6, 2021 – via News Library.
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Rod (October 13, 2002). "Nevadan At Work". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on April 12, 2005.
  6. ^ a b c "Celebrity Weddings in Las Vegas: The '30s and '40s". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  7. ^ "Andy Russell Weds Entertainer". New York Times. October 24, 1945. p. 27. Retrieved 18 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b "Celebrity Weddings in Las Vegas: The '50s and '60s". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  9. ^ Cohodas, Nadine (August 24, 2004). Queen: The Life and Music of Dinah Washington. Random House. p. 426. ISBN 0375421483.
  10. ^ a b c "Celebrity Weddings in Las Vegas: The '70s and '80s". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 25, 2009.
  11. ^ "Redd Foxx kisses his bride". The Salina Journal. Associated Press. July 10, 1991. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  12. ^ a b c "Celebrity Weddings in Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 27, 2009. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  13. ^ a b "You are invited to our Vegas wedding..." The Independent. August 14, 2008. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  14. ^ @MaxBlumenthal (March 18, 2020). "No one I'd rather self-quarantine with than my queen @anyaparampil A huge thank you to everyone who's shown ♥" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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