The former Las Vegas post office and federal building at 301 Stewart Ave. downtown was built in 1933 as part of a national federal-building campaign. It's a prime example of neoclassical architecture and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Las Vegas' first federal courthouse, on the second floor, was the scene of the Kefauver hearings on organized crime in 1950.
A multi-million-dollar renovation project (estimates range from $4 million to $30 million) is underway on the old post office. The big expense is retrofitting the building to bring it up to code, so it won't collapse in an earthquake. When the building is ready, it will be turned into the POST Museum, which will highlight some aspect of Las Vegas' history.
Exactly which aspect POST will highlight is currently undecided. But in 2002, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman proposed a "mob museum," which would "tell the story of how Las Vegas got started" (never mind that Las Vegas got started between 40 and 100 years, depending on how you're counting, before gangsters arrived here).
Goodman has said that he'd donate "Mafia artifacts," including memorabilia from his own collection, accumulated from when he was a defense attorney with mobsters for clients -- Meyer Lansky, Nick Civella, Tony Spilotro, Philip Leonetti, Natale Richichi, and Charles Panarella, to name a few. He also envisions a gift shop that would sell customers' mug shots printed on hats, T-shirts, and, naturally, coffee mugs.
As you might expect, other Las Vegas spokespeople have been less than enthusiastic about devoting an entire museum to the mob, especially one that occupies a former federal building.
Locals aren't so sure about it, either. A poll was recently conducted on the subject, in which 600 Las Vegans and 300 visitors were asked to rank five themes for the museum in order of preference: gambling, illusion, superstars, vintage Vegas, and the mob.
Las Vegans preferred the vintage Vegas theme, meaning the architecture, arts, and personalities that shaped the city from the early 1930s through the 1950s; vintage Vegas received the nod from 32% of the survey respondents. Only 17% of locals voted for the mob museum and of those, 34% wanted the museum to focus on the law enforcers, rather than the law breakers; 31% preferred the focus to be on the mobsters.
Visitors, however, overwhelmingly supported the mob theme; more than 70% selected it among their top three choices. Of those, 52% wanted the museum to focus on the mob.
In terms of the rest of the themes, visitors ranked gambling at number 2, vintage Vegas and superstars tied at number 3, and illusion was last on their list. Locals rated the mob museum at number 2, and gambling, illusion, and superstars at 3, 4, and 5, respectively.
We wouldn't be surprised if some combination of vintage Vegas and the mob winds up dominating the exhibits at the POST Museum when it opens.
Anyone interested in Oscar Goodman's former life as a Mafia defense attorney should check out the HP title Of Rats and Men, a biography by John L. Smith of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which relates the mayor's relationships with such colorful characters as Jimmy the Weasel, The Mad Bomber, and Chicken Man. Similarly, if it's the law-enforcement side of this equation that piques your interest, and how it finally triumphed over the forces of organized crime, we recommend our recent publication The Battle for Las Vegas: The Law vs. The Mob, for a different perspective on this perenially fascinating subject.
