Category: Locals

On this Date: May 18, 2016 IKEA opens in Las Vegas

May 18, 2017
IKEA opens in Las Vegas on May 18, 2016

IKEA opens in Las Vegas on May 18, 2016

The Swedish base home furnishing store opened in Las Vegas on May 18, 2016.
The chain first announced plans in 2014 for a location along Durango Drive and Sunset Road just north of the 215 Beltway. Construction followed soon after.

Last month, IKEA began hiring 300 workers to man the business.

The store boast 351,000 square feet of shopping space 2,300 parking spaces, 300 employees and 3620 rooftop solar panels. The store to features three model home interiors, 43 room-settings, a supervised children’s play area and a 450-seat restaurant, which serves IKEA’s popular menu of Swedish meatballs and lingonberries.

The current closest locations to Las Vegas are in Arizona, Utah and Southern California, according to IKEA.

The Las Vegas store is the 42nd IKEA to open in the United States.

Photo by: IKEA

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On This Date: May 18, 1985, Wet ‘n Wild opened on the Las Vegas Strip

Wet-n-Wild-waterpark-Las-Vegas-1990-5

Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990’s

On this Date, May 18, 1985 Wet ‘n Wild opened at the North end of the Las Vegas Strip at 2601 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, Nevada. Las Vegas Strip Wet ‘n Wild was a 27-acre water park located on the Las Vegas Strip next to the Sahara Hotel. If featured water rides: Willy Willy, Der Stuka / Bomb Bay / Blue Niagra, Royal Flush, Suntan Lagoon, Lazy River, Dragon’s Den (former Banzai Banzai), Surf Lagoon, Kids Park, Raging Rapids, Plaza Pool (former Bubble Up), Black Hole & Whitewater Slideways and Beach Club.

The park closed in September 2004 to make way for the now defunct and never completed Fontainebleau Resort.

Editor’s Note: From personal history, my roommate was a lead lifeguard from the opening date, problems that occurred included: the Lazy River had too many pumps running causing the river to flow too fast. The water slides had ran too fast, which lead to some patrons flying over the sides and landing on the ground below. additionalprotective sides had to be added to extend the height. The concrete walkways had to be acid washed every night, due the falls on the slick surface. I spent the opening summer there hanging out with lots of staff during and after work.

Wet 'n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990's

Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990’s

Wet-n-Wild-waterpark-Las-Vegas-1990-2

Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990’s

Wet-n-Wild-waterpark-Las-Vegas-1990-3

Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990’s

Wet-n-Wild-waterpark-Las-Vegas-1990-4

Wet ‘n Wild Waterpark Las Vegas Strip 1990’s (Der Stuka)

 

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On This Date May 14, 2015 Blues Legend and Las Vegas Local B.B. King passes away

May 14, 2017
B.B King in 2009

B.B King in 2009 Photo by: Tom Beetz

On this date May 14, 2015, B.B. King passed away in Las Vegas. Born, Riley Ben King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), but known by his stage name B.B. King, was an American Hall of Fame blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. also,King had been a long time Las Vegas resident since 1975.

His biggest hit was “The Thrill Is Gone,” which won him the first of 15 Grammy awards. King was also known for performing tirelessly throughout his musical career, appearing at more than 200 concerts per year on average into his 70s.  His famous guitar was named  Lucille which was a Gibson ES-355 “Lucille”.  B.B King was 89.

Photo by: Tom Beetz – http://www.flickr.com/photos/9967007@N07/6577873073

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On This Day: May 4, 1988: PEPCON Explosion and Fire

May 4, 2017
PEPCON Explosion 1988

PEPCON Explosion 1988

PEPCON Explosion and Fire

On this day May 4, 1988,  an explosion at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) perchlorate plant in Henderson, Nevada killed 2 people and injured 372.  A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10 mile radius of the plant was affected, and caused an estimated damage of $100 million to the surrounding area.

A total of seven explosions occurred involving various containers of ammonium perchlorate, with the two largest occurring in the drums, followed by the aluminum containers. These two explosions were measured at 3.0 and 3.5 on the Richter scale by the National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado, some 600 miles away. Over eight million pounds of perchlorate were consumed in the fire and explosions. A crater estimated at 15 feet deep and over 200 feet  wide was left in the storage area.

The nearby Kidd & Co. marshmallow plant was nearly destroyed and numerous homes, schools, and businesses suffered varying degrees of damage. Property damage to buildings other than the plant was estimated to be $74 million. Windows shattered as far as the Boulevard Mall and UNLV.

Clark County Fire Department Fire Investigators determined that sparks from a welder’s torch ignited the ammonium perchlorate. Poor housekeeping contributed to the fire and the resulting explosions.

The first explosion was the smallest and provided a warning to company employees to evacuate the complex. Two more detonations obliterated the property, but by then, all but two management members of the company had escaped.

After the explosion, the plant was renamed Western Electrochemical Co. and relocated to southern Utah. It operates now in Iron County, approximately 14 miles northwest of Cedar
City, Utah.

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On This Date: Andre Agassi Was Born- April 29, 1970

April 29, 2017
andre_agassi

Andre Agassi was born April 29, 1970

Andre Agassi was born April 29, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Agassi is an American retired professional tennis player and former World No. 1, who was one of the game’s most dominant players from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s.

In singles tennis, Agassi is an eight-time Grand Slam champion who competed in 15 Grand Slam finals and a 1996 Olympic gold medalist. His four Australian Open titles are an Open Era record (shared with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer). Agassi retired from professional tennis on September 3, 2006, after losing in the third round of the US Open.

Agassi was married to Brooke Shields from 1997 to 1999. He married Steffi Graf on October 22, 2001 and is still married.

He is the founder of the Andre Agassi Charitable Foundation, which has raised over $60 million for at-risk children in Southern Nevada.In 2001, the Foundation opened the Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas, a K-12 public charter school for at-risk children.

Photo By: Wikipedia (c) Creative Commons

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On This Date: April 16, 1953 Henderson, Nevada Became a City

April 16, 2017
Water Street Historic District of Downtown Henderson, aerial view of Lake Las Vegas, Foothills nearby Henderson, Henderson City Hall.

Water Street Historic District of Downtown Henderson, aerial view of Lake Las Vegas, Foothills nearby Henderson, Henderson City Hall.

On this date, April 16, 1953  Henderson, Nevada was officially incorporated on April 16, 1953 as the City of Henderson.  Henderson is the second largest city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with a population of 257,729 in the 2010 census. The city is part of the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which spans the entire Las Vegas Valley. Henderson occupies the southeastern end of the valley.

The township of Henderson first emerged in the 1940s during World War II with the building of the Basic Magnesium Plant. Henderson quickly became a main supplier of magnesium in the United States, which was called the “miracle metal” of World War II. The plant supplied the US War Department with magnesium for incendiary munition casings and airplane engines, frames, and other parts. A quarter of all US wartime magnesium came from the Henderson Plant to strengthen aluminum, using 25% of Hoover Dam’s power to separate the metal from its ore by electrolysis.

In 1988, the PEPCON rocket fuel factory in the modern-day Gibson Springs neighborhood of Henderson caught on fire. The fire quickly spread and engulfed the factory, spewing rocket fuel, smoke, and toxic fumes from the building. The factory was subsequently obliterated by a massive explosion caused by the fire, followed by six smaller explosions. The explosions sent shockwaves through the Las Vegas Valley, shattering glass and damaging buildings miles away in nearby Las Vegas. The explosions also caused some earthquakes, some of which measured over 3.0 on the Richter magnitude scale. Two people were killed, and an additional 372 people were injured.

The events of the PEPCON factory disaster spurred development in Henderson from its historical industrial development to largely residential and commercial as it is today. There are no signs of the PEPCON explosion today, and the site now consists mostly of office buildings.

Photo by: Wikipedia.org

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