Her job is to collect and document the history of Las Vegas at the UNLV Library, Special Collections and Archives division. Su Kim Chung on the history of Las Vegas and how she is working to preserve it. 

March is Women’s History Month — and Las Vegas has no shortage of trailblazing women who have helped make our city what it is today. Essentially: If Las Vegas were to have its own Mt. Rushmore of notable ladies, who’d be on it?

The Las Vegas showgirl was beautiful, majestic, and larger than life. In full feathers and heels, a showgirl could measure 10 feet tall. She exuded poise and panache, and her revealing costume was bedecked in glimmering Parisian crystals and expensive fur. She was a city icon who helped Las Vegas become the Entertainment Capital of the World.The showgirl is a distant memory for most, but there is hope that she will one day return to the stage.

Before Nathalie Martinez graduated from UNLV in 2021, she worked as a student oral historian for the Latinx Voices Project, collecting oral stories in English and Spanish about the eastside of Las Vegas.

The hate speech directed at Nevada first lady Kathy Sisolak happened a few months ago and she’s still hurt.

The evolution of Las Vegas has been nothing short of spectacular.

When the remains of 13 Chinese residents were unearthed in Carlin and sent off for archaeological study, no one realized it would be more than 20 years before they were seen again.

Imagine Fremont Street free of profane language. Or a downtown Las Vegas landscape where cattle, horses, burros, sheep and goats run free.