Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Goodman marks Mob Museum progress

Internal construction begins at building that served as courthouse

Mob Museum

Steve Marcus

Pedestrians pass by the old courthouse and U.S. post office, the site of the Mob Museum, in downtown Las Vegas on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2009.

Mob Museum

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, left, and former Sen. Richard Bryan (D-Nev.) prepare to open the doors to the Mob Museum during a news conference at the museum site in downtown Las Vegas this morning. Launch slideshow »

An homage to the legendary shooting of seven men in 1929 will be on display when the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement opens in early 2011.

In a news conference this morning at the museum site on Stewart Avenue between Fourth Street and Casino Center Boulevard, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman announced that the brick wall from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre would be part of the so-called Mob Museum's exhibit. He was joined by City Councilman Ricky Barlow and Richard Bryan, former governor and Democratic senator of Nevada.

The event also marked the official start of internal construction at the building, which opened in 1931, was once the Las Vegas post office and courthouse and was the site of the 1950 Kefauver hearings that centered on organized crime.

The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was the machine-gun shooting of seven men in a conflict between Chicago gangs led by Al Capone and George "Bugs" Moran. Four men dressed as law enforcement officers raided a warehouse where Moran's men had convened. Seven men were lined up across the wall and machine-gunned to death in a case that was never solved. That wall will be on display.

"It is an iconic moment in Mob history," Goodman said. "There is a lot of mystique to organized crime, especially in Las Vegas and when this place opens people will flock to it."

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy