The William J. Moore Jr. Photograph Collection (approximately 1942-1960) consists of black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, and one oversize image depicting William "Bill" J. Moore Jr.'s career as a casino operator in Las Vegas, Nevada. Images include events at the Moore family home and the Hotel Last Frontier. Also included are images of Moore with politicians, casino operators, and other notable figures in Las Vegas.
The William J. Moore Jr. Photograph Collection (approximately 1942-1960) consists of black-and-white photographic prints, negatives, and one oversize image depicting William "Bill" J. Moore Jr.'s career as a casino operator in Las Vegas, Nevada. Images include events at the Moore family home and the Hotel Last Frontier. Also included are images of Moore with politicians, casino operators, and other notable figures in Las Vegas.
Collection is open for research.
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Materials remain as they were received.
William J. Moore Jr. was born on July 17, 1913 in Lane City, Texas. Moore graduated from Oklahoma Argriculture and Mechanical Colleges, known today as Oklahoma State University, with a degree in architecture. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1940 to help design and oversee construction for the Hotel Last Frontier. After completion of the Hotel Last Frontier, his uncle and owner, R.E. Griffith, convinced Moore to stay in Las Vegas working as director of advertising, promotion and publicity.
Griffith died in 1943 and Moore subsequently became executive director and vice president of the Last Frontier Hotel. During the 1950s, Moore invested in the renovation of the El Cortez Hotel & Casino in downtown Las Vegas and funded the construction of the Showboat Hotel and Casino on Boulder Highway.
Moore retired from the gaming industry in 1961 and worked as a land developer until 1970. Moore died on June 4, 1982 in Las Vegas.
Source:
DeMatteo, Deanna. "William J. Moore Jr." October 5, 2003. Accessed April 30, 2020. http://www.lvstriphistory.com/ie/moore.htm
William J. Moore Jr. Photograph Collection. PH-00158. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Materials were donated by Patricia Moore in 1983; accession number 83-01.
In 2020, as part of an archival backlog elimination project, James Howard wrote the finding aid and entered the data into ArchivesSpace.