- Mob Museum
-
Mob Museum 
Established February 2012 Location Las Vegas, Nevada Director Dennis Barrie President Ellen Knowlton Website themobmuseum.org 
The Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse, home of the Mob Museum
The Mob Museum, officially called the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, is an under-construction museum in Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, planned to open in February 2012. It is housed in the historic Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse.
Under the creative direction of Dennis Barrie, co-creator of the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C., and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, the museum is further being developed by a non-profit board, known as the "300 Stewart Avenue Corporation," in partnership with the City of Las Vegas. The museum will be dedicated to the contentious relationship between organized crime and law enforcement within the historical context of Las Vegas and the entire United States.
Featured in the museum will be the restored courtroom where the Kefauver Committee on organized crime held one of its hearings in 1950, and the blood-stained wall in front of which the St. Valentine's Day massacre took place.[1] Other exhibits will focus on mob violence, casino money skimming operations, and wiretapping by law enforcement.[2]
History
In 2000, the federal government sold the former Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse to the city for $1, with the stipulation that it be used for cultural purposes.[3]
Mayor Oscar Goodman, himself a former attorney for Mafia figures, had the idea for a mob museum in 2002.[3] The idea faced early opposition from Italian-American groups, while being supported by the FBI, including the former head agent in Las Vegas, Ellen Knowlton, who joined as president of the museum's board.[3]
The project budget was estimated at $50 million, including $26 million for restoring the building.[3] Funding included federal, state, and local grants.[3] Goodman generated controversy by suggesting that federal stimulus money could be used for the museum.[3][4]
Notes
- ^ Rackl, Lori (2 March 2011). "Vegas mayor bets new museum will be a hit". Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/travel/3735909-502/vegas-mayor-bets-new-museum-will-be-a-hit.html. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ Morrison, Jane Ann (27 March 2010). "What will be on Mob Museum's cutting room floor?". Las Vegas Review-Journal. http://www.lvrj.com/news/what-will-be-on-mob-museum-s-cutting-room-floor_-89319867.html. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f Friess, Steve (9 January 2009). "Stimulus Money for a Mob Museum. Got a Problem?". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/10/us/10mob.html. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
- ^ Ayres, Chris (17 January 2009). "Mayor of Las Vegas Oscar Goodman plans museum to the Mob". The Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article5533170.ece. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
External links
Coordinates: 36°10′22″N 115°08′28″W / 36.1728°N 115.1412°W
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Museums Neon Museum • Mob Museum • Las Vegas Natural History Museum • Lied Discovery Children's Museum
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See also: North Las Vegas Active Atomic Testing Museum • Boulder City/Hoover Dam Museum • Burlesque Hall of Fame • Clark County Heritage Museum • Erotic Heritage Museum • Howard W. Cannon Aviation Museum • Imperial Palace Auto Collection • Las Vegas Gambling Museum • Las Vegas Natural History Museum • Liberace Museum • Lied Discovery Children's Museum • Lost City Museum • Madame Tussauds • Marjorie Barrick Museum • Neon Museum • Nevada State Museum • Nevada Southern Railroad Museum • Pinball Hall of Fame • Shelby Museum • Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art
Future Mob Museum
Previous Guinness World of Records • Guggenheim Hermitage Museum • Hollywood Movie Museum • Las Vegas Art Museum • Southern Nevada Museum of Fine Art • Star Trek: The Experience
Categories:- Museums in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Museums established in 2012
- History museums
- Law enforcement museums in the United States
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