This gallery contains 19 photos.
The great Havana building boom of 1956-1958 saw the completion of the biggest, most extravagant hotel-casinos outside of Las Vegas. First to be erected was the glittering Hotel Capri, a modern 19-story edifice with the novelty of a rooftop swimming … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
Before Castro’s revolution, Havana and Las Vegas were rivals for the title of “Monte Carlo of the Americas.” Cuba was exotic, tropical, wild, and close by. Las Vegas was dry, dusty and remote. In Cuba, the mob invested heavily in … Continue reading
This gallery contains 7 photos.
In America for most of the 20th century, laying a bet was strictly illegal except at regulated horse and dog tracks and a few isolated outposts in the far West. Just as with the banning of alcohol in the 1920s, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 2 photos.
My friend DeSoto Brown in Honolulu found an amazing Scopitone and wrote, “This video appears to encompass many of the nightlife themes you espouse in your blog, in one appealing package.” Ethel Ennis sings “I’ve Got That Feeling” Enjoy!
This gallery contains 3 photos.
The beauty of witnessing the preparation of a Caesar Salad tableside by a master with all of the ingredients presented on a specially designed cart is without equal. Lorin Smith, co-owner of the fabulous Dal Rae restaurant in Pico Rivera, California … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
On June 4, 2011 photographer Sven Kirsten, videographer Nathan Marsak and I spent the day at the famous Antoine’s Restaurant in New Orleans doing a photo shoot for “America After Dark.” During the shoot we were inspired to recreate the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
Atlantic City was America’s first mega-resort. As early as the 1870s, Atlantic City attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, most of who hailed from nearby Philadelphia where inexpensive train travel made a weekend holiday or day trip possible. By … Continue reading
I’ll be signing both of my books – “Havana Before Castro” and “Palm Springs Holiday” – at the Gibbs Smith booth (Booth 911) at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books being held at USC this year. I’ll be there from … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
The Twist started out as a dance fad in 1959, but two years later Life Magazine wrote about a “dingy Manhattan nightspot named the Peppermint Lounge [that had] quickly became the most jammed joint in town.” According to Life, “Before … Continue reading
This gallery contains 12 photos.
The Ken Kimes chain of Tropics Motor Hotels included an outpost in Palm Springs that opened circa 1964. Scattered amidst the lushly landscaped property were tikis of various sizes that punctuated the tropical theme. Kimes leased the hotel’s food and … Continue reading
GREETINGS FROM LAS VEGAS. More than 300 vintage photos and postcards tell the story of the fabulous desert oasis from its birth in 1905 through the swinging 60s and beyond. Experience early Fremont Street, Birth of the Strip, Glitter Gulch, the Rat Pack, Vegas After Dark, and so much more. $30 cover price
Palm Springs Paradise $30 cover price
Palm Springs Holiday $30 cover price
Peter Moruzzi's Mid-Century 
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