Las Vegas Mob Museum Slated for Dec. 2011 Opening

There's plenty of controversy swirling around the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, better known as The Mob Museum. Read John L. Smith's piece below the main story taken from The Mob Museum Website.

Site of Mob Museum



LV mayor Oscar Goodman

MOB MUSEUM UNVEILS THE STARTING LINE-UP OF NAMES AND ARTIFACTS

(LAS VEGAS, NV) --- The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement – aka The Mob Museum – today announced several of the names associated with artifacts that will be displayed within the Museum when it opens in December 2011.

According to Dr. Dennis Barrie, creative director of the Mob Museum, who, along with his wife, Kathleen Hickey Barrie of Barrie Projects, are developing the Museum’s creative content and overseeing the collection and curation of artifacts, the Mob Museum will be highly experiential and will incorporate rich elements of design, atmosphere, film, video and many fascinating artifacts that will help to tell the full story of organized crime in America.

Artifacts to be integrated throughout the Museum’s interactive exhibits are associated with many of organized crime’s biggest names, including, Alphonse Capone, Dion O’Bannion, George Moran, Charlie Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Ben Siegel, Sam Giancana, Joe Bonanno, Frank Rosenthal, Mickey Cohen, Tony Cornero and Tony Spilotro to name just a few.

In addition, many items relating to historic eras and specific industries, such as prohibition, money laundering and gaming, will also help to tell the story of the mob’s influence on these areas. Items and artifacts relating to law enforcement’s role in helping to eradicate and control the Mob, such as weapons and crime scene photos, will also be part of the Museum experience.

The Museum is under construction in the former United States Post Office and Court House at 300 Stewart Avenue in downtown Las Vegas that was dedicated on November 27, 1933 as the City’s first federal building. The building housed the very courtroom, where in 1950, one of 14 national hearings were held to expose and control organized crime in America. As part of the construction and rehabilitation of the building, the courtroom is being restored to appear as it did in 1950 during the famed Kefauver hearings, named for Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver.

“Visitors to the Mob Museum will be immersed in a full-bodied experience right down to the very building where members of organized crime were once exposed and prosecuted,” said Kathleen Barrie. “The historical building is the ideal home for this fascinating subject that is already capturing the interest and imagination of people from around the globe. We receive phone calls and e-mail from throughout the world on an almost daily basis inquiring about the Museum. Today, the Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement is easily among the most highly anticipated museums in the world.”

Core and shell construction is well underway just nine months following the August 2009 “wall-breaking” by museum board members, Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B. Goodman and former U.S. Senator, Richard Bryan. Seismic retrofit is almost complete; new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems are being installed and restoration of architectural details has started. The Museum is scheduled to open in spring 2011.

About The Mob Museum
The Las Vegas Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement – The Mob Museum – is a world-class museum dedicated to the history of organized crime and law enforcement now under development in downtown Las Vegas. The museum will present the real stories and actual events of mob history via interactive and engaging exhibits that reveal all sides of the story, with considerable focus on how law enforcement defeated and continues to battle organized crime. Located at 300 Stewart Avenue, inside an historic and former post office and federal court house, the museum is an important component of the city’s downtown redevelopment now underway and is projected to generate a combined economic output of more than $62.3 million during construction, employ approximately 227 individuals during construction, and generate annual visitation of hundreds of thousands tourists to the museum and downtown Las Vegas when it opens in 2011 The 41,000-square-foot Mob Museum includes approximately 16,800 square feet of exhibition space on three floors in addition to a specialty retail store, special event areas, educational areas and office space. The Mob Museum is expected to cost approximately $42 million to construct and is being funded through local, state and federal grants, in addition to matching grants and Redevelopment Agency funding sources that can only be spent in the city’s redevelopment area. The City of Las Vegas, which is currently overseeing the museum’s early development, owns the building and the land on which it sits. Ellen Knowlton, former FBI Special Agent in Charge, Las Vegas Division, and a 24-year FBI veteran, is president of 300 Stewart Avenue Corporation, a non-profit board formed to oversee the Museum’s development and operations. For more information, visit http://www.themobmuseum.org./

For a candid take on the Mob Museum check out Las Vegas Review-Journal John L. Smith's column:
http://www.lvrj.com/news/38442514.html