The Mob Museum, the National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement, announces its new documentary, "This Building of Ours: The Story of a Las Vegas Landmark," will air on Vegas PBS twice on Tuesday, Sept. 10.
This compelling feature-length film, produced in collaboration with Boyd Productions and funded in large part by The Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial, explores the history of one of Las Vegas' most iconic buildings, originally serving as the city’s first U.S. post office and courthouse and now home to the museum.
Celebrating the building’s multifaceted legacy – from its opening on Nov. 11, 1933, to its pivotal roles in historical events and transformation into The Mob Museum – the documentary premiered at a private showing in the very courtroom where one of the Kefauver Committee hearings took place. These hearings exposed the prevalence of organized crime around the United States in the early 1950s.
“We envisioned ‘This Building of Ours’ as a tribute to one of Las Vegas' most storied buildings and a lens through which to tell the story of Las Vegas,” said Geoff Schumacher, vice president of exhibits and programs at The Mob Museum.
The federal building served as a community resource and gathering place for seven decades before its transformation into The Mob Museum.
“We wanted to show that the building continues to fulfill its historic role as a cornerstone of community and education in Las Vegas,” Schumacher added.
The federal building not only played host to a Kefauver Committee hearing in 1950 but also served as the setting for other high-profile hearings and trials. Before he became the U.S. president, Harry Truman held several hearings in the courtroom as a senator investigating defense spending during World War II. Maverick newspaper publisher Hank Greenspun battled the Mob and a political rival in separate trials in the 1950s, while Rat Pack leader Frank Sinatra testified before a grand jury in the 1960s.
The film features rarely seen historic images, film footage and interviews with an array of historians and individuals who share memories about the federal building and its transformation into The Mob Museum.
The first airing is at 9 p.m. following the presidential debate and PBS’s “Finding your Roots,” and again at 11:07 p.m.
“This Building of Ours” is also available on YouTube.
