Moulin Rouge Put Up A Struggle But Is Gone

It was quite a struggle but the historical 1955 Moulin Rouge Casino is completely gone.

Demolish crews made several attempts to demolish the remaining tower before cables had to be used to pull down the burnt out remains of the northwest Vegas property.

The property has held on for over five decades with two fires clearing most of the structures between 2003 and 2009.

The Moulin Rouge Museum and Cultural Center, a nonprofit group dedicated to preserving the casino’s legacy attempted to appeal the demolition permit approved by the Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission last month, however on Wednesday the appeal was denied and demolition crews were on site Thursday.

“To them, it’s blight. To me, it’s history,” said Pat Hershwitzky, secretary for the group trying to preserve the property.

The casino made history in 1955 when it became the first racially integrated casino in Las Vegas and hosted a 1960’s meeting where other Vegas casino owners agreed to end segregation on the strip.

The casino that once headlined Sammy Davis Jr., Nat “King” Cole and Frank Sinatra closed after only six months and was turned into low income apartments before the first fire destroyed most of the structure.

So far there is no word on what the current owner Olympic Coast will do with the property but the Moulin Rouge sign will be preserved in the Neon Museum and the name will continue to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.