KLAS-TV Channel 8 News Las VegasLas Vegas Centennial Time Capsule
If all goes as planned, 100 years from Dec. 15th, future Las Vegans will dig up the Centennial Time Capsule and discover all sorts of treasures from the past, including an Oscar Goodman bobblehead doll.
One of the final events of the yearlong Las Vegas Centennial Celebration was marked with the official dedication of a time capsule packed with weird stuff. The I-Team's George Knapp was there.
We didn't get to see all of the strange items included in the time capsule -- make that time boxes --because they were already sealed up tight by the time the downtown shindig began, so we'll just have to take the word of the Centennial committee members and city officials who put the stash together. School kids, assorted gawkers, and ladies in large silvery hats wanted to be a part of history. So, too, did Mayor Oscar Goodman, surrounded as usual by a bevy of shivering showgirls.
The mayor set an irreverent tone in describing some of the Centennial events that preceded this one. "We had the largest birthday cake in the history of the world, a Guinness record, and it was really terrific. And then with the leftovers, because it was not fit for human beings to eat, we sent it out to the pig farm."
A somber celebration, this wasn't. And the stuff packed inside the boxes won't qualify as overly serious either according to Dave Millman, the guy who helped put it all together. David Millman is with the Nevada State Museum. "There's serious stuff, but for the most part, this was a birthday party and the time capsule represents a party."
The capsule contains plenty of Goodman-related items including gaming chips, tee shirts, and a bobblehead doll. There's a cocktail waitress uniform, CDs from the Rat Pack and Elvis, a newspaper, a newscast, KLAS-TV mementos, a chef's hat, and stuff from the test site. Millman's favorite item is a road construction sign -- truly representative of our time. Equally eclectic was the music selection for the party. The theme to Rocky was inexplicably chosen to start the ceremony, the Halls of Montezuma signaled the release of the concrete cover and the concrete was spread to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy.
After the boxes were completely sealed, dignitaries put their handprints and signatures in the wet mud, and someday soon, this iceberg looking sculpture will sit atop the concrete chamber. Assuming the Plaza isn't sold for condo development, future Las Vegans will get at least one surprise when they open this up a century from now -- at least one item that isn't on the official list.
Dave Millman said, "There are a few surprises to be quite honest with you, but we're keeping that quiet."
Our guess: it's the entry password to Area 51.
The sculpture that will sit atop the time capsule was designed by Stephen Hendee, an Assistant Professor of Art and Sculpture at UNLV and it represents the natural geography surrounding Las Vegas.
