Presidential visits to Las Vegas and Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Presidential visits to the Las Vegas valley have happened for 78 years.

Presidential visits to Southern Nevada began in 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Boulder Dam (later renamed Hoover Dam in 1947) through the present day when current President Joe Biden attended and spoke at former Senator Harry Reid’s memorial service.

On this President’s Day, below is a list of just some of the VIP Presidential visits to Las Vegas, the valley, and Southern Nevada through the years.

Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933-1945

President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave his dedication speech to a crowd at the Boulder Dam dedication ceremony – renamed Hoover Dam in 1947. Sept. 30, 1935 (Image: UNLV Digital Collections)

Harry S. Truman 1945-1593

Harry Truman at a Las Vegas Legionnaires convention in1962. (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953-1961

Dwight D. Eisenhower and Louis R. Douglass at Hoover Dam. June 22, 1952 (Photo U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

John F. Kennedy 1961-1963

President John F. Kennedy, Governor Grant Sawyer, Senator Howard Cannon and Senator Alan Bible en route from McCarran Airport in Las Vegas. September 28, 1963. (Photo: Las Vegas News Bureau)
President John F. Kennedy arrives at the Las Vegas Convention Center. September 28, 1963 (Photo: Milt-Palmer-Las Vegas News Bureau)

Lyndon B. Johnson 1963-1969

Dorothy Dorothy (middle), Lyndon B. Johnson (right) and an unknown man on left. Card reads, “To Dorothy Dorothy, Every good wish. Lyndon Johnson” (Photo: UNLV Special Collections)
Wilbur Clark (left) shakes hands with Lyndon B. Johnson (right). (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)
Rep. Walter Baking, Howard Cannon, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Senator Alan Bible, Senator George Aiken and Senator Leverett at the Nevada Inaugural Reception in 1964. (UNLV Digital Collections)
(Left to right) Vail Pittman, Grant Sawyer, Howard Cannon, Lyndon Johnson, Alan Bible, Walter Baring, Gertrude-Gottchalk. (UNLV Digital Collections)

Richard Nixon 1969-1974

John Gleason (left) the National Director of the Boys Clubs of America, President Richard Nixon (center) and Mayor of North Las Vegas William Taylor in Las Vegas. (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

Gerald Ford 1974-1977

President Gerald Ford speaking from the podium at the University of Nevada Las Vegas in 1988. (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

Jimmy Carter 1977-1981

U.S. Senator from Nevada Howard Cannon welcomes President Jimmy Carter to Las Vegas to campaign in 1976. (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

Ronald Reagan 1981-1989

President Ronald Reagan and candidate for Nevada Assembly Nancy Bogan and Nevada Senator Paul Laxalt in Pahrump, Nev. July 1980 (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

George H.W. Bush 1989-1993

Vice President George H.W. Bush shakes hands with an unidentified supporter in Las Vegas during his 1980 presidential campaign. (Photo: UNLV Digital Collections)

Bill Clinton 1993-2001

Hispanic community activists greeted President Bill Clinton upon the President’s arrival in Las Vegas on April 2, 2000. (Photo: The National Archive)

George W. Bush 2001-2009

President George W. Bush waves from Air Force One before departing Las Vegas on Thursday, Aug.12, 2004. (Photo: The White House)
Military personnel from Nellis AFB salute President George W. Bush as he boards Air Force One before departing Las Vegas on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2004. (Photo: The White House)

Barack Obama 2009-2017

President Barack Obama delivers remarks on college affordability at Cox Pavilion at the University of Las Vegas (UNLV) in Las Vegas, Nevada, June 7, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Donald Trump 2017-2021

LAS VEGAS – JULY 12: Donald Trump (L), chairman and president of the Trump Organization, and Phil Ruffin (R), owner of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, pose with showgirls during a ceremonial groundbreaking for the 64-story Trump International Hotel & Tower Las Vegas July 12, 2005 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The $300 million, 1.6 million square-foot, luxury residential hotel condominium tower will be built on part of the New Frontier’s 41-acre property and will feature 1,282 hotel rooms, 50 luxury suites, a spa and restaurants. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
FILE – In this Dec. 7, 2019 file photo, President Donald Trump stands alongside Las Vegas Sands Corporation Chief Executive and Republican mega donor Sheldon Adelson before speaking at the Israeli American Council National Summit in Hollywood, Fla. Adelson, the billionaire mogul and power broker who built a casino empire spanning from Las Vegas to China and became a singular force in domestic and international politics has died after a long illness, his wife said Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
FILE – In this June 23, 2018, file photo, President Donald Trump, left, is greeted by Nevada State GOP Chairman Michael McDonald as he arrives at the podium to speak during the Nevada Republican Party Convention at the Suncoast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Despite a wave of Democratic election wins across Nevada last year, Republicans here are banking on President Donald Trump’s enthusiastic supporters, a united Republican organization and the soaring economy to turn the state red in 2020. (AP Photo/L.E. Baskow, File)