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Nevada Statues

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Sphinx and Great Pyramid
Las Vegas, NV
The Sphinx and Great Pyramid are located at the Luxor Hotel & Casino which opened in 1993. The Pyramid is 350 feet tall. The Sphinx is 110 feet tall which is 35 feet taller than the Sphinx in Egypt. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Last Chance Joe
Sparks, NV

2014:
2023:
Last Chance Joe is a 36-foot-tall miner statue. It was created in 1952 by Roscoe "Duke" Reading for R.H. Grosh Scenic Studios in Los Angeles. Grosh Scenic Studios created many figures for Disneyland. In 1958, Last Chance Joe was trucked here and installed at Dick Graves' Nugget Casino, later named John Ascuaga's Nugget Casino. Shortly after these photos were taken in 2014, the Nugget was sold to Global Gaming and Hospitality which was no longer interested in keeping the statue. It was donated to the Sparks Heritage Museum. The statue was moved in front of the museum and is now painted the original colors. Although he is sometimes referred to as "Nugget Sam", the correct name, from the beginning, is Last Chance Joe. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Prospectors
Jean, NV (now Goodsprings, NV)

2014:
2022:
These two plaster Prospectors were designed by Katherine Stubergh and built in 1954 by YESCO as "Dan the Miner." In 1955, they were installed as part of the sign at the Lucky Strike Casino in Las Vegas, NV. The statues' arms moved up and down as if sifting for gold. In the early 1960s, the statues were moved to the Gold Strike Inn near Boulder City, NV. When the Gold Strike Inn burned down in 1988, the Prospectors were moved to the Gold Strike Casino in Jean. In 2018, the Gold Strike became Terrible's Hotel & Casino. In 2023, the hotel/casino was being demolished. In 2024, the statues were moved to Goodsprings. One of the statue's was installed in front of the saloon and the other will be put in storage for now. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Prospector
Las Vegas, NV
This Prospector statue is installed over the entrance of the Western Village souvenir shop which is located inside the Fremont Street Experience. The statue has been there since at least the early 1980s. At that time, the Prospector wore a yellow shirt. This statue appears to have been modeled after the ones described above that are now located in Jean. The gold nuggets in his pan are yellow light bulbs which are lit at night. [map]

Prospector
Washoe Valley, NV
The Washoe Valley Prospector kneels just behind the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory. This statue is about 18 feet tall. It was produced by Peter Arp in 1979 for the Claim Stake Casino in Sparks, NV. There statue was installed on the roof there. When the casino closed about a year later, it was moved to this candy store. These photos are from 2014. The statue was repainted in 2021. For more, see this website. [map]

More Prospectors:
Seward, AK
Gold Panner (Bathurst, NSW)

Toilet Paper Hero of Hoover Dam
Boulder City, NV
This statue of the Toilet Paper Hero of Hoover Dam was created by Steven Ligouri and installed in 2007. It is eight foot tall and made of bronze. The statue pays tribute to "Alabam" whose job it was to clean the outhouses during the construction of Hoover Dam. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Alien
Hiko, NV
This Alien statue is located at the Alien Research Center which is a gift shop. It was built in 2001 and is 25 feet tall. [map]

Kamehameha
the Great [gone]
Las Vegas, NV
 Atlas
Reno, NV
Kamehameha the Great stood in front of the Hawaiian Marketplace which opened in 2004. This photo is from 2008. The statue was meant to resemble the king that unified the Hawaiian islands. The Hawaiian Marketplace was remodeled and the statue was removed in 2014. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4.

This Atlas statue stands in front of a former Jack LaLanne Fitness Center. It appears to be standing in a former fountain. Most likely, all these statues were surrounded by fountains and this may be the only one left. Many Jack LaLanne Fitness Centers became other fitness centers. These statues are now extremely rare and those that remain have been adopted by other businesses. A couple of examples include these in Sacramento and Van Nuys, CA and Burnaby, British Columbia. [map]

former Carpeteria
Las Vegas, NV
2014: 2017: 2022:
Carpeteria
Reno, NV
The Carpeteria carpet store chain was established in 1960 in Santa Clarita, CA. The first locations were located in the Los Angeles area. I believe the stores only existed in California and Nevada. I believe these genie icons were used in Carpeteria's advertising and in conjunction with their signs from the beginning. The company folded in 1999. These statues are about 20 feet tall and have identical faces on both sides. The statue's hands originally supported a Carpeteria sign with a graphic representation of a roll of carpet. I believe there are only five of these statues left. In addition to these Reno and Las Vegas locations, there is one in North Hollywood, CA and two statues at the American Sign Museum in Cincinnati, OH. For more, see this website.

The Las Vegas location had been closed for many years but the sign and statue remained. In 2016, a new flooring business moved in and the statue was repainted. [map]

The Reno location opened in 1980 and this statue was installed then. This statue is quite a bit different from the earlier, larger versions. This location is still open. For more, see this website. [map]

More Nevada:
Dunes Hotel Genie (Las Vegas) [gone]
Popeye (Las Vegas) [gone]
Paul Bunyan (North Las Vegas)
Two Stiffs Selling Gas (Lovelock) [vintage; gone]
Reno Turf Club (Reno) [in private collection]

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