Green Shack

The Green Shack Restaurant is historically significant because of its association with the rapid growth era of Boulder Dam construction in southern Nevada. It is significant also because, unlike the few other establishments of the time, it provided a comfortable, rural, and egalitarian environment which ideally suited it to serve as a social center for dam workers, the city's political and legal elite, young people, various civic and fraternal groups, and the populace at large. It serves as a reminder of the years of the Great Depression when, paradoxically, Las Vegas was growing and optimistic and was yet to experience the great transformation of the tourism and gaming boom which followed World War II. Still operated by members of the family which opened it, it retains the ambiance, perhaps better than any other single Las Vegas building of its kind, of immediate pre-war Las Vegas.

From its founding in 1905 until about the time that Mrs. Mettie Jones started her restaurant activities in Las Vegas, the city was a very small town centered almost wholly on the railroad which was the cause for its existence. In 1928, Congress passed the Boulder Canyon Project Act which assured the construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam. While actual construction did not begin until 1931, the area experienced considerable growth in the early years of the Great Depression in anticipation of the opening of construction jobs. The official census for 1930 shows Las Vegas as having a population of just over 5,000.

Mrs. Jones and her husband had been involved in real estate in Taft, California. She came to Las Vegas following the death of her husband in 1928 and purchased a considerable amount of desert property in the Las Vegas area. Probably in 1929 (the exact date is uncertain) she opened the Colorado Restaurant at a location then considered far out of town on what amounted to a dirt trail leading to the Colorado River. From a window in her residence, she sold orders of fried chicken and bootleg whiskey. During the years of prohibition, there were many establishments ringing the city which sold illegal whiskey.

Construction on a new highway to the dam site began early in 1931 and the road was opened for traffic by that August. During that period, scores of new establishments along the highway, many of them selling liquor, had stirred controversy in Las Vegas. By late that year or in 1932, Mrs. Jones had relocated her operation a short distance to the west side of the new highway just inside the city limits. For her new restaurant, she purchased (from the Union Pacific Railroad, according to family information) a green barracks-style building, and had it hauled to the new site. The building suggested the name, and the Green Shack Restaurant has operated at the same site by members of the same family ever since.

The original barracks constitute the main part of the present dining room. The northeast and northwest walls were removed and an additional eight feet of space was added to those two sides of that section in 1939. Large single-pane windows replaced the small barracks windows. Following the repeal of prohibition, the portion of the building which houses the present bar and lounge was built onto the rear of the original building, probably in 1934 when the sale of beer was permitted. The present owner's father, Frank McCormick, who was a nephew of Mrs. Jones, was asked to operate the bar. According to family lore, Mrs. Jones received Clark County liquor license number 1 after the repeal of prohibition.

Few other alterations have been made except for the addition of a storeroom to the southeast side in 1960 and small, disconnected outbuildings. The original hardwood floor is still in place, though carpeted, in the main dining room, and wall paneling was added about thirty years ago. Stone fireplaces, one in each of the building's main sections, are not original, but a newspaper reports that at least one of them was added during remodeling in 1939. Since the interior stonework and the exterior brickwork of the chimneys on the barracks and bar addition are similar, these almost certainly date from the same year.

Mrs. Jones, who had done most of the cooking with a long-time friend, died in 1967. Frank McCormick died three months later. Frank's wife Elaine managed the business thereafter. Between 1980 and 1985, the Green Shack was sold, reclaimed, leased for a brief period, and then closed. Since 1985, James McCormick, son of Frank and Elaine, has operated the establishment with his wife Barbara.

The Green Shack is additionally significant because of its location beside the highway which carried many dam workers to and from their jobs. Indeed, the establishment was a particular favorite of dam workers of the era. While there were a few other restaurants during the 1930s, the comfortable rural atmosphere of the Green Shack, featuring large fireplaces and easy chairs, made it unique. There was a hitching post where nearby residents could tie their horses. (The present hitching post is not original.) During the years when the population shrank in the late 1930s, the establishment added regular entertainment, dancing, and gambling tables in the cocktail lounge section. In a city where easy marriage was a trademark, weddings were a common occurrence at the Green Shack. Western movie star Hoot Gibson, who owned a divorce-oriented dude ranch in Las Vegas, was a frequent visitor.

The Green Shack was also a favorite "hangout" for the local political and legal fraternity. Its regular patrons included one local lawyer who became a Nevada Supreme Court justice and another who became Lieutenant Governor. The present owner, who has lived on the property since 1939, recalls that many legal disputes were resolved at the Green Shack before going to court. Other informants recall that it was a favorite place for young people to go after school dances, graduation ceremonies, etc. Through the years, the restaurant has also hosted meetings of numerous civic and social clubs.

Though quite a few Las Vegas residences and public buildings remain that date from the period of rapid growth associated with Boulder Dam construction, the special significance of the Green Shack derives from its location beside the highway which carried dam construction workers to and from their jobs. It is the only remaining such roadside establishment to retain its structural integrity along the 25-mile highway associated with that event of momentous significance to the entire region.