Mob Museum expands downtown footprint with land purchase
There’s a breakout at The Mob Museum.
The National Museum of Organized Crime and Law Enforcement announced it is expanding its territory. Officials for the downtown Las Vegas nonprofit have announced a purchase of a nearly 30,000-square-foot parcel just east of its main building.
The land is bordered to the south by Stewart Avenue and to the east and northeast by Fourth Street. The price of the acquisition, which comes five months after the museum’s 10th anniversary, was not disclosed.
The purchase provides additional space for the museum to build facilities for administration, exhibitions, archives, educational and entertainment programs and food and beverage facilities, according to officials.
The Museum’s historic building, originally built in 1933 as the Las Vegas Post Office and federal courthouse, will remain intact.
“The Museum has enjoyed enormous success throughout our 10 years of operation, averaging well over 1,000 visitors a day, and we have remained focused on delivering an incredible guest experience, meaningful exhibits and public programs consistent with our mission,” The Mob Museum President and CEO Jonathan Ullman said in a statement. “An expansion would enable us to reach a much broader audience by increasing our offerings, community engagement opportunities and contribution to the growth of the public’s understanding of organized crime and law enforcement.”
Tourists make up between 85 and 90 percent of The Mob Museum’s business. The Museum attracted more than 409,000 visitors in 2019, its highest-attendance year ever.
Ullman says further details are in the offing.
“Planning for the Museum’s expansion is still in its earliest stages,” Ullman said. “While extremely exciting to consider, our plans are entirely conceptual at this point. We look forward to announcing additional details in coming months.”
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
