From today's Las Vegas Review-Journal:


This early photo shows an atomic bomb test at what was then called the Nevada Proving Grounds, later the Nevada Test Site. The first atomic test in the United States, after New Mexico's Trinity explosion in 1945, was on Jan. 27, 1951, at Frenchman Flats in Nevada. Initially the blasts left people in Las Vegas unsettled, but the town soon grew used to the tests and even embraced them. The Chamber of Commerce published a list of upcoming bomb tests. Blast viewing picnics were organized, Strip hotels featured "Miss Atomic Bomb" contests, and there was even an Atomic Cocktail. Only later did people realize the dangers of nuclear testing. Atmospheric tests stopped in 1963 with the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and the United States stopped all nuclear testing in 1996. This historic photo is one in a yearlong series commemorating the 100th anniversary of Clark County.
PHOTO COURTESY OF NEVADA STATE MUSEUM