The Mob Museum in Nevada, USA

The Mob Museum occupies the former U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse in downtown Las Vegas and examines organized crime alongside the law-enforcement agencies and investigative methods used to confront it. Its subject extends well beyond famous mobsters. Exhibits address Prohibition, illegal gambling, organized crime’s involvement in Las Vegas casinos, federal investigations, forensic science, surveillance, undercover operations and modern criminal networks.

The institution is a nonprofit museum whose stated mission is to advance public understanding of the history of organized crime and its impact on American society. Hundreds of artifacts, audiovisual displays and interactive exhibits are spread through the building’s four public levels.

The Courthouse Is Part of the Museum’s Story

The building at 300 Stewart Avenue opened in 1933 as Las Vegas’s first U.S. Post Office and federal courthouse. Its connection to the museum’s subject is direct rather than decorative: on November 15, 1950, the second-floor courtroom hosted a Las Vegas session of the U.S. Senate Special Committee to Investigate Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce, commonly associated with Senator Estes Kefauver.

The committee questioned witnesses about organized crime and the casino industry. Among those who appeared were people connected with Las Vegas gaming, including Moe Sedway and Wilbur Clark. The restored courtroom remains in its original location and now forms one of the museum’s central exhibits.

The federal government sold the property to the City of Las Vegas for $1 in 2002 under an agreement that called for preservation and cultural use. The former post office remained in use until 2005, and the rehabilitation retained major historic elements such as the lobby, flooring and courtroom. The Mob Museum opened to the public on February 14, 2012.

The building itself measures about 41,000 square feet, with nearly 20,000 square feet devoted to exhibitions. Its inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places predates the museum conversion.

How the Exhibition Route Works

The permanent exhibition route is designed to begin on the third floor and move downward in broadly chronological order. This arrangement connects the rise of organized crime with the development of the investigative tools, laws and agencies used against it.

Third Floor: The Rise of Organized Crime

The third floor covers the origins and expansion of organized crime in the United States, including the effects of Prohibition. It also introduces early law-enforcement responses and several figures associated with American organized crime.

One of the museum’s best-known displays is the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall. The massacre took place on February 14, 1929, inside the S-M-C Cartage Company garage at 2122 North Clark Street in Chicago, where seven members and associates of George “Bugs” Moran’s organization were killed. The garage was demolished in 1967, but businessman George Patey recovered bricks from the wall. The museum displays 300 of those bricks, several still showing bullet damage.

Nearby, the museum presents ballistics evidence related to the investigation. Another exhibit, The First Public Enemy, displays a Colt Model 1911 .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol connected with Al Capone. According to Capone family accounts cited by the museum, he called the firearm his “Sweetheart.” The display also contains a 1929 home movie filmed at Capone’s Miami Beach property.

Second Floor: Las Vegas and the Kefauver Hearings

The second floor places greater emphasis on organized crime’s relationship with Las Vegas and the casino industry. Topics include casino money skimming, corruption, the city’s changing gaming environment and the federal investigations that brought national attention to organized crime.

The restored historic courtroom gives this part of the museum an unusual connection between place and subject. Visitors are standing in the room where the Senate committee held its November 1950 Las Vegas hearing rather than in a reconstructed courtroom elsewhere in the building.

First Floor: Investigations, Forensics and Modern Crime

The first floor shifts toward the methods used to investigate and prosecute organized crime. Exhibits cover surveillance, wiretapping, undercover operations, racketeering prosecutions and criminal organizations that operate beyond the traditional American Mafia.

The Crime Lab is an interactive experience built around forensic work. Activities introduce methods used by crime-scene investigators, fingerprint analysts, DNA specialists, ballistics examiners and medical examiners. It requires a separate ticket and has a minimum participant age of 11.

The Firearm Training Simulator is another separately ticketed experience. It uses simulated equipment and role-playing scenarios to demonstrate how law-enforcement officers make use-of-force decisions and how de-escalation can affect an encounter. Participants must be at least 16, and guests under 18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult.

The Basement and Prohibition

The basement houses The Underground, an exhibition centered on Prohibition, bootlegging and the illicit alcohol trade. Its displays examine how restrictions on legal alcohol created opportunities for criminal groups involved in production, smuggling and distribution.

A working distillery is incorporated into the exhibition and produces the museum’s own moonshine. Historical objects in this area include a five-gallon still formerly used for home production and prescriptions connected with medicinal alcohol during Prohibition. Distillery tastings require an additional ticket and are restricted to guests age 21 and over.

Visitor Information

The museum is currently open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., although private events, holidays and other circumstances can cause early closures. The museum recommends allowing roughly one to three hours, depending on how much time is spent reading, watching audiovisual material and using interactive exhibits.

Limited parking is available beside the museum. The current posted rate is $8 for the first four hours, with additional charges after that period. The Downtown Loop shuttle also includes The Mob Museum among its downtown Las Vegas stops.

The building has elevator access to every floor and a lift at the front entrance for visitors who need to bypass the steps. Four accessible parking spaces are located west of the museum. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at no charge on a first-come, first-served basis in exchange for valid identification, and exhibit videos include closed captions.

Photography is permitted for personal use, but flash photography is prohibited. The museum’s subject matter includes historic crime scenes, violence and forensic material, so some displays may be unsuitable for younger visitors even though the museum admits children. Guests under 14 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.