Las Vegas museum will showcase Coke’s history

Robert Macy

Tuesday, June 17, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

The setting for the 100-foot-tall Coca-Cola bottle couldn't be more perfect -- next to a giant gold lion, across from a knockoff of the Manhattan skyline, down the street from a towering pyramid on the Las Vegas Strip.

Now, officials of the Atlanta-based soft drink giant are putting the finishing touches on a museum adjacent to the gargantuan bottle that will showcase the 111-year history of the company.

The "World of Coca-Cola Las Vegas" will feature Coke lore via interactive exhibits, a theater and a "fantastic fountain" composed of five 25-foot-long screens featuring music, digitized photos and graphics.

"Las Vegas is the fastest-growing tourist market in the United States and we want to be where our consumers are," Deborah MacCarthy, director of the Coca-Cola attractions group, said in an interview.

The first two floors of the four-story facility have been open since May 1, drawing thousands of tourists attracted by the towering Coke bottle at the entrance. The first two floors feature Coca-Cola memorabilia. The top two floors, set to open July 8, will feature the museum.

Coca-Cola was the anchor tenant at the new Showcase Mall, located adjacent to the MGM Grand hotel-casino.

MacCarthy said the Atlanta museum was opened in response to public interest in the soft drink.

"People would come up to our headquarters and ask to see artifacts and memorabilia, so we decided to build a museum," she recalled.

As for expanding the concept to Nevada, she said, "We were presented with an opportunity in Las Vegas, and seized upon it immediately."

The museum takes guests on a walk through time featuring a streetscape telling the history of the soft drink. Entertainers dressed in fashions of the times walk out of the scenes to tell stories about life in each decade. The street scenes include a bank in Atlanta in 1886, where the secret Coke formula was stored.

Also featured is a theater where people from around the world share their favorite experiences, covering topics from sports to history, culture and folk art.

Another attraction known as the Fantastic Fountain features a montage of music and images that depict faces and places around the globe, with 1,000 Coca-Cola bottles popping jets of water that dance to the music of the video.