Las Vegas taking over post office

Diana Sahagun

Monday, May 13, 2002 | 9:10 a.m.

Las Vegas today was expected to receive ownership of the historic downtown post office, setting the stage for a potential museum -- with an emphasis on the mob -- and a downtown park.

City officials and representatives from the U.S. General Services Administration were scheduled to attend a ceremony at 1:30 today, at which a ceremonial key and a deed to the property would be turned over to the city.

Mayor Oscar Goodman and city staff have been negotiating with the federal government for ownership of the building -- the city's first federal courthouse -- for more than three years. The post office is part of the mayor's vision to redevelop downtown by encouraging new residential, commercial and cultural uses.

The building, constructed in 1933 and an example of neoclassical public architecture, was the site of the 1950 Kefauver hearings into organized crime and the site of numerous criminal proceedings. Goodman's first local case was tried there.

The use of the building has not been determined, but in recent months Goodman has pitched turning it into a museum that details Las Vegas' history, including the involvement of organized crime.

The post office, Social Security office and tax courts have a lease until 2004, but city officials are working to find them a new downtown home so the building can be transformed.

On Wednesday the City Council will discuss whether to hire consultants Chattel, Goldstein and Pally to work on identifying the future cultural, educational and museum programs at the post office.