Las Vegas is notoriously known for its bright lights and exciting nightlife, however, in the 1950s it became known for a different kind of light. In the 1950s, a trend called “atomic tourism” was doing rounds in Las Vegas. In 1951, the Nevada Testing Site became the location for atomic bomb testing, located just 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. How 1950s Las Vegas Sold Atomic Bomb Tests as Tourism Between 1950 and 1960, the population of Las Vegas grew by 161%–partly due to the burgeoning casino industry. Las Vegas in the 1950s was one of the best tourist destinations in the United States. But another reason was a chance to glimpse actual nuclear tests in person. Atomic tourism is a recent form of tourism in which visitors learn about the Atomic Age by traveling to significant sites in atomic history such as museums with atomic weapons, missile silos, vehicles that carried atomic weapons or sites where atomic weapons were detonated. This operating steam engine is complete with water tank and boiler (the reactor dome with safety valve), fuel to heat the water (Esbit tablets), and battery (for the lighted cooling tower).The cylinder oscillates with an oiler on the steam chest. Bullet Bras Ruled The 1940s And 1950s, And These 50 Pics Point Out Why Tags 1950s , atomic bomb , atomic bomb test , Nevada Proving Grounds , nuclear age , nuclear holiday , nuclear tourism , sin city The tourists visiting the city were entertained with some serious atomic bomb testing. At that, over ten million people were visiting the city annually. ... ↑ "How 1950s Las Vegas sold atomic bomb testing as tourism". ... Nowadays, instead of watching explosions go off at the Nevada Testing Site, the main source of atomic tourism stems from the Atomic Testing Museum that opened in 2005. Atomic tourism is a recent form of tourism in which visitors learn about the Atomic Age by traveling to significant sites in atomic history such as museums with atomic weapons, ... the city of Las Vegas and its Chamber of Commerce nicknamed Vegas as the "Atomic City" in the mid 1940s and early 1950s in an attempt to attract tourists. In the 1950s, Louis Marx and Company produced the Linemar Atomic Reactor through its Linemar line of tin toys manufactured in Japan.