LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Business tycoon, aviator, moviemaker, and philanthropist Howard Hughes left a lasting mark on Las Vegas, from buying resorts on the Las Vegas Strip, airports and acres of land now known as Summerlin to investing in local news.
During his time in Sin City, he bought a house located right behind Channel 8. A house that has many myths and legends surrounding it, much like its famed former owner.
Hughes was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas in the 1940s and 1950s and is said to have lived in a small ranch-style home in the television station’s parking lot, informally known as “The Hughes House,” for a short stretch between the spring of 1953 and early 1954. At the time, it was adjacent to the Desert Inn Hotel and stood on the grounds of what was called the Sun Villa Motel, and later the Blair House Motel.
While some say Hughes did in fact live in the house, Geoff Schumacher, author of “Howard Hughes: The Power, Paranoia and Place Intrigue,” told 8 News Now in an interview in Oct. 2024, “We don’t believe that Howard Hughes actually slept in the house, we don’t believe he had people over where whether that be women or others.”
Howard Hughes: The man behind the magic at KLAS
Hughes leased the house in 1953 and would hold meetings there, and later bought the home and KLAS from the television station’s founder, Hank Greenspun. The story goes that Hughes loved movies and wanted them to play all night and into the morning. However, he would often fall asleep in his hotel suite while watching the films airing on KLAS…