Quonset buildings, or “huts,” were manufactured during World War II for the U.S. Navy. They were prefabricated, lightweight and could be erected just about anywhere by unskilled labor.
Following the war, many of these buildings were sold to the public as war surplus; several made their way to The Strip.
The pair of Quonsets set on this site were oringally built and owned by Ormand Allen. Walt Baning Jr. and his wife, Flo, operated The Barn out of the west Quonset. The Barn was a restaurant and one of the few bars on The Strip in the 1950s. It had seating for several hundred and stayed upon until 3:30 a.m.
Music and sing-alongs were a big part of the atmosphere at The Barn. Felix Alberts, “Bull of the Woods,” was MC.
Circus Circus, owned by Jim Brown, was another bar that occupied this building, in the late 1960s/early ‘70s. The bar catered to the 18-21 year-old crowd, which could purchase 3.2 beer until voters outlawed it in 1971.
The vote effectively changed the legal drinking age from 18 to 21, and spelled the end of the line for Circus Circus and several other GOTL bars catering to the 18-to-21-year-old crowds: Electric Cage, Sunken Bar, Psychedelic Lounge (Swallows), among them.