November 26, 1996

Sands Hotel imploded to make way for The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino.

April 14, 1997

$1.5 Billion Venetian Resort Hotel Casino Complex breaks ground.

July 11, 1997

The Venetian unveils Preview Center.

November 14, 1997

$1 Billion financial package secured to build world's largest hotel, casino and convention complex.

September 24, 1997

Forest City Commercial Management to manage The Venetian's Grand Canal Shoppes. The Grand Canal Shoppes is an extensive 500,000-square-foot themed, indoor retail mall. The area features cobbled walkways, a reproduction of Venice's Grand Canal and a replica of St. Mark's Square. Shoppers are transported to another time and place in a festival-like atmosphere, including serenading gondoliers, artisans, and masque makers. Approximately 70 of the most exclusive retailers, many new to the United States, and brand name restaurants make their home in The Grand Canal Shoppes.

May 20, 1998

Madame Tussaud's to open first ever state-side museum at World's Largest Hotel and Convention Complex.

August 3, 1998

WORLD RENOWNED SPA TO OPERATE SPACLUB - The luxurious Canyon Ranch SpaClub® ensures that The Venetian guest's stay is one of revitalization and wellness. Adjoining a five acre pool deck, modeled after a Venetian-style garden, the 65,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art SpaClub features massage; skin care and body treatment rooms; gyms and weight rooms; a 40-foot rock climbing wall; movement therapy and Pilates studios; a spinning gym; therapeutic Watsu pools; Canyon Ranch Café a beauty salon and a medical/wellness center. Canyon Ranch has been awarded "Best Spa" by readers of Condé Nast Traveler seven times since 1990.

August 18, 1998

$1.5 Billion Venetian Resort tops out.

August 24, 1998

The Venetian now accepting room reservations on-line and by phone.

September 9, 1998

The Venetian finalizes guaranteed maximum price for construction.

October 22, 1998

The Venetian reports strong group-booking to Wall Street.

November 30, 1998

Unprecedented Employee Benefits Package unveiled at opening of The Venetian Employment Center.

May 3, 1999

WORLD CLASS RESORT OPENED MAY 3, 1999 - The most exciting news to hit Las Vegas goes far beyond typical hotel spas, dancing girls and ever-erupting volcanoes. It's The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino - a $1.5 billion mega-resort that has redefined the culture of Las Vegas as an upscale travel destination. When the first phase of The Venetian opened May 3, 1999, it created a fully integrated resort that focuses on world-class dining, upscale shopping, luxurious rooms and deluxe spa services.

October 7, 2001

OPENING OF THE GUGGENHEIM HERMITAGE MUSEUM - A collaboration agreement between The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York. The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum opened its doors to the public introducing their first exhibition: Masterpieces and Master Collectors: Impressionist and Early Modern Paintings. The inaugural exhibition was a selection of 45 works from collections of both museums. The two institutions are partners in an international alliance in which joint initiatives are undertaken and resources are shared. The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum is under the patronage of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Dr. Mikhail E. Shwydkoi.

August 30, 2002

Opening of the second exhibition at the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum: Art Through the Ages: Masterpieces of Painting from Titian to Picasso. This exhibit presented a trilateral collaboration of paintings from three of the world’s greatest museums: the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. This exhibit included forty masterpieces that traces six centuries of painting from the Renaissance to the 1960’s.

May 15, 2003

Opening of the third exhibition at the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum: American Pop Icons. This exhibit presents a selection of twenty-nine works of art that trace the origins of the Pop Art movement from practical beginnings as commercial and consumer imagery to the full-scale celebrity of the genre, as achieved by Andy Warhol’s Factory. Drawn from the holdings of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Sonnabend Collection, and private lenders from Europe and the United States, the exhibition focuses on the theme of the common object and its sources in advertisements, consumer product packaging, and comic strips.

June 27, 2003

The Venetian opened the new Venezia hotel tower comprised of an additional 1,013 luxury suites and featuring a lavish pool deck; new wedding chapel; an exclusive Concierge Level private lounge; and coming January 2004 Thomas Keller's renowned restaurant Bouchon. As Las Vegas’ only hotel featuring a Concierge Level, this “hotel within a hotel” promises to be both an oasis of tranquility and an unparalleled forum for business and discerning travelers. Guests will discover a new sense of refinement adjacent to world-class gaming and entertainment.

November 7, 2003

The Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at The Venetian opened another spectacular exhibit - A Century of Painting: From Renoir to Rothko. Showcasing a collection of some of the Guggenheim's most beloved works from the 19th and 20th centuries, A Century of Painting: From Renoir to Rothko includes original paintings by Cézanne, Chagall, Gauguin, Kandinsky, Kokoschka, Matisse, Miró, Modigliani, Monet, Picasso, Pollock, Renoir, Rothko, van Gogh, and others - all so close you can see the brushstrokes.

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