Downtown Las
Vegas is the central business district of Las
Vegas, Nevada. It is the original
townsite and gambling district of Las Vegas, prior to the Strip, and the area
still incorporates downtown gaming. As the urban core of
the Las Vegas
Valley, it features a variety of hotel and business skyscrapers, cultural
centers, historical buildings, and government institutions as well as
residential and retail developments. Downtown is located in the center of the
Las Vegas Valley and just north of the Las Vegas Strip, centered around Fremont Street, the Fremont
Street Experience and Fremont East.
The first non native
americans to settle in the area what would become Las Vegas were a group of
Mormons who arrived from Utah in 1855. They constructed a fort located in
the current downtown area but would abandon it a few years later. Eventually,
other settlers would continue to arrive, taking advantage of the nearby springs
as a source of water for agriculture. This water made the area an important water stop and was instrumental
in the building of a railroad through the area around 1905. On May 15, 1905 ,
the city of Las Vegas was founded on about 110 acres of land comprising what is
now downtown.
Neighborhoods and attractions
Casinos of Fremont Street at
night.
Fremont Street Casino District
Main article: Downtown (Nevada gaming
area)
Fremont Street is home to
most of downtown's hotels and casinos. These are the original casinos of Las
Vegas and existed before the more famous Las Vegas Strip. Featuring several historical
hotel casinos in a more urban setting, it offers a more intimate and vintage
experience compared to that of the Strip. The Fremont
Street Experience is a canopied street of the downtown area where casinos
have been connected to the street and to each other in a unique visual manner.
With more than 2 million lights and a state-of-the-art sound system, the Fremont
Street Experience brings nightly shows through the world's largest audio-video
system. The $70 million attraction features the ultimate in multisensory
entertainment. It also brings a variety of exciting special events, cuisine,
special entertainment and live concerts throughout the year.
Fremont East District
The property and
business owners have been working to redevelop Fremont Street just east of the
Fremont Street Experience. In 2002, the city of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency
joined with Fremont East property and business owners to create a business improvement district as
well as pay for a $5.5 million streetscape improvement called Fremont East. It
features an eclectic mix of bars, clubs and restaurants. Centered around Las
Vegas Boulevard on Fremont Street, this three-block renovation included
pedestrian-friendly street redesign, landscaping and retro-looking neon
signage.The Arts District
Main article: Downtown Arts
District
Also called the 18b
Arts District, this area is home to the city's arts scene with its mix of art
galleries, studios and stores. Centered around Main Street and Charleston
Boulevard, the area hosts the popular First Friday Festival every month
featuring art, food, music and other performances.
Symphony Park
Main article: Symphony Park
Symphony Park is a mixed
use urban district being built on the vacant land to the west of Fremont Street.
It will eventually feature a mix of retail, medical, hotel, and residential
developments. The city of Las Vegas is undertaking the development on 61 acres
(25 ha) located on land purchased from the Union Pacific Railroad. The city
acquired the land in 1995. The Symphony Park development will be one of the
largest urban redevelopment projects in the United States. This is a major
project for the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency
and the city.
Financial District
Centered around
Bonneville Avenue and Casino Center Boulevard, most of this area is filled with
office and government buildings. As several court buildings are located here,
there are many justice related businesses such as law firms. The financial
district is also home to the Las Vegas City Hall building, the Lloyd D.
George U.S. Courthouse, and several bank buildings, including Bank of America. The
Clark County Marriage Bureau is also located here at the Regional Justice
Center.
Art and Culture
Downtown is a hub for
arts and culture in the Metro area. The main venue for performing arts is the
$470 million Art Deco inspired Smith Center for the
Performing Arts. A number of neon signs from former Las Vegas casinos have
been restored and installed on a few streets around downtown. A famous icon of
downtown Las Vegas is the Vegas
Vic sign. The downtown area also hosts a number of museums.- Smith Center for the Performing Arts
- Lied Discovery Children's Museum
- Mob Museum
- Neon Museum
- Las Vegas Natural History Museum
Retail
- Las Vegas Premium Outlets
- Neonopolis
- Cowtown Guitars
Cityscape
Architecture
Several buildings of
architectural significance exist downtown, although being founded in 1905, Las
Vegas lacks the amount of historical buildings of more older cities. The
Historic 5th Street School built in 1936 is a Mission/Spanish Revival style and
is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Also listed is the Las Vegas Post Office and
Courthouse, one of the few historical Neo-classical buildings in the city.
Built in 1930, the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies and Performing
Arts is the city's best example of Art Deco architecture. Morelli House built in
1959 is a notable Mid Century modern design. The old City
Hall is a notable example 1960s modern architecture.
As Las Vegas boomed,
more recent buildings tended to take inspiration from a variety of styles. The
Clark County Government Center has an red sandstone exterior invoking a desert
motif. The recent Smith Center for the
Performing Arts built in 2012 is a more modern example of Art Deco design.
In 2009 renowned architect Frank Gehry designed the iconic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain
Health building in deconstructivist style.
Parks
- Donald W. Reynolds Symphony Park
- Lewis Avenue Pedestrian Corridor
- Heritage Park
- Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park
- Clark County Government Center Amphitheater
- Cashman Field Center
Government
Downtown serves as a
main center for government services in the Las Vegas Valley. The governments of the City
of Las Vegas and Clark County are located here as well as the Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Department and several courts.
Some former government
buildings have been turned into attractions, such as the old Las Vegas Post Office and
Courthouse becoming the Mob
Museum.
Transportation
Two major
freeways—Interstate 15 and Interstate 515/U.S. Route 95—cross in downtown Las
Vegas. RTC Transit is a
public transportation system providing bus service throughout Las Vegas,
including the downtown area.
A bus rapid transit
link in Las Vegas called the Strip & Downtown Express (previously ACE Gold
Line) with limited stops and frequent service was launched in March 2010, and
connects Downtown Las Vegas, the Strip, the Las Vegas Convention Center, and
Town Square. It stops at the Bonneville Transit Center. Completed in 2012, the
transit terminal serves as a central transfer point for downtown and features 16
vehicle bays for buses and 100 bike racks.Economy
The downtown area is
primarily been based on tourism, as is the case in the greater Las Vegas Valley.
Although the smaller downtown casinos earn revenues that pale in comparison to
the mega resorts of the Las Vegas Strip further south. As of 2012, there have
been ongoing renovations of several downtown resorts such as The
Plaza, Golden
Gate Hotel, and Golden Nugget.
There does exist some
corporate offices as well as a World Market Center for trade
shows and conventions. Recently, the opening of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain
Health and the arrival of the new Zappos headquarters downtown has started
to attract new medical and technology oriented businesses to the area.
Revitalization
The downtown area in
recent years has played second fiddle to the larger and more famous Las Vegas Strip, which
is located a few miles to the south. The city has been working on revitalization
efforts to entice more visitors and residents to the downtown area.
World Market Center Las Vegas is another
project on which the city concentrated its efforts. In 2002, WMCLV was announced
on a lot adjacent to the city of Las Vegas' redevelopment parcel, as an
eight-building complex offering 7,500,000 square feet (700,000 m2) in
a facility designed by Jon
Jerde. Three of the buildings opened in 2011.
The square footage of
World Market Center Las Vegas is greater than the Willis Tower in Chicago (the tallest building in the Western
Hemisphere), and the Empire State Building in New York City.
The city is also
working to attract events to the downtown area. For instance, in April 2007, the
Champ Car World Series hosted the 2007 Vegas
Grand Prix in downtown Las Vegas.
The mayor and city
have supported efforts to have a sports arena built downtown. In 2009 an
exclusive negotiation agreement was signed with developer Cordish Co. of
Baltimore to study the feasibility of such a project but nothing has been
finalized yet.
In 2012 several new
downtown projects were completed. The Smith Center for the
Performing Arts, the new Mob
Museum and a new City Hall building opened.
In addition, an
agreement was finalized for the tech company Zappos to move into the old Las Vegas City Hall to use
as its new headquarters by 2013. It is hoped the deal will give the downtown
area a new economic anchor to attract new businesses and help revitalize the
area.
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