- Downtown Las Vegas
-
Downtown Las Vegas is the central business district of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original gambling district of Las Vegas, prior to the Strip, and the area still incorporates downtown gaming.
Contents
Tourism
Downtown Las Vegas is centered on Fremont Street (Fremont Street Experience and Fremont East).
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 $70 million attraction features the ultimate in multisensory entertainment. It also brings a variety of exciting special events, cuisine, special entertainment and live concerts throughout the year.[1]
Film and media history
- The 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever featured a chase scene in which James Bond, running from Las Vegas police, side-rolls a car through an alley exiting onto Fremont Street.
- The 1987 music video for the song "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" by U2 was filmed on Fremont Street and featured the band members wandering around, while The Edge played an acoustic guitar.
- 1998's Very Bad Things featured Fremont Street in the movie.
- 1992's Honey, I Blew Up the Kid prominently featured Fremont Street in the movie.
- 1992's Cool World showed all the animation coming out of the Plaza hotel and going down Fremont Street.
- In 1994, Glitter Gulch was featured prominently in the TV Miniseries The Stand.
- The 1997 comedy Vegas Vacation includes a few scenes on Fremont Street.
- In the 2004 movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Steve the Pirate is seen along the Plaza near the Fremont Street Experience.
- In a 2005 release, Panic! at the Disco released a song about cheap motels on Fremont Street called "Build God, Then We'll Talk."
- The 2007 film Next, has Nicolas Cage's character entering the Golden Nugget from the Fremont Street Experience.
- Ice Cube's music video for "Chrome and Paint" took place on Fremont Street, with Ice Cube in a lowrider.
- In the video game, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas, Logan Keller, and his teammates Jung and Michael, infiltrate Fremont Street to find a news van, which they find by going through the maintenance tunnels under the "Stocco Casino."
- Heavily referenced in the Tom Waits song "Mr. Siegal."
- Featured at the beginning of the TV Series CSI season 7 finale episode 24.
- Featured in the opening credits of the TV series Vega$.
- Magician & illusionist Criss Angel has done many demonstrations and TV specials there.
- In Fallout: New Vegas New Vegas (Las Vegas, Nevada) downtown is called Freeside on Fremont Street.
Revitalization and future
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.
Fremont East sign.
The city has been successfully working to redevelop Fremont Street just east of the Fremont Street Experience. In 2007, the city of Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency joined with Fremont East property and business owners for a $5.5 million streetscape improvement. This three-block renovation included pedestrian-friendly street redesign, landscaping and retro-looking neon signage.[2]
The three-block revitalization of Fremont Street was celebrated on August 24, 2007. Development of this area is intended to increase the draw of downtown Las Vegas by offering a compact, walkable entertainment area of bars and clubs. This area is officially called the Fremont East Entertainment District.
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 have opened as of 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.
A third effort put into place is Symphony Park, a mixed-use development in downtown Las Vegas. 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 country.
Symphony Park is being planned by the city of Las Vegas. This is a major project for the Las Vegas Redevelopment Agency and the city.[5]
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.
Gallery
References
- ^ http://www.playatlvc.com/las-vegas/hotels-downtown.htm
- ^ Las Vegas Sun, New district is all about old Las Vegas
- ^ "PHOTOS: Fremont East Gets Glamour Treatment". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2007-08-25. http://www.lvrj.com/news/9370336.html. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ^ "Third Street has potential to be night life magnet". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2004-09-18. http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Sep-18-Sat-2004/news/24797105.html. Retrieved 2007-08-27.
- ^ http://www.unionparkvegas.com/unionparkoverview.aspx
External links
Downtown Las Vegas Casinos Main Street Station • Plaza • California • Las Vegas Club • Mermaids • Golden Gate • La Bayou • Binion's • Golden Nugget • Fremont • Four Queens • Lady Luck • Fitzgeralds • Gold Spike • El Cortez • The Western
Business World Market Center • Symphony Park • Downtown gaming
Museums Neon Museum • Mob Museum • Las Vegas Natural History Museum • Lied Discovery Children's Museum
Attractions Downtown Arts District • Fremont East • Fremont Street • Fremont Street Experience • Las Vegas Post Office and Courthouse • Neonopolis • Mormon Fort
Medical facilities Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health
Future Projects Smith Center for the Performing Arts • World Jewelry Center • Grand Central Hotel
See also: North Las Vegas Categories:- Las Vegas, Nevada
- Central business districts in the United States
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
