Fremont Street Experience
Architect(s): The Jerde Partnership
Address: Fremont St. from Main to 4th
Year: 1995

The Fremont Street Experience was an attempt to redevelop and rejuvenate downtown Las Vegas. The popularity of the family-oriented Strip and the aging of downtown casinos kept many visitors away. The addition of the four-block-long, 90-foot-high space frame has transformed Fremont Street into one large casino with a pedestrian mall. Concerts and other events are held at the Experience, in addition to the light show that plays hourly in the evenings. Overall, the project has been considered a success.
Under the frame of the Fremont Street Experience, the El Portal Theatre can be found. The El Portal is a 1928 historical landmark. The bluegreen neon sign can be seen just behind the Trader Bills sign (street address is 310 Fremont St.)

Resources available in the ASL:

Buntain, Rex. “ Fremont seen in new light.” Las Vegas Sun (date unknown): 1K, 5K. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 12

Cohan, Jeffrey. “City officials betting big on rejuvenation.” Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun 26 November 1995: 13A. Includes photos. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 13

Edwards, John G. “ Fremont ads tout downtown.” Las Vegas Review Journal 30 July 1996: 1C. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 7

“ Fremont !: A look inside the Experience.” Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun 26 November 1995: 12A. Includes diagrams. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 13

“ Fremont Street Experience.” Jerde Partnership . 2004. [Online]. Available: Web Link No Longer Active . Accessed October 05, 2004. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 23 (Information available: http://www.jerde.com/flash.php . Accessed September 18, 2005.

“The Fremont Street Experience Development Team.” A2Z Las Vegas . 2001. [Online]. Available: http://www.a2zlasvegas.com/fse/fse05.html . Accessed Oct. 18, 2001. ASL File #:LVA(F) JPI 18

“History timeline for Fremont Street Experience.” Las Vegas Online Entertainment Guide . 1997. [Online]. Available: http://www.lvol.com/lvoleg/other/fse/fse03.html . Accessed November 24, 1997. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 8

Ibelings, Hans. “Supermoderism-Architecture in the Age of Globalization.” Rotterdam, the Netherlands, NAi Publishers, 2002.

Kroloff, Reed. “The other Las Vegas.” Architecture 85, n.4 (Apr. 1996): 78-89. Includes photos. ASL File #: GEN 1

McKinnon, Shaun. “Fremont was once a shopper's mecca.” Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun 26 November 1995: 12A, 13A. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 13

Michele, Reboli. “Jon Jerde: Fremont Street, pedestrian kaleidoscope.” Casabella 63, n.672 (Nov. 1999): 58-63. Includes drawings and photos. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 20

Newman, Morris. “What happens to a street when it becomes an experience?” Metropolis 15, n.8 (Apr. 1996): 23, 26. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 10

Nicoletta, Julie. Buildings of Nevada . New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Includes project description.

Richards, Brian. “Learning to walk in Las Vegas.” The Architects' Journal (Oct. 1996): 26-27. Includes photos. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 16

Schwab, Norm. “Streetlife serenade.” Lighting Design + Application 28, n.5 (May 1998): 56-60. Includes photos. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 14

Smith, Hubble. “Fremont Street goes tropical.” Las Vegas Review Journal 23 August 1997: 1D, 2D. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 5

Smith, John. “The ‘new' Fremont Street still has a few glitter glitches.” Las Vegas Review Journal 13 December 1995: page unknown. Includes firm advertisement. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 3

Steinhauer, Adam. “Fremont changes outlined.” Las Vegas Review Journal 29 May 1996: 9D. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 6

--------------------- . “Show wins award.” Las Vegas Review Journal 30 September 1996: 1D, 2D. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 11

“Treelike columns support a light-studded space frame.” Architecture 85, n.4 (Apr. 1996): 180. Includes photos. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 15

UNLV Architecture Studies Library holds: “Fascinating Facts about the Fremont Street Experience”. No date. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 1

UNLV Architecture Studies Library holds: Las Vegas Review Journal photo by Ralph Fountain. No date. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 4

Weatherford, Mike. “Fremont Street seeks an identity.” Las Vegas Review Journal 26 November 2000: page unknown. ASL File #: LVA(F) JPI 9

ASL Special Topics: Fremont Street Experience
http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/rsrce/resguide/vegas.html#Fremont

Information and image(s) also available on ASL's self guided architectural driving tours:
http://www.library.unlv.edu/arch/lasvegas/downtown01a.html#001

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