Program Schedule
Contributing Committee Members
Forms
Fabulous Las Vegas
For those of you familiar with Las Vegas only through TV advertisements that taunt you with the tagline "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," or TV shows that depict non-stop casino action or the seedy side of life in "Sin City," it might come as a surprise that the city has a rich and fascinating history.
Although Las Vegas celebrates its official centennial on May 15, 2005, its roots go back much further in the history of the Southwest. Not surprisingly, Native American tribes were the first occupants of the area, but it wasn't until the 19 th century that Spanish traders and explorers came to call it Las Vegas -- or "the meadows" -- after the lush grass that fed on the natural springs of the area. It was the availability of an abundant natural water supply that attracted Mormon missionaries to this harsh desert landscape in 1855.
When the mission ended in 1858, the Mormon Fort and its surrounding fields were subsequently incorporated into the Los Vegas Rancho, where a variety of both crops and cattle flourished in the late 19th century, providing a welcome source of food for weary travelers and traders as they traversed through the harsh Mojave Desert .
In 1902, Helen J. Stewart, owner of the Los Vegas Rancho, sold this land to the newly-formed San Pedro, Los Angeles & Salt Lake Railroad, and in 1905, the railroad, under the auspices of its owner, Montana Senator William Clark, sold the lots at an auction which marks the birth of modern Las Vegas . In these early days, Las Vegas was the epitome of a desert railroad outpost, with life and work centered around the rail yards. Agriculture also played a large role in early Las Vegas, with Chamber of Commerce publications promoting the existence of a vast network of artesian wells that made possible a wide array of crops and fruit orchards.
This quiet existence was changed dramatically by two events that took place in 1931: the legalization of gambling, and the construction of Boulder (later Hoover ) Dam. Although dam workers lived in the newly-constructed Boulder City town site (where gambling was prohibited), thousands poured into Las Vegas regularly in order to spend their wages in the gambling halls of Fremont Street, which was also the city's main business thoroughfare. Additional visitors came to Las Vegas to take advantage of the state's liberal marriage and divorce laws.
Even greater changes were in store for Las Vegas in the 1940s with the construction of the first casino resort hotels on the stretch of Highway 91 that would soon become world-famous as the Las Vegas Strip. First to arrive was the El Rancho Vegas in 1941, just outside of the city limits, then the Last Frontier in 1942; both were western-themed. The arrival of Benjamin "Bugsy" Siegel's Fabulous Flamingo in December 1946 brought a whole new elegance to this rapidly expanding desert resort area. In rapid succession, hotel casinos began to spring up along this dusty stretch of Highway 91 from the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s- the Thunderbird, Sahara, Desert Inn, Sands, Dunes, Riviera , Royal Nevada, Hacienda, Stardust and Tropicana.
As Highway 91 made the transition from a two-lane road into the Las Vegas Strip, performers such as the Rat Pack, Liberace and Elvis made their mark as Las Vegas legends, and leggy showgirls strutted their stuff in fantastical French production shows that brought a whole new level of glamour to Las Vegas entertainment.
Yet even as its reputation as the world's most exciting gambling and entertainment destination grew, Las Vegas was also gaining popularity as a place for an increasing number of people to call home. The city's rapid population growth in the 1950s made possible a number of civic developments, including the construction of Nevada Southern University, the first institution of higher education in southern Nevada, later to become the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The 1950s also ushered in the era of atomic testing at the Nevada Test Site (located on a portion of the bombing range at Nellis AFB) whose proximity to Las Vegas not only boosted the local economy and population, but proved to be an added tourist attraction for Strip hotels.
The 1960s saw the construction of more spectacular resort hotels such as Caesars Palace and Circus Circus (often seen as precursors to the themed mega-resorts of today) on the Strip, and the International Hotel (the place to see Elvis in the 1970s) just off the Strip on Paradise Road . The debut of the $100 million MGM Grand in 1973 was one of the major events of that decade, and for those of you who are fans of the movie Casino, it might be interesting to note that much of the movie's real-life action took place at the Stardust Hotel during the 1970s. There were tragedies too: the MGM Grand and Hilton Hotel fires in the early 1980s took dozens of lives, but resulted in nationwide changes in fire safety laws and building codes.
In 1989, the Mirage Hotel and Casino opened on the Strip; with its flaming volcano and Siegfried and Roy 's Secret Garden, it led the way for a whole new generation of fantastic, themed casino resort hotels. In the decade that followed, the Strip's skyline changed dramatically with the addition of the Luxor 's Egyptian-style glass pyramid, Treasure Island's pirate ship, the Manhattan backdrop of New York New York , and the Eiffel Tower of the Paris Hotel Casino. Beyond the Strip, the population of the Las Vegas Valley soared during the 1990s; from 770,280 in 1990, the population of the Las Vegas metropolitan area would reach 1,425,723 by 2000. Since then, it has remained the fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States on an annual basis.
In 2005, Las Vegas remains the undisputed champion of casinos and entertainment not only in the United States, but internationally as well. Visitors from around the world come for a variety of reasons: shopping, dining, entertainment, gambling, and nightlife. Over the past century, Las Vegas has evolved into a destination with plenty to offer to even the most discriminating guests. Most, of course, are oblivious to the rich history of the city, but those who have an appreciation of Las Vegas' past are sure to take home a unique perspective of this American playground.
Su Kim Chung, Chair
Local Arrangements Committee
Men swimming in “Big Spring” – original water supply of Las Vegas, early 1900s.
