page_title: Downtown Las Vegas
section_title: Revitalization
hierarchical_section_title: Downtown Las Vegas / Economy / Revitalization
caption_attribution_description: English: Performing arts center and children's museum in Symphony Park in downtown Las Vegas.
context_page_description: Downtown Las Vegas is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite and was the 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 highrises, 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 on Fremont Street, the Fremont Street Experience and Fremont East. The city defines the area as bounded by I-15 on the west, Washington Avenue on the north, Maryland Parkway on the east and Sahara Avenue on the south.
context_section_description: The downtown area in recent decades 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 consists of three giant buildings, with a total of 5.1 million square feet, in a facility designed by Jon Jerde. It is home to semiannual trade shows for the furniture and furnishing industries. This is one of several entities that are helping to diversity downtown Las Vegas' economy and job base.
  The square footage of World Market Center Las Vegas is greater than both the Willis Tower in Chicago and the Empire State Building in New York City.
  The city is also working to attract events to the downtown area. Recently held events include Helldorado and the Life is Beautiful festival.
  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. The Discovery Children's Museum opened next door to The Smith Center in 2013.
  The Las Vegas City Hall now operates out of a new building, which, along with the Bonneville Transit center, can serve as an anchor tenant for new development along Main Street. In addition, Main and Commerce streets in downtown Las Vegas are undergoing major beautification efforts, which started in mid-2014.
  Online retailer Zappos made major renovations to the old Las Vegas City Hall, and moved into the building in late 2013, which now houses its corporate headquarters. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh has taken a personal, as well as a professional, interest in the urban area and is contributing $350 million of his personal wealth toward a multifaceted revitalization effort called the Downtown Project, with businesses like The Writer's Block included among its investments.
caption: The Smith Center for the Performing Arts
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