Las Vegas

Las Vegas was incorporated in 1905 when land near the Union Pacific railroad tracks were auctioned off near what would become the downtown area. The city of Las Vegas was incorporated in 1911. Gambling was legalized in 1931 in the state of Nevada, which started the construction of the cities casinos. Hotel Nevada was the first hotel to be constructed in the city and opened January 13, 1906. The strips first hotel was the El Rancho Vegas (Not to be confused with another hotel of the same name) which opened April 3, 1941 and burnt down June 13, 1960. Many hotels in the city of Las Vegas have come and gone. Some of the hotels were rebranded, renovated, lost their older features, or subsequently torn down altogether. The demolitions have been considered a spectacle. Thousands of people gather to witness “Implosions” of certain hotels, often featuring fireworks and countdowns.

### Fremont Street

Fremont Street is located in downtown Las Vegas. It features some of the oldest, original hotels of the city. Fremont Street is located between Main Street and Sahara Avenue in a northwest–southeast direction. Fremont Street was the cities first paved street in 1925. The street is no longer accessible to cars and is home to the Fremont Street Experience.

List of hotels from first built to the 1980’s

\* Hotel Nevada / Golden Gate (1906)

\* Overland Hotel (1906)

\* Las Vegas Hotel (1908)

\* Las Vegas Club (1930)

\*Hotel Apache (1932)

\* El Cortez (1941)

\* Golden Nugget (1946)

\* Binions Horseshoe (1951)

\* Fremont (1956)

\* The Mint (1957)

\* Downtown Grand (1964)

\* Four Queens (1966)

\* Union Plaza (1971)

\* The California (1975)

\* Holiday International (1978)

\* Sundance Hotel (1980)

### The Strip

The Vegas Strip is the main focus point of tourists visiting the city. El Rancho Vegas was the very first hotel to be build in that part of the city. Many more hotel casinos were built after, lining up the entire strip. Sahara is located on what is considered the northernmost part of the strip. The southernmost part was formerly occupied by the Hacienda, but since its demolition in December 1996, it has been replaced by Mandalay Bay. Only a couple hotels from the 40’s -80’s remain today as many have been demolished.

List of hotels from first built to the 1980’s

\* El Rancho (1941)

\* Hotel Last Frontier (1942)

\* Flamingo (1946)

\* Thunderbird (1948)

\* Desert Inn (1950)

\* Sahara (1952)

\* Sands (1952)

\* Algiers (1953)

\* Royal Nevada (1955)

\* Riviera (1955)

\* Dunes (1955)

\* Tropicana (1956)

\* Stardust (1958)

\* Flamingo Capri (1959)

\* Tally ho (1962)

\* Kona Kai Motel (1962)

\* Westward Ho (1963)

\* Caravan Motor Hotel (1964)

\* Holiday Inn (1966)

\* Caesars Palace (1966)

\* Circus Circus (1968)

\* Landmark (1969)

\* Holiday Inn Center Strip (1972)

\* MGM Grand (1973)

\* The Marina (1975)

\* Barbary Coast (1979)

\* Shenandoah Hotel (1980)

### Outside the Strip

There are a select couple retro Vegas hotels that are located outside the city. The oldest hotel is Railroad Pass located on the Boulder Strip.

Boulder Strip

\* Railroad Pass (1931)

\* Showboat (1954)

\* Sam’s Town (1971)

Resort Corridor

\* International (1969)

\* Howard Johnson (1973)

\* The Casino (1976)

\* Continental (1979)

\* Vegas World (1979)

1. ↑ Picture Credits

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2Fsummacorp%2Fstatus%2F1290720783552008192&psig=AOvVaw3j6-t13T64VUPBlnwKB4rW&ust=1703740994328000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjhxqFwoTCPiG-\_fvroMDFQAAAAAdAAAAABADhttps://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fvintagelasvegas.com%2Fpost%2F626271516176302080%2F1980&psig=AOvVaw0olpiY-fg4JjifZ7IjHje3&ust=1703741068084000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjhxqFwoTCLjpg5vwroMDFQAAAAAdAAAAABADEdward Edstrom

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.casino.org%2Fblog%2F14-amazing-vintage-videos-of-vegas-through-the-ages%2F&psig=AOvVaw0dmG9SOI4h9KDcPwdf0lTj&ust=1703741196035000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjhxqFwoTCKjPi9jwroMDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD