Las Vegas Strip: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox street

|name = Las Vegas Strip

|image = {{Photomontage

| photo1a = Las Vegas 63.jpg{{!}}Las Vegas Boulevard

|coordinates={{coords|36.119684|-115.172599|display=inline}}

}}

 

Many of the largest hotel, casino, and [[resort]] properties in the world are on the Strip, known for its contemporary architecture, lights, and wide variety of attractions. Its hotels, casinos, restaurants, residential high-rises, entertainment offerings, and skyline have established the Strip as one of the most popular and iconic tourist destinations in the world and is one of the driving forces for Las Vegas's economy.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Themed Space: Locating Culture, Nation, and Self|chapter=Theming as a Sensory Phenomenon: Discovering the Senses on the Las Vegas Strip|last= Lukas|first=Scott A.|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2007|isbn= 978-0-7391-2142-9|pages=75–95|editor=Scott A. Lukas}}</ref> Most of the Strip has been designated as an [[National Scenic Byway|All-American Road]],<ref>{{cite press release |title=U.S. Transportation Deputy Secretary Downey Announces New All-American Roads, National Scenic Byways in 20 States |publisher=[[Federal Highway Administration]] |date=June 15, 2000 |url=http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pressroom/fhwa0042.htm |access-date=June 22, 2008}}; {{cite press release |title=Las Vegas Strip Named All-American Road |url=http://travelnevada.com/press_detail.asp?PressID=24 |access-date=June 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060612004631/http://travelnevada.com/press_detail.asp?PressID=24 |archive-date=June 12, 2006}}</ref> and the North and South Las Vegas Strip routes are classified as [[List of Nevada Scenic Byways|Nevada Scenic Byways]] and [[National Scenic Byway]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Scenic Byways {{!}} Nevada Department of Transportation|url=https://www.nevadadot.com/travel-info/travel-nevada/scenic-byways|access-date=2020-10-17|website=www.nevadadot.com}}</ref>

=== Early years (1930s–1990s) ===

The first casino to be built on [[U.S. Route 91|Highway 91]] was the [[Pair-O-Dice|Pair-o-Dice Club]] in 1931, but the first full service casino-resort on what is currently called the Strip was the [[El Rancho Vegas]], which opened with 63 bungalow hotel rooms on April 3, 1941. (The El Rancho Vegas showroom and casino were destroyed by a fire in 1960. The El Rancho Vegas bungalows were not damaged, and were rented out until the early 1980s).<ref name="frommers.com">{{Cite web|title=History in Las Vegas {{!}} Frommer's|url=https://www.frommers.com/destinations/las-vegas/in-depth/history|access-date=2021-04-02|website=www.frommers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=About the El Rancho Vegas exhibit|url=https://gaming.unlv.edu/ElRanchoVegas/Fire.html|access-date=2021-04-03|website=gaming.unlv.edu}}</ref> Its success spawned a second nearby hotel, the [[Hotel Last Frontier]] in 1942.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Last Frontier Hotel {{!}} ONE|url=https://www.onlinenevada.org/articles/last-frontier-hotel|access-date=2021-04-03|website=www.onlinenevada.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Staff|first=Sun|date=1955-04-04|title=Colorful hotel history – Las Vegas Sun Newspaper|url=https://lasvegassun.com/news/1955/apr/04/colorful-hotel-history/|access-date=2021-04-03|website=lasvegassun.com|language=en}}</ref> [[Organized crime]] figures such as [[Bugsy Siegel]], originally from New York, later residing in California, took an intense interest in the growing Las Vegas gaming center and funded another resort; financing the completion of the [[Flamingo Las Vegas|Flamingo]] construction with mob money. The Flamingo construction was started by famed Hollywood publisher [[Billy Wilkerson]]. The Flamingo casino opened in December 1946, and the hotel opened in March 1947. [[Wilbur Clark]]'s [[Desert Inn]] resort opened in 1950.<ref name="frommers.com"/> The funding for many Las Vegas projects was provided through the [[American National Insurance Company]], which was based in the then-notorious [[Free State of Galveston|gambling empire of Galveston, Texas]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Mr. Mob: The Life and Crimes of Moe Dalitz | author=Newton, Michael | pages=40–41 | publisher=McFarland | year=2009 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KZCUIxhP7ikC| isbn=978-0786453627 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Neon metropolis: how Las Vegas started the twenty-first century | author=Rothman, Hal | publisher=Routledge | year=2003 | page=16 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K4940Wy0DikC| isbn=978-0415926133 }}</ref>

Las Vegas Boulevard South was previously called Hwy 91, or the [[Arrowhead Highway]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Arrowhead Trail |url=https://historiclasvegasproject.com/Arrowhead-Trail.html |website=The Historic Las Vegas Project |access-date=15 January 2022}}</ref> or Los Angeles Highway.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}} The Strip was named by [[Los Angeles Police Department|Los Angeles police]] officer and businessman [[Guy McAfee]], after his hometown's [[Sunset Strip]] in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/peopleevents/p_mcafee.html |title=Las Vegas: An Unconventional History |work=[[American Experience]] |publisher=PBS |access-date=June 7, 2007}}</ref>

 

[[File:Bellagio_Las_Vegas_December_2013_panorama.jpg|thumb|Four-segment panorama of The Cosmopolitan, Bellagio, and Caesars Palace (left to right) from the Las Vegas Strip, across from the Bellagio fountains]]

[[File:The Venetian, Las Vegas, United States (Unsplash).jpg|thumb|Gondolas outside of The Venetian]]

 

In 2004, [[MGM Mirage]] announced plans for [[CityCenter]], a {{convert|66|acre|adj=on}}, $7&nbsp;billion multi-use project on the site of the [[Boardwalk Hotel and Casino|Boardwalk]] hotel and adjoining land. It consists of hotel, casino, condo, retail, art, business and other uses on the site. CityCenter is currently the largest such complex in the world. Construction began in April 2006, with most elements of the project opened in late 2009. Also in 2006, the Las Vegas Strip lost its longtime status as the world's highest-grossing gambling center, falling to second place behind [[Macau]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/business/worldbusiness/24macao.html|title=Asian Rival Moves Past Las Vegas|last=Barboza|first=David|date=January 24, 2007|work=The New York Times}}</ref>

* [[MGM Grand Las Vegas|MGM Grand]] Station

 

 

===Pedestrian traffic===

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File:Welcome to Las Vegas sign.jpg|The iconic [[Welcome to Las Vegas]] sign was built in 1959.

File:Las Vegas Strip south, Tropicana ave.jpg|A view of the southern end of the Strip. Looking northward from Tropicana Avenue.

File:Las Vegas from Eiffel Tower replica.jpg|View of the Strip from the Eiffel Tower of the [[Paris Las Vegas]]