History Of The Las Vegas Strip Through The 1950 s

S panish explorers first          governed by Clark County           discovered Las Vegas in         government, not the City of Las    1829, when Rafael Rivera        Vegas.                             became the first non-Native                                              American to enter the Las Vegas       In 1931 the Hoover Dam project     Valley. The valley quickly became     begins construction. Money and     popular with travelers traveling      workers flood the area, while      to and from California because of     most of the rest of the country    its water. In 1855 Brigham Young      is suffering greatly during the    sent Mormon missionaries into Las     depression. Since the federal      Vegas to convert the Paiute           government is intent on keeping    Indians that lived in the area,       gambling and prostitution away     and while the attempt was a           from the Dam workers, Las Vegas    failure some of the Mormons           flourishes as the closest area in  remained, and the influence of        which vices are able to be         Mormons on Las Vegas and Nevada       satisfied. Also in 1931, gambling  remains to this day.                  is legalized and brought out of                                          the shadows. It is unimaginable    Las Vegas was officially founded      that Las Vegas would be a major    as a city in 1905. Clark County       city today without Hoover Dam,     was formed in 1909 from the           both for the money it first        southern portion of Lincoln           brought to the city, and for the   County, and the City of Las Vegas     water and electricity it           was incorporated in 1911. Much of     provides.                          the area that is called Las Vegas                                        lies outside of the City of Las       The forties was the first          Vegas, including almost all of        building boom on the Las Vegas     the Las Vegas Strip, which is         Strip. In 1941 the first hotel     located in the unincorporated         casino opened on the Las Vegas     township of Paradise, and is          Strip, the El Rancho Vegas, at     approximately where Sahara Avenue     and the Sands opens where the      and Las Vegas Boulevard exist         Venetian exists currently. In      today, on the southwest corner. A     1955 three hotel casinos open,     second hotel casino opened the        including a first for the Las      next year, the Last Frontier, at      Vegas Strip: The Royal Nevada      the sport where the Frontier was      opens and quickly fails and        imploded recently, less than a        eventually becomes part of the     mile south of the El Rancho           Stardust, it is the first and      Vegas. And in 1946 the mob came       fastest hotel casino to fail on    to town and opened the Flamingo       the Strip. In addition the         at the same location where it         Riviera opened where it stands     sits today, at the corner of          today, and the Dunes opened where  Flamingo and Las Vegas Boulevard.     Bellagio is now located. In 1956   Finally, in 1948 the Thunderbird      the Hacienda opens on the far      opened almost across the street       South end of the Strip where       from the El Rancho Vegas              Mandalay Bay stands today. In      (confusingly, the Thunderbird         1957 the Tropicana first opens in  would eventually be renamed the       the same location that it          El Rancho).                           occupies now, and in 1958 the                                            recently demolished Stardust       Building really takes off in the      opened for business. In 1959 the   fifties, with the opening of the      Las Vegas Convention Center opens  Desert Inn in 1950 at the current     for business, in an attempt to     location the Wynn Las Vegas. In       fill all of the new rooms during   1952 the Sahara opens at the same     off-peak tourist times of the      location where it stands today,       year.                              About the Author: Mike McDougall has lived and worked in the Las Vegas area since 1985. He runs Las Vegas Strip Map .info, a site that shows information about the Las Vegas Strip, including the history of the Las Vegas Strip. Published At: www.Isnare.com