Las Vegas Population 2010: 583,756, #30 in U.S., #1 in Nevada 1950: 24,624 2010
Metropolitan Area: 1,951,269, #30 in U.S. Setting Las Vegas was established in 1905 as a railroad town in the desert along the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt Lake Railroad. Buildings Tallest
buildings: Stratosphere Tower, 1,149 feet (1996), and Fontainebleau Resort, 735 feet, (2010) List of tallest buildings Most of Las Vegas’s tall buildings are hotels on the Strip (not downtown). Las Vegas claims to have nine of the 10 largest hotels in the U.S., and 17 of the largest 20. The Stratosphere Tower is the tallest free-standing observation tower in the United States. The Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas (460 feet, 1999) also has an observation deck. The tower is about half the size of the original Eiffel Tower. Stores Las
Vegas has no downtown department stores. Five blocks of downtown’s Fremont
Street were closed in 1994 to make a pedestrian mall that features the Fremont
Street Experience, a canopy with light-and-sound shows at night. Trains Amtrak does not serve Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Monorail (2004) serves hotels on the east side of Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip) on a four-mile route, but it does not go downtown. |  Downtown Las Vegas (Photo by John Keyes) Museums The Las Vegas Art Museum closed in 2009 because of financial difficulties. The Nevada State Museum is west of downtown. The Las Vegas Natural History Museum and the Neon Museum are north of downtown. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art is on the Strip. Theaters Downtown Las Vegas has no movie theaters. The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, home of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and Broadway Las Vegas, opened in March 2012. Sports The
Las Vegas 51s, Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate of the Toronto
Blue
Jays, play at Cashman Field (1983), just north of downtown. The Las Vegas Wranglers of the East Coast Hockey League play at the Orleans Arena (2003), south of downtown. The Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV has sporting events and concerts. |