A Brief History
Early Habitation
The inhabited history of the Las Vegas Valley stretches to
23,000 b.c. , when much of the area was covered by a prehistoric lake.
During this period, the indigenous people lived in caves, hunting the
mammals that gathered at the shoreline. The landscape of the valley
changed dramatically over the next 200 centuries. The glaciers feeding
the lake melted away and the lake evaporated. Fossils tell an obscure
story of man’s slow and sporadic development.
Around 3000 b.c. , native Archaic Indians began to develop a
lasting hunting and gathering culture. By this time, the valley was in
much the same geographic state as it exists in today, with one
exception — the presence of artesian springs that bubbled to the
surface in several areas. These springs fed a network of streams
draining through the Las Vegas Wash to the Colorado River. The areas
surrounding the springs were desert oases: sprawling collections of
grasses, trees, and wildlife. Many springs lay in areas that would
eventually become the center of the modern Las Vegas metropolis.
For about 4000 years, the Archaics thrived in a culture that
included many signs of early civilization. Signs of even more
advancement appeared halfway through the first millennium a.d. , when
the Anasazi Indians inhabited the valley. Far more progressive than the
Archaics, the Anasazi utilized such formal agricultural techniques as
irrigation to assist their harvest. This permitted the Anasazi to
achieve a benchmark of advanced society — the ability to live in
permanent shelters year-round without need to follow wildlife.
Mysteriously, the Anasazi vanished from the valley around a.d. 1150,
leaving it to be repopulated by the Southern Paiutes, another
hunter-gatherer tribe.
Unable to replicate the agricultural techniques of the
Anasazi, the Paiutes were destined to a semi-nomadic lifestyle until
European settlers arrived, changing the nature of existence in the
valley forever.
From Mailmen to Mormons
In the early nineteenth century, America’s western
territories were still largely unexplored. It was not until 1829 that
Rafael Rivera, a Mexican scout, found a spring-fed valley and dubbed it
Las Vegas — a Spanish name that leaves many modern visitors wondering
exactly where “the meadows” really lay.
For fifteen years, Las Vegas was used as a Spanish Trail
way-station. In 1844, American explorer John C. Fremont parked his
horses at Big Springs, and his report to the government resulted in a
mail route leading past the spot on its way to California. This put Las
Vegas on the map and was one of the crucial turning points of its
history.
In 1855, Mormon leader Brigham Young responded to promising
reports of Las Vegas by sending 30 missionary settlers to the valley;
they eventually built a fort not far from today’s Downtown. Surrounded
by acres of farmland hewn from the hard desert, the adobe fort became a
focal point for the development of Las Vegas for the next fifty years.
The missionaries struggled valiantly against the dictates of the
desert, trying simultaneously to survive the harshness of their
circumstances and spread the Mormon faith. Additional pressures from
arriving miners pushed the missionaries’ plight beyond recovery. Their
supplies scarce, their harvest meager, and their spirit broken, they
abandoned the fort in 1858.
Despite the fact that the local land was rich in silver, by
1865 most of the mining traffic through Las Vegas was of prospectors
headed to California or Northern Nevada in search of gold. One
opportunist who stayed was Octavius Decatur Gass. Bestowed with plenty
of the invaluable pioneer spirit that characterizes Las Vegas to this
day, Gass redirected his life by picking up where the Mormons left
off — at least when it came to ranching and farming. Gass took over the
abandoned Mormon fort and 640 acres (260 hectares) surrounding it,
dubbing it the Las Vegas Ranch. He expanded the ranch and irrigated the
land so that it would support crops and cattle. His determination had
other results as well: Gass was named a justice of the peace and a
territorial legislator.
Despite his ambition, Gass’ success was short-lived. In the
late 1870s, he defaulted on a loan from rancher Archibald Stewart, so
Stewart took the Las Vegas Ranch for his own. True to wild-West
stereotypes, Stewart was slain by a neighboring farmer, leaving his
strong-willed wife, Helen, to assume the duties of the ranch. Through
1905, Helen Stewart expanded the ranch to 2000 acres (810 hectares),
making quite a bit of money in the process.
What happened next would mark the end of the successful Las
Vegas Ranch and the beginning of the era of the subdivision seen across
almost all of Western America to this day. The railroad was coming, and
when it arrived, Las Vegas would never be the same again.
Of Tracks and Tracts
At the turn of the 19th century Los Angeles and Salt Lake
City were among the burgeoning metropolises of the new American West.
Though the two cities remained unlinked by rail, this was about to
change quickly. When it did, the Las Vegas Valley (which at the time
had a non-native population of less than 30) would change as well.
In 1903, officials of the San Pedro, Los Angeles, and Salt
Lake Railroad arrived in Las Vegas, eager to secure a right-of-way for
their Los Angeles–Salt Lake connection. Las Vegas would serve as a
major stopover for crew rest and train repair. For all this, the
railroad needed land. As mapped, the track traveled directly through
Helen Stewart’s Las Vegas Ranch. Stewart sold 99.5 percent of her ranch
to the railroad. The remainder she returned to the native Paiutes.
In early 1905, the route between Los Angeles and Salt Lake
City was completed, and train tracks bore right down the center of the
Las Vegas Valley. On 15 May 1905, the railroad held a land sale — a
momentous step in Las Vegas history. Standing at the depot at Main and
Fremont streets, railroad officials auctioned 1200 lots they had
subdivided from forty square blocks of desert scrub. Land speculators
and locals alike were anxious to own a part of the newest railroad
boomtown, and within an afternoon, more than 80 percent of the lots
were sold.
Las Vegas was no longer a small pioneer settlement. With
rail service in place and forty blocks of private property, it was
ready to become a real town. Businesses sprang up overnight, and wooden
houses were erected to replace the tent city in which many of the early
settlers had lived. One year after the auction, the population of Las
Vegas had ballooned to 1500 residents, a portent of things to come for
the next ninety years.
Dam Good Luck
From the beginning, Las Vegas was built to serve travelers.
The railroad needed a way station, and Las Vegas was the place. Growth
continued for ten years, and by 1915 the town had telephones,
round-the-clock electricity, and a growing population — many of whom
worked in the railroad repair shop. But such heady progress would soon
come to a halt.
The growing competition in rail transport resulted in Union
Pacific buying the Los Angeles–Salt Lake line. Union Pacific then
consolidated its operations, eliminating the Las Vegas repair facility.
Additionally, Las Vegas had been made a part of Nevada’s new Clark
County in 1909, a year when the legislature also outlawed gambling.
These unfortunate circumstances threatened to relegate Las Vegas to the
status of a small desert community that could no longer support its
3000 residents. But the southwest’s growing need for water, combined
with Las Vegas’s fortuitous proximity to the Colorado River, would give
Las Vegas a second chance to achieve prosperity.
Construction on Hoover Dam (originally Boulder Dam,
subsequently renamed for the president who authorized the project)
began in 1931 in a canyon 45 miles (72 km) southeast of Las Vegas.
Providing an influx of $165 million to the southwestern economy, Hoover
Dam played a major role in preventing Las Vegas from drying up, both
financially and literally. Not only did it create jobs, but it also
created Lake Mead, the massive reservoir that today provides water to
all of southern Nevada.
More Government Help
The construction of Hoover Dam did not single-handedly save
Las Vegas, however. The state legislature helped as well, by legalizing
gambling in 1931 and thus solidifying the future of the town, though
legislators and residents could never have known this at the time.
The hordes of people who attended Hoover Dam’s 1935
dedication set the city’s now-formidable public relations machine into
action. They went to work on what has become one of the lengthiest
citywide tourism campaigns ever attempted. It didn’t take long for the
city to establish itself as a wild-West town with an “anything goes”
attitude. Vices outlawed or heavily controlled elsewhere were legal
here, available any hour of any day (or night). Thus originated Las
Vegas’s reputation as an adult theme park.
Additional catalysts for the valley’s growth came from
World War II. Both the Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School (which became
Nellis Air Force Base and the Nevada Test Site) in the north, and Basic
Magnesium in the nearby town of Henderson, arrived in the early 1940s
as a result of America’s war effort. By 1945, the population had grown
to almost 20,000, with workers and airmen moving in at a rapid pace.
But this was not yet the Las Vegas of folklore.
Mobsters and Rat Packers
While many gambling halls opened Downtown in the 1930s and
early 1940s, only two were built on the stretch of old Los Angeles
Highway that ultimately became the Strip. The El Rancho Vegas (1941)
was the first, followed by the Last Frontier (1943). During this
period, East Coast Syndicate member Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel earned a
foothold as a local casino operator.
By 1945 Siegel had become one of Las Vegas’s original
visionaries, planning an opulent resort on the southern end of the LA
Highway. When the Flamingo opened in December 1946, it did so with
Hollywood flair and the new Vegas flash. But the Mafia bosses who
financed the operation were displeased with its performance; Siegel was
murdered in the summer of 1947.
Despite its initial failings, Siegel’s Flamingo survived
him, as did mob infiltration of casinos. In fact, the Flamingo would
launch over two decades of strong mob presence in Las Vegas. Freely
flowing “comps” (complimentary food, drink, and entertainment) were the
order of the day, with mob bosses content to provide an environment of
pleasurable excess as long as the cash kept rolling in.
While the mob was running the casinos, promoters were
busily selling Las Vegas as a glamorous Hollywood in the desert. From
the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s, Las Vegas nurtured a growing sense that
it was the “Entertainment Capital of the World. ” Emerging stars, no
longer content with playing small nightclubs, came to Las Vegas with
dreams of making it big. Many of them did. Frank Sinatra, Wayne Newton,
and Louis Prima each arrived with mediocre status and suddenly found
themselves with names as big as the marquees on which they were
written. The Rat Pack — originally Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy
Davis Jr. , Peter Lawford, and Joey Bishop, all in town to film Ocean’s
11 — landed at the Sands in January 1960 for a legendary stay. Other
Hollywood stars came as well, simply because Las Vegas was the place to
be.
As a result, more casinos emerged along the Strip. The
Thunderbird, Desert Inn, Sahara, Sands, and Riviera hotels were erected
during this period, luring a curious clientele drawn by tales of
all-night partying, exclusive entertainment, and cheap accommodations.
There was no longer any question: when you wanted some unbridled adult
fun, Las Vegas was the place to be.
New Legitimacy
Organized crime was soon to have a formidable adversary in
its bid to control Las Vegas — corporate cash. Though Las Vegas had
developed a powerful local economy, few major outside investments were
made in the city, due primarily to mob infiltration and its inherent
ties to illegal activities.
That would change dramatically with the 1966 arrival of
billionaire Howard Hughes. A legitimate businessman, Hughes was
nonetheless eccentric and dramatic, a style suited to the Las Vegas
ethos. True to the myth, the reclusive Hughes immediately cloistered
himself in the Desert Inn’s penthouse. Several weeks later he was
asked — then ordered — to vacate the room to make room for high
rollers, whereupon he promptly bought the property and fired the
management. Thus began Hughes’ legendary three-year, $300-million Las
Vegas buying spree. When it was over, Hughes owned six casinos, an
airport, and an airline, along with numerous plots of land stretching
from the Strip to the mountains.
Hughes’ actions would have beneficial repercussions, both
immediate and lasting. Because of the new legitimacy Las Vegas acquired
from Hughes’ investments, established companies such as Hilton Hotels
bought into the gaming business, and their influence helped draw a line
in the desert sand between legitimate operations and mob casinos, where
illegal skimming of profits was rampant. That, combined with the
formation of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, would signal the
beginning of the end for heavy mob influence in the city.
Las Vegas with a Vision
As corporations moved in and the mob was slowly pushed out,
a new Las Vegas emerged. The legitimization of gambling led to its
increased legalization across the US. What was once a sure thing became
much more competitive. Casino operators had to reassess the nature of
their business.
The first to really do so was Steve Wynn, a Las Vegas
resident and owner of the Golden Nugget. In the mid-1980s, Wynn began
plans to reinvigorate Las Vegas with a new resort. He bought several
Strip properties — the Silver Slipper and Castaways among them — and
demolished them to make way for a new kind of resort — Mirage — which
became an instant success.
Wynn’s demolition of the existing properties started a
trend that, more than any other, describes Las Vegas at the end of the
20th century: removal of old properties in exchange for the potential
of new ones. This trend has led to many more demolitions, including the
Dunes (replaced by Bellagio), Aladdin (the new Aladdin) and Sands
(Venetian) hotels.
Wynn’s casinos have also set new standards. They can no
longer be just a box filled with gaming tables, restaurants, and a
showroom. Excalibur, the MGM Grand, the Luxor, and New York-New York
all followed Mirage’s lead during the 1990s, offering themed
environments and attractions for families.
As evidence of the “ever-faster” nature of the city, by the
middle of the 1990s the new approach showed signs of backlash, with
many visitors criticizing the mediocrity of the Las Vegas experience.
The latest approach is perhaps the best of the post-mob era: the
comprehensive resort. New resorts offer attractions and amenities
modeled after those available in top resort cities worldwide, including
luxurious spas, signature restaurants, and exclusive boutiques.
Additionally, a handful of resorts — such as the South-Seas
themed Mandalay Bay, the Mirage, and the new Four Seasons — are now
catering exclusively to the luxury travel market. The crème de la crème
of Las Vegas deluxe is Steve Wynn’s Bellagio. The world’s most
expensive resort at $1.6 billion, the Bellagio’s amenities include
5-star dining, Chanel-caliber boutiques, and a world-class collection
of artistic masterworks. Perhaps more important, such high-end
accommodations raise the standards of expectations back to the
mythology of the Rat Pack era.
As it changed from mob gam bling town to corporate gaming
venue, the population of Las Vegas skyrocketed. Over 20,000 additional
hotel rooms have been added in a few short years, including resorts in
Summerlin and Lake Las Vegas. Recent business projections for Las Vegas
predict challenges; tourism revenues must increase substantially to
sustain what is already built, while actual figures show visitation as
steady or declining. The growth that has characterized Las Vegas for
nearly a century may be facing a roadblock.
Still, the future of Las Vegas is sure to be determined as
much by the pioneering spirit that built the city as by anything else.
With its new look and new aim, the prospects are good despite the
warnings. Inevitably, some people will get burned in the process, but
others will rise triumphantly from the fray to even greater successes.
And that, more than anything, is the one constant that characterizes
the past, present, and future of Las Vegas.
