Welcome to Las Vegas Windermere

HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS / LAS VEGAS HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS

Most communities in our nation had their beginnings as a small settlement that eventually grew into a city or town. Las Vegas is one of the few that can point to a specific day when it came into being. May 15,1905, is the day that Las Vegas was “born.”

Nearly 3,000 people gathered near the railroad depot for a land auction that lasted two days and sold 2,300 lots at a total price of $265,000. Within days, a mammoth “tent city” sprang to life in the middle of the desert. Along with the tents were basic services like a post office, hotels, and bank. The main hotel was a large canvas structure 140 feet long. Even then, the “tent town” was home to a saloon and gambling house.

As early as 1897, a cluster of gold and silver miners had already formed the Searchlight mining district. However, prospectors had to travel the distance to Pioche to record their claims. When the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad opened a stop for its engines in Las Vegas in 1903, the location became more advantageous. The construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s provided thousands of jobs to workers from around the nation. During those early days, Las Vegas’ only claim to recognition was “the place you stop for gasoline on the way to the dam.”

In 1931, the state government passed laws that legalized gambling. No one could have foreseen the impact of that  legislation over the generations, or how drastically it would affect the evolution of Las Vegas into a nationally recognized  entertainment destination. In the mid-’40s, when the Las Vegas Strip was little more than a few casinos surrounded by a sprawling desert, Las Vegas already boasted an active gaming community. During the construction of Hoover Dam, hundreds of workers took their paychecks into town to try their luck.

Business from tourists and the local servicemen who were stationed at Nellis Air Force Base continued to enhance the Las Vegas economy. Casinos were built along Fremont Street in the center of downtown, which carried the nickname of “Glitter Gulch” after the flashy bright neon signs fronting the gambling halls.