{"id":322,"date":"2012-06-30T18:16:22","date_gmt":"2012-06-30T18:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.websitefix.net\/clients\/Generic\/?page_id=322"},"modified":"2022-11-02T19:48:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T19:48:24","slug":"natural-history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/?page_id=322","title":{"rendered":"HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>HISTORICAL ATTRACTIONS \/ LAS  VEGAS HISTORIC HIGHLIGHTS <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cborn.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201ctent  city\u201d 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 \u201ctent town\u201d was home to a saloon  and gambling house.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019  only claim to recognition was \u201cthe place you stop for gasoline on the way to  the dam.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 1931, the state  government passed laws that legalized gambling. No one could have foreseen the  impact of that&nbsp; legislation over the  generations, or how drastically it would affect the evolution of Las Vegas into  a nationally recognized&nbsp; entertainment  destination. In the mid-\u201940s, 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.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cGlitter Gulch\u201d after the  flashy bright neon signs fronting the gambling halls. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-322","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=322"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":737,"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/322\/revisions\/737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sunraydirect.com\/LasVegas3\/Windermere\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}