Las Vegas has history of its own

Kimberley McGee

Thursday, Aug. 10, 2000 | 8:59 a.m.

Although gaming chips and the stray ashtray may be all that is left of the Sands, Dunes and Hacienda hotel-casinos, that were imploded over the past decade, there are a few plaques and structures around Las Vegas that have been preserved as tokens of the town's history.

A bronze plaque on the corner of Fremont and Main Streets recognizes the first telephone installed in Las Vegas in 1907.

In 1980 the plaque was attached to the exterior of the Golden Gate hotel-casino so the small piece of history would not slip silently from the public's mind.

Located at 1 Fremont Street, the phone number for the modern convenience of the time was, fittingly, 1. Most calls came from out of state and connected the sleepy desert town with the rest of the world -- and subsequently invited it, too, as Las Vegas quickly grew from a tent village to a sprawling rural community.

A 1907 Kellogg brand telephone, a cousin of the hand-cranked original, is mounted in the Golden Gate's lobby as a reminder of the hotel's heritage.

When the street was excavated in 1995 for the Fremont Street Experience, wood piping was found buried in the dirt outside the front door of the Golden Gate. The antique piping is thought to have housed the original phone line. A section was cut out and is on display with the Kellogg phone at the hotel.

There are more than a dozen other plaques marking historically significant spots in downtown Las Vegas, according to Frank Wright, director of the Nevada History Museum -- although they're largely overlooked.

The Golden Gate was also the first concrete structure in Southern Nevada, said Mark Brandenburg, owner/managing partner of the Golden Gate. A plaque honoring the hotel, which still is made up mostly of the original structure, was installed in 1996, celebrating its 90th year in operation.

Although it was the first hotel, and therefore did have a jump on other properties that rose around it, other hotels have firsts, too.

The Horseshoe was the first casino to install carpeting in the early part of last century. The Fremont hotel was the first high-rise in 1956, and the Golden Nugget was the first structure to be designed as a casino from the first brick that was laid (whereas most other buildings had originally been built as just hotels).

Fremont street was also the first paved street in town and the location of the first traffic light. In 1932 the first elevator in town led guests to the top of the Apache Hotel.

The Tropicana hotel-casino has enshrined bits of history that marked Las Vegas' heyday -- cocktail napkins from '50s hot spots, menus featuring 60-cent shrimp cocktails, cancelled El Rancho checks and gaming chips from other forgotten hotels.

Trinkets from Las Vegas' not-so-long-ago history are showcased at the Casino Legends Hall of Fame. More than 15,000 items from a time that has slipped away are displayed.

Beyond the gaming industry are structures that speak of Las Vegas' past as a community.

Not far from downtown, on the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue, the 144-year-old Mormon Fort stands as the oldest settlement in Southern Nevada. It recently underwent restoration so that future generations can experience the treasured local landmark.

The Huntridge Theatre of Performing Arts is the oldest movie theater in Las Vegas still in use. Built in Las Vegas in 1944, the art deco-style theater now serves as a concert venue and community arts center.

Recently the Whitehead Mansion suffered a damaging fire that called for its demolition. The Mansion was the first luxury home to be built in Las Vegas in 1929 with all of the modern conveniences of air conditioning, electricity and indoor plumbing -- a rarity in desert homes at the time.

One note of Las Vegas history that is often overlooked -- either by accident or intention -- is a plaque on 1st Street signifying the Red Light District -- a legal prostitution area from 1906 until 1941, when the Air Force settled outside of Las Vegas. The District -- known as Block 16 in the early days, when downtown was made up of 40 blocks -- stretched from 1st Street to Ogden Avenue with brothels.